“We’re very sorry to share the devastating news that Chris Mortensen, an award-winning NFL journalist at ESPN for more than three decades, died Sunday morning at the age of 72,” the network posted on Instagram. “Thanks for everything, Mort. We’ll miss you dearly.”No details were given about his cause of death, but Mortensen left his ESPN job in January 2016 after revealing that he had throat cancer. He returned to work the 2017 NFL season, even as the cancer spread to his lungs.
“I have many inspirational examples of men, women and children who have faced this very fight. We all know somebody, right?” he said in a statement back then. “I also have the love and prayers of my wife Micki, my family, my friends, colleagues and, most of all, my faith that serve as sources of tremendous strength. I have a peace about this and look forward to the battle.
Mortensen was in front of many trade stories, coaches’ firings and free-agent signings and broke the news of Peyton Manning’s retirement in 2016, but he received criticism for his reports on “Deflategate,” which alleged that the New England Patriots deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage.
A native of Torrance, California, Mortensen attended El Camino College in the area and served for two years in the Vietnam War. He began his writing career with the, where he received the prestigious Polk honor in 1987 for his 110-article report on the subversion of college amateurism by sports agents.