A new profile details the ugly exit that Adam Schefter had with NFL Media when he elected to leave the company to join ESPN in the 2009.
During a wide-ranging piece on the NFL's most prolific -- and increasingly polarizing -- insider done by Ben Strauss of The Washington Post, a grim picture is painted of the end of Schefter's time at the league-owned network:
"When Schefter’s NFL Network contract came up, the sides played hardball. Schefter signed a new deal with ESPN, but NFL Network wouldn’t let him out of his contract. Instead, it kept him off the air for six months, locked him out of his office and, worst of all, wiped all of his contacts from his phone. Before he could break any news in his new job, he had to rebuild his contacts."
Of course, if you are a national newsbreaker, your rolodex is one of the most important assets you can have. There are 32 NFL teams, and at most, you can be in one city at a time. Being able to text with different contacts around the league -- or have them know how to reach you when they have information that they want to get out -- is crucial. So NFL Network wiping his contacts on a phone they seemingly had been paying for is particularly cutthroat thing to do to someone that has been a valuable employee, but is headed to a competitor.
Clearly, things ended up working out alright for Schefter at the four-letter network. He and ESPN agreed to a new contract in April, one that Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reported at the time would pay Schefter "around $9 million per year."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram