Chris Mortensen, the award-winning ESPN journalist, died at the age of 72 on Sunday morning.
The NFL insider, who joined ESPN in 1991, only retired from the network after 32 years ahead of the 2023 NFL season back in September.
The network announced his passing in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
‘Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate,’ ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro shared.
He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones.’
Chris Mortensen, the award-winning ESPN journalist, died at the age of 72 on Sunday
Mortensen was considered one of the country’s top NFL journalists after quickly rising up the ranks at ESPN and becoming a regular on the network’s top shows.
Before working at ESPN , Mortensen wrote for The National Sports Daily , The Sporting News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
He was put on temporary leave by ESPN in 2016 as he battled Stage IV throat cancer, but eventually returned to the fold and was the recipient of great news later on that year when he shared that his treatment led to ‘virtually zero’ detection of cancer.
And while he fought cancer, Mortensen was the first to report that Peyton Manning was retiring at 18 years in the NFL
More to follow.