Chris Mortensen is a journalist and sports writer who won American awards who mostly work for ESPN. He works for ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown, Countdown Monday night, Sportscenter, ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com and has been active since the early 1990s. Read on to learn more about life, work, and personal details.
Early life and biography
Chris Mortensen was born in Torrance, California, USA, on November 7, 1951. Regarding his education, he attended the North Torrance High School at Torrance, California, after that he registered with El Camino College. During the Vietnam War, he served two years in the US Army.
Journalism career
Mortensen himself revealed that his journalist’s career began when he realized that he could no longer compete in football, basketball or baseball, past his middle school years. To stay close to sports because it was his desire, he changed his mind about being a teacher and coach and decided to pursue a career as a competitive sports journalist. He began his career with the Daily Breeze newspaper in his hometown of Torrance, California, throughout 1969. Since then, thanks to his extraordinary work in this industry, he has won 18 awards in journalism.
In 1978, he won the National Headliner Award to report investigations in all categories. In 1987, he won the George Polk award for his reporting work. Because he was a man of many talents, in 1999, he made a documentary titled “The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling”. Perhaps the most known story he had involved was the controversy of Deflegate in 2015, when 11 of the 12 football used in the AFC championship between New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts were lighter with 2 pounds per square inch, which means they were discussed. However, only 1 out of 22 tests showing the ball lighter.
Chris Mortensen also wrote a book in 1991, entitled “Playing for Keeps: How a person maintains the masses from drowning his hooks to Pro Football”, a book that deals with mafia ties in higher education.
Personal life
Mortensen has a son, Alex, who is a free quarterback agent in the National Football League. He played for Tennessee Titans, but he was cut from the team in 2009.
On January 15, 2016, Mortensen reported through an official ESPN statement that he had stage 4. Stadium throat cancer. He took medical leave from his regular work with cable networks to find care and focus on his health.
Chris Mortensen Net Worth 2022
From his three decades in sports journalism, Chris Mortensen managed to get a net worth of around $6 million.