Why is ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on a PGA Tour broadcast? We asked him
Adam Schefter is going from reporting on the gridiron to covering the action between the ropes on Thursday at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship.
During the first round, the NFL Insider for ESPN and the most plugged-in man on league happenings will cross over to work as a featured group commentator on ESPN+. He'll cover Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley's group, which tees off at 10:30 a.m. ET.
'It's going to be fun to get out of my cage and do something I'm not used to,' he told Golfweek during a phone interview. 'As much as I love my job – and I do – I love the challenge of being able to experience something new. I did about a half-dozen NBA games as a sideline reporter before the pandemic. It was invigorating and refreshing.'
When he isn't juggling his multiple cell phones and breaking news on the NFL beat, Schefter says he's a golf junkie who is tuned into ESPN+ and PGA Tour Live every week. He plays a half-dozen times per year, but when asked to describe his game, said, 'Let's just say I'm better at watching golf than playing golf.'
More: 2025 Travelers Championship offers a relaxed birdie-fest after the U.S. Open grind
He said that discussions about him making an appearance on ESPN+ coverage of the Tour have been ongoing for several months. He was asked to pick a few tournaments that interested him. Originally, he debated doing the Truist Championship last month in Philadelphia, but determined it was too soon after the NFL draft and took a rain check. He looked at the schedule and the Travelers, which is played at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., isn't too far away from the headquarters of "the worldwide leader in sports" in Bristol. He was even able to appear in studio at ESPN on Wednesday.
As for prep before his debut walking the fairways, he said that he hasn't been cramming.
'It's not like I had to sit down and study Keegan Bradley and Rory McIlroy. I have a pretty good idea of what they've done,' he said. 'People are always like what do you do to get ready for (NFL) Sunday? I live my life. I kind of live my job. I feel like I kind of live golf Thursday to Sunday.'
This will be his first time at the Travelers Championship, a signature event on the PGA Tour. But he already attended a tournament this year as a patron at the Masters in April. In accordance with Augusta National rules, he wasn't able to bring his ever-present phones on property, which led to him getting pranked pretty good.
'I had this one 20-year-old kid come running up to me and he goes, 'Did you hear about the humongous NFL trade?'' Schefter recounted originally on his podcast. 'And my heart dropped. This is on the sixth hole. And I'm like no. And he's like, 'I'm only kidding!' '
Two months later and it's still too soon for Schefter to laugh it off. 'That's really not that funny,' he said.
Schefter can't wait to follow McIlroy, the Masters champ, and Bradley, a past champion at the Travelers and the U.S. Ryder Cup captain. He said he planned to be on site close to three hours before his 'call time.' Back in the day, both Pat Summerall and Dick Enberg and more recently Jim Nantz have split time between TV duties with the NFL and golf. Is this a one-and-done or could Schefty be spending part of his off-season on the links?
'I really don't know,' he said. 'I'm thankful and honored they asked me do it. We'll see how it goes. If I love it, I'd be honored to do it again, but after one round they may say let him go back to his sport. Who knows? If it goes well, maybe we'll want to do it again. I know the players, I understand the sport, I know how to report something and we'll see how it goes.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
27 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Does Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Rank Top 10 in Madden 26?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Jalen Hurts continues to deal with doubters, despite finding success at the highest level this year. The Super Bowl MVP's status as a Top 10 quarterback in the NFL has been debated plenty this offseason. What do the Madden 26 creators think? Hurts is Top 10, but well outside of the Top 5. On Thursday, Madden announced the ten-best QBs in the game. Hurts ranks eighth with an 86 rating. Justin Herbet, who ranks seventh, carries the same overall. Just behind Hurts is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran Baker Mayfield, who holds an 85 rank. The Eagles' NFC East rival, Jayden Daniels, has the same overall as Mayfield, placing 10th on the list. In front of Hurts and Herbert are Jared Goff (87), Matthew Stafford (88), Patrick Mahomes (95), Joe Burrow (97), and then Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, who are among the very few players to crack the game's 99 club. The Eagles have two members in the mix with them in Saquon Barkley and Lane Johnson. Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on September 22, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on September 22, 2024 in New Orleans, season, Hurts is heading into year six with the Eagles. Since his second season, he's been the surefire starter for the Eagles. Although he went through some notable growing pains through his first 30 games, Hurts turned into an MVP candidate by year three. Despite the MVP campaign in 2022, Hurts has struggled to earn respect as a top quarterback from the masses. In 2024, Hurts played in 15 games. He posted his lowest yearly passing yardage with 2,903 yards off 248 completions. It was the first time he failed to exceed 3,000 yards in three seasons. He also tossed for just 18 touchdowns after throwing over 20 in his past two seasons. The Eagles ran plenty in 2024, thanks to the presence of Saquon Barkley. The star running back helped the Eagles as a team, but issued Hurts' critics plenty of ammo. Many believed that Hurts wouldn't be as successful in 2024 without Barkley. But Hurts' playoff numbers were nothing to overlook. In four games, Hurts threw for 726 yards, along with five touchdowns. As the Kansas City Chiefs zeroed in on stopping Barkley, the Eagles' offense had to rely on Hurts' quarterbacking to help take them to the Super Bowl winner's stage. An MVP-worthy performance came to life. Hurts has the accolades to prove he's one of the top QBs in the game. He might not start near the top of Madden 26, but a strong campaign throughout 2025 could help the Eagles quarterback improve his rating over time. For more Philadelphia Eagles and NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Washington Post
