According to a USA Today survey of fans published January 19, 2009, "NFL Network's Adam Schefter edged ESPN's Chris Mortensen (34%–32%) for best (NFL) insider despite the NFL Network being in less than half as many U.S. households." Schefter was again selected as the best (NFL) insider in a November 2010 USA Today fan poll.[4] Schefter was voted USA Today's best "insider" for a third straight year in November 2011.
In 2009, Schefter became a football analyst with ESPN.[5] He began appearing on-air on August 17, 2009. In October 2010, Sports Illustrated writers included Schefter in its "Top 40," a listing of the NFL's top officials, executives, coaches, players and media members.[6]
Adam Schefter speaking at the 2024 SMWW Football Career Conference
In 2014, Schefter was named the "Most Influential Tweeter in New York" by New York magazine in February,[7] "Best Newsbreaker" by the sports media website Awful Announcing in its second annual People's Sports TV Award Winners in May, and SI.com's “Media Person of the Year.”[8]
On July 9, 2015, Schefter tweeted a medical chart photo indicating that Jason Pierre-Paul had his right index finger amputated. On February 5, 2016, it was reported that two individuals were fired from Jackson Memorial Hospital after a lengthy investigation for violating HIPAA laws.[9] Pierre-Paul sued Schefter and ESPN for breach of privacy in February 2016.[10] In February 2017, Pierre-Paul and ESPN settled the lawsuit.[11]
In November 2015, Schefter was named The Cynopsis Sports Media Personality of the Year, which is presented annually to an individual whose work in the sports industry has transcended how sports connect with fans. In the same year, he was named honorable mention for Sports Illustrated Now's 2015 Media Person of the Year,[12] and 2015 Sports Media Personality of the Year by the Tampa Bay Times.[13]
In January 2017, Schefter accepted an unpaid position on the advisory board of the Pacific Pro Football League.[14] Soon afterward, he stepped down to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.[15]
Schefter joined the NBA on ESPN team for multiple games as a sideline reporter in 2017. His first assignment was February 15 between the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. ESPN presented Schefter with the opportunity to work select NBA games as part of his new contract.[16]
In February 2017, ESPN Audio launched Schefter's "Know Them From Adam"[17] podcast, featuring long-form conversations with newsmakers who have a connection to football. He is also an annual "NFL Combine Football Career Conference" speaker for the online sports-career training school Sports Management Worldwide.[18]
In September 2021, Timothy L. O'Brien of Bloomberg reported that Schefter had invested in the sports gambling company Boom Entertainment, and questioned whether that interest could affect his reporting.[15][19]
In June 2021, an email Schefter sent to Bruce Allen (then the general manager of the Washington Redskins) was filed as an exhibit in federal court as part of a defamation suit by Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder against an Indian media company. The message included a draft of an unpublished article about the 2011 NFL lockout which Schefter asked Allen to review and suggest changes to, and referred to Allen as "Mr. Editor".[20] In response, Schefter stated that checking information with sources is a widespread practice.[21] However, according to Joe Rivera of Sporting News, allowing a source to review an entire piece is a significant breach of journalistic ethics.[22] Schefter's actions were also criticized by writer and former ESPN host Jemele Hill. Later, Schefter issued a statement through ESPN which stated that while he did not give editorial control over the story to Allen, sending it to him had been a mistake.[23]
In 2022, Schefter was criticized for his initial report on Twitter about Dwayne Haskins's death, which many found to be insensitive as it mentioned his struggles in the NFL. Schefter later deleted the tweet and replaced it with a video tribute, as well as issuing an apology.[24]
In 2007, Schefter married Sharri Maio, eleven months after meeting her on a blind date.[28] Schefter had been married once before, but it ended in divorce; Sharri's prior husband, Joe Maio, had been killed in the World Trade Center in the 9/11 attacks. Sharri brought Devon, her son with Joe who was born in the year 2000, into the marriage with Schefter. Schefter and Sharri have a daughter together named Dylan. Schefter's book about his wife's first husband and his own experience joining the family after Joe's death, titled The Man I Never Met, was released in 2018.[29]
Publications
The Man I Never Met: A Memoir, ISBN1250161894, September 2018
Romo: My Life on the Edge: Living Dreams and Slaying Dragons, ISBN0-06-075863-5, with Bill Romanowski, 2005
"Real Sports Reporting" Edited by Abraham Aamidor, 2003 (Chapter on football)
Think Like A Champion: Building Success One Victory at a Time, ISBN0-06-662039-2, with Mike Shanahan, September 1999
TD: Dreams in Motion: The Memoirs of the Denver Broncos' Terrell Davis, ISBN0-06-019282-8, with Terrell Davis, September 1998
The Class of Football: Words of Hard-Earned Wisdom from Legends of the Gridiron
Footnotes
^Vaglica, Sal (August 23, 2013). "The Man on the Inside". Long Island Pulse. Long Island Pulse. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
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