Some sad news to pass along this Sunday. Longtime ESPN reporter and journalist Chris Mortensen died Sunday morning. He was 72.
ESPN PR sent out a statement announcing Mortensen’s death.
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Piataro said in a release. “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.”
Serving in the Army and writing for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution throughout the 1980s, he was hired by ESPN in 1991. A staple of the network’s football coverage, he covered events throughout the season and was a reporter and analyst for many NFL Drafts. For several of them, he was on the main table alongside draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., including for the 2004 NFL Draft where the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted QB Ben Roethlisberger. Moments after the pick was announced, Mortensen shared this story of what one coach told him about Roethlisberger.
“This coach I told you about who think he’s the best prospect since John Elway also told me he’s got the passion of Peyton Manning but with more physical ability.”
Roethlisberger would go on to have the best career of the “Big Three” quarterbacks selected that year, selected after Eli Manning and Philip Rivers.
In recent years, he broke the news of Stephon Tuitt’s season-ending 2019 injury and noted Antonio Brown’s impending trade two months before it actually occurred.
In January of 2016, Mortensen was diagnosed with Stage Four throat cancer. He left the network for an extended absence but eventually returned, though he was seen less frequently. He officially retired in September, tweeting at the time a focus on his health, faith, and family.
Several media personalities reacted to the news.
ESPN colleague John Clayton, who once covered the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Press, died in March of 2022.
