Background and career
Christian Anthony Mortensen (November 7, 1951 – March 3, 2024), known to friends as "Mort", was an American journalist regarded as a pioneer working year-round reporting news of the National Football League (NFL). Mortensen was best known for his work at the cable television network ESPN, frequently contributing to the network's award-winning football shows such as NFL GameDay, Sunday NFL Countdown, and Monday Night Countdown, as well as the network's Outside the Lines series. He was also a frequent contributor to the network's SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com packages.
Chris Mortensen was born November 7, 1951, in Torrance, California, Mortensen attended North Torrance High School in Torrance, California, and El Camino College before serving two years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Mortensen started his career with the South Bay Daily Breeze in 1969. He received 18 awards in journalism. In 1978, he won the National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting. In 2016, he received the Dick McCann Award from the Pro Football Writers of America and was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame during its enshrinement ceremony in August 2016. Beginning in 1985, he covered every Super Bowl except for Super Bowl 50, which he did not cover after being diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer.
From 1983 to 1990, Mortensen worked at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, filing investigative reports and covering the Atlanta Braves (1983–85), Atlanta Falcons (1985–86) and the National Football League (NFL) (1987–89). In 1987, he was given the George Polk Award for his reporting.
He once covered the NFL for The National (1989–90), where he was one of the first writers hired by editor Frank Deford.
Mortensen first appeared on ESPN in 1991. He was the first "insider" hired by ESPN. He soon gained recognition as a pioneer of "insider" reporting of the National Football League on national television, breaking some of the biggest news, such as Peyton Manning's retirement. During his career, Mortensen reported for the network's Emmy Award–winning programs NFL GameDay, NFL Countdown, and the network's shows Outside the Lines and SportsCenter. He worked as an analyst for ESPN's coverage of the NFL draft and changed how ESPN covered the draft. Mortensen left the network in April 2023 following the 2023 NFL draft due to health problems related to throat cancer.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
