Adam Schefter Admits He Sat on Aaron Rodgers News Until NFL Draft Day
Adam Schefter isn't just one of the most well-connected NFL insiders out there, he's also a genius broadcast businessman and ESPN should be thanking their lucky stars he gave them the news of the year on a night where they always dominate NFL coverage.
On the Dan Patrick Show today, Schefter admitted he sat on the news that Aaron Rodgers officially wants out of Green Bay until the NFL Draft.
DP: "You chose to break the [Rodgers] news on Draft Day?"
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 6, 2021
Schefter: "That is absolutely accurate, correct. It was nothing that morning that came in that all of a sudden said to me yeah he wants out, you should report this... It was just an accumulation of information". pic.twitter.com/SJEPv3ssLu
Schefter had heard rumblings throughout the season of Rodgers' discontent with the organization and decided to break the story when he did because he felt the story was going to break soon anyway. The added bonus was it happened on the night when ESPN is the top dog broadcasting the NFL Draft.
We have Adam on now. He said this was not a breaking report, but an "accumulation of information".
— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) May 6, 2021
He added Aaron Rodgers/Rodgers' camp was NOT the source of this story.
He told us he chose to post this on draft day, but it's based on info since the season ended to draft day. https://t.co/urKJpWtrEN
Why would he do such a thing? Obvious isn't it? To drive ratings. And wouldn't you know it, mission accomplished.
2021 NFL Draft is 3rd Most-Watched Draft Ever!
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) May 4, 2021
*Avg audience of 6.1 million viewers (TV+Digital) over 3 days
*Cleveland avg 10.9 HH rating -- highest host city Draft rating on record since different cities began hosting in 2015
Release: https://t.co/82FP28FHY7 pic.twitter.com/vFnb0IDDoe
A few hours before the draft, Schefter broke the Rodgers news on Twitter and teased he would release more information on NFL Live on ESPN.
Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers is so disgruntled with the Green Bay Packers that he has told some within the organization that he does not want to return to the team, league and team sources told ESPN on Thursday.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2021
More on NFL Live now....
He also wrote a story on it.
More on Aaron Rodgers’ being unhappy with the Packers:https://t.co/LS1yFNDLtK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2021
This is a media masterpiece. Schefter is driving viewership and clicks and taking any attention anyone else was getting on NFL Draft day and refocusing it all squarely on ESPN. The suits upstairs must have loved this.
Even dating back to last season when the Packers lost in the NFC Championship game, there were questions about whether that was his last game with the Packers or not. We knew he was disgruntled after they picked his assumed successor, Jordan Love, in the 2020 NFL Draft. Then he got engaged this offseason and I'm sure he changed his outlook on life. Even Schefter said he didn't expect Rodgers to finish his career in Green Bay earlier in the offseason.
But no one reported how far things had deteriorated between Rodgers and the Packers until draft night, even if others had the information. It wasn't until Schefter struck first that all the other leaks burst. The floodwaters rose quickly after that and Schefter and ESPN became the life raft for people eager to watch from safety.
This is simply brilliant work by Schefter and anyone else at ESPN who played a role in it. That Schefter admitted it now is sort of odd, but also a victory lap. You can question why he explained his reporting when he didn't have to, but it does provide interesting insight into how Picasso, I mean Schefter, creates his artwork.
This might be his best yet.