27 minutes ago
- Washington Post
NFL finalizing deal to take stake in ESPN, hand over RedZone
The NFL and ESPN are finalizing their long-awaited deal by which the Disney-owned sports network would receive league media properties, including NFL Network and RedZone, and the NFL is expected to receive an equity stake in ESPN, according to two people with knowledge of the deliberations. Barring any last-minute complications, the deal could be officially completed and announced as soon as next week, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no agreement has been announced. The Walt Disney Company is scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings Wednesday. The NFL and ESPN declined to comment. The Athletic reported earlier Friday that the two sides have agreed to the deal. Those familiar with the deal described it as highly complex and said the final remaining issues involved legal considerations related to governmental approvals. They characterized the deal as all but completed, with the finishing touches being applied. ESPN would add to its inventory of regular season games by getting those carried by the NFL Network. The addition of RedZone, which allows viewers to watch key plays from Sunday afternoon games, was considered a key component of the deal, according to the people with knowledge of the negotiations. CNBC reported last month that the deal would involve the NFL taking an equity stake of up to 10 percent in ESPN. It was not clear Friday exactly how large that stake will be. The deal comes as ESPN prepares to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service. ESPN already holds the broadcast rights to the NFL's 'Monday Night Football' package. Disney pays the NFL about $2.7 billion per year for the Monday night package. ESPN and Disney-owned ABC have the broadcast rights to two Super Bowls, the first at the conclusion of the 2026 season. The NFL announced a set of broadcasting and streaming deals in March 2021 worth more than $110 billion in rights fees over 11 years. The NFL's team owners previously were alerted that the league might schedule a special owners' meeting in August, apparently related to the potential deal with ESPN. It was not clear Friday whether such a meeting will take place. It would be the third straight year in which the NFL held a special owners' meeting in July or August. The previous two such meetings took place in the Minneapolis area. The owners voted at a July 2023 meeting to approve the $6.05 billion sale of the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder to a group led by private equity investor Josh Harris. They voted at a meeting last August to ratify a measure to allow private equity funds to purchase minority ownership stakes in NFL franchises.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Red River rivals Malcolm Roach, Marvin Mims Jr. add spice to Broncos camp with good-natured barbs
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Usually if there's any chirping going on at sweltering NFL training camps, it's between the massive offensive and defensive linemen who are pounding into each other or the wide receivers and cornerbacks fighting for 50-50 passes. The biggest beef at the Denver Broncos' training camp this summer is between 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, a notorious smack talker, and 5-11, 184-pound receiver Marvin Mims Jr., the NFL's reigning All-Pro punt returner. Asked about the chirping back and forth at a spirited practice this week, Mims replied, 'Yeah, I mean, it's just Malcolm Roach. I mean, I sit next to him in the locker room, guy doesn't shut up. He's talking crap to receivers. It's like, 'Dude, like, you're a fat guy. Like, go worry about that. Leave me alone.'' They then took their 'beef' to social media, jawing online. Roach stepped up to the podium Friday knowing the first question would be about his good-natured bickering with Mims. 'Y'all think I really worry about 19?' Roach said. 'I see him every day in the locker right by mine. Y'all think I talk? He really talks more than me. But I ain't worried about Marvin. Marvin knows he's not about to cut that ball back across the middle. That's all I have to say about that.' Of course, Roach did have more to say. 'I can lose this weight,' Roach said. 'He can't lose them looks.' When coach Sean Payton was asked about the back-and-forth, he expressed surprise at the combatants. 'Malcolm, you hear him before you see him, and I like that energy about him," Payton said. "But, yeah, I wouldn't have picked Mims and Roach. I would have picked so many other combos." Maybe it has roots in the Red River Rivalry. Roach went to the University of Texas; Mims hails from the University of Oklahoma. First pick Bo Nix finally threw his first interception of training camp, and it was a doozy. Safety Talanoa Hufanga made a leaping grab near the line of scrimmage for a pick-6 during team drills Friday. 'The interception, it was an RPO (run/pass option) and if you look at his distance from the throw I bet it was like eight yards,' Payton said. "And so to be able to go up and catch that with a crowded look in front of him? I'm anxious to seek it on film. I saw it from behind the line of scrimmage.' That's the kind of play the Broncos are counting on this season from the free agent who left the San Francisco 49ers along with inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw to come to Denver last spring. 'You know, if I asked you to give us the best safeties that are in the Hall of Fame, the traits are always instincts and football smarts,' Payton said. "Some are faster than others, but it's hard to be real effective at that position if you don't have those football instincts. And certainly he brings that. I made a comment in the offseason: there's certain players the ball finds them, and he's one of those guys. 'So, that play was sick.' Under construction Construction of the Broncos' $175 million training facility hit a milestone Friday with a ' topping out ' ceremony to commemorate the final beam being lifted into place. Team owner Carrie Walton Penner signed the timber before a giant crane lifted the structural beam from the north side of the construction site to the south facade. The Broncos broke ground last year on the 205,000-square-foot facility that will combine their football and business operations under one roof for the first time in franchise history. It's scheduled for completion in May. ___ AP NFL:
