On Sunday, Chris Mortensen, ESPN football analyst, and an award-winning veteran journalist passed away at 72, the network announced.
Legendary NFL Writer Chris Mortensen Dies at 72 https://t.co/0Zy0iENCUZ
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 3, 2024
Per the updates, no cause has been given, but he had been battling cancer during his life. In Jan. 2016 Mortensen took a leave of absence after being diagnosed with Stage IV throat cancer but returned to work less than a year later.
He had received the Pro Football Writers of America’s Dick McCann Award in 2016 and left ESPN in 2023 after joining the network in 1991.
Mortensen, who joined ESPN in 1991, appeared from “Sunday NFL Countdown” to “Sports Center” to ESPN Radio, the NFL Draft, Super Bowl coverage, and off season features.
He had covered every Super Bowl since 1985, except for Super Bowl 50 when he took a leave of absence in 2016 after being diagnosed with throat cancer which he fought back for a year.
The chairman of ESPN said in a statement,
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate. 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.”
Mortensen first appeared on ESPN in 1991 as part of NFL GameDay and Outside The Lines after years as a newspaper reporter, and was also a consultant for “NFL Today” on CBS.
He won the George Polk Award for reporting in 1987 while on the staff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
