Chris Mortensen, the award-winning ESPN journalist, dies at the age of 72, just six months after retiring after 32 years at the sports network.

Chris Mortensen, the award-winning ESPN journalist, died Sunday morning at the age of 72.

The NFL pundit, who joined ESPN in 1991, only retired from the network after 32 years ahead of the 2023 NFL season in September.

The network announced his death in a statement Sunday afternoon.

“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally loved as a supportive and hard-working teammate,” shared ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro.

He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. “He will be truly missed by colleagues and fans alike, and our hearts and thoughts go out to his loved ones.”

Mortensen was considered one of the best NFL journalists in the country after quickly rising at ESPN and becoming a regular on the network’s top shows.

Prior to working at ESPN, Mortensen wrote for The National Sports Daily, The Sporting News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

ESPN placed him on temporary leave in 2016 while he battled stage IV throat cancer, but he eventually returned to the fold and received big news later that year when he shared that his treatment led to “virtually zero” cancer detection. .

And while he was battling cancer, Mortensen was the first to report that Peyton Manning was retiring from the NFL at age 18.

More to follow.