Adam Schefter Feature Story

October 21, 2021

By Danny Meshamel

Adam Schefter: The NFL's Babysitter

San Diego--ESPN reporter Adam Schefter spoke to students at SDSU via zoom on Tuesday about the importance of developing relationships in the sports industry.

Schefter, who is famous for breaking NFL news, said that he hasn’t done anything that any other journalist couldn’t do. For him, it has simply been a combination of hard work and dedication that has made him who he is today. 

That dedication was present even during the interview, as Adam paused for a moment to check his phone regarding some NFL news. 

“Its almost like babysitting 32 teams, 32 quarterbacks” Schefter said. “The NFL doesn’t care that you’re to go to the movies or having a baby”

For Schefter it isn’t about reporting everything that he knows either, its about gathering as much information as possible in order to report well and developing relationships while gathering that information without necessarily compromising those conncetions. 

“The more information I get, the more information that I get” Schefter said. 

Schefter has received some criticism in recent months involving his handling of reporting on certain issues, something he says was not taken lightly. 

“I wish I had gotten both sides of the story” Schefter said in regards to a story about Dalvin Cook where he only reported Cook’s side. “I feel bad about rushing it...I knew there was going to be another side to this...it is one of the greatest challenges that you will face.” he added. 

Though there is a certain level of pressure to maintain his position as the man who breaks all NFL news, it is his love for the game that keeps him going, as he says “I love what I do, and I’m genuinely curious about it”

Schefter’s advice to the aspiring sports journalists was to simply “be you” and that if they could learn as many skills as possible that it would definitely help them stand out. The use of social media, editing and writing can help; however, he did note that there is still something extremely basic about knowing how to write. 

“It’s like being a jack of all trades and a master of none.” he said. “When ESPN hired me in Spring 2009 I didn’t have a Twitter account. So they hired me without having a single follower on social media.”