Adam Schefter has built an impressive career as the most influential and followed NFL insider of all time. However, he seeks to expand his horizons beyond just football. While primarily recognized for his NFL coverage, Schefter has occasionally ventured into other sports, notably serving as a sideline reporter for NBA broadcasts. This opportunity was part of his contract with ESPN, initially signed back in 2016, although his appearances in NBA games have been few and far between.
In a recent conversation with Andrew Marchand on The Athletic’s Main Event podcast, Schefter expressed his desire for ESPN to allow him more freedom to cover a broader range of sports, aside from the NFL, where his reporting often revolves around transactions. He stated, “The few times that ESPN sent me out to cover an NBA game and do a sideline reporting gig, I loved that. I remember the night my son got into Michigan, I was doing a Cleveland Cavaliers game on a late March Friday. LeBron walked past me and joked, ‘What are you doing here? Did you get lost?’”
Adam Schefter loves what he does, but sometimes he would like to be let out of his ESPN “cage.”
Full pod is up pic.twitter.com/Y5eB5LT0Tu
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 30, 2025
He added, “I like being let out of the cage, and ESPN doesn’t let me out of the cage very often. I would love to do sidelines for golf. They haven’t asked me. It’s those experiences that get your juices going a little bit. I love what I do and I plan to continue for a long time, but I also crave the energy of something unfamiliar, where I encounter new faces in new places. That’s stimulating for me.”
In conclusion, while it seems that Adam Schefter won’t be retiring any time soon like his former colleague Adrian Wojnarowski, he hopes for more diverse opportunities from ESPN in the future. He was even considered as a potential candidate to succeed Woj, covering both the NBA and NFL, but ultimately, that opportunity went to Shams Charania. So, if you spot him reporting live from The Masters this April before the NFL Draft, you’ll know why.
