ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter Enters Seemingly Obvious Conflict of Interest Through Sports Gambling Investment
As ESPN embraces sports gambling, it was only a matter of time before its talent began to chase a piece of the booming industry.
Once treated like an outcast by Walt Disney’s ESPN, the lucrative opportunities that await within gambling were immediately welcomed with the legalization of sports wagering. In a recent story detailing the growing relationship between the Mickey Mouse sports brand and gambling, Bloomberg reports Adam Schefter made a recent investment in Boom Entertainment.
As described by Timothy L. O’Brien of Bloomberg, Boom Entertainment makes sports and casino apps and is also developing “real money gaming products.” Among Schefter’s co-investors in the gambling company is New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Both parts of the story pertaining to Schefter could raise a conflict of interest considering his ties to ESPN, but the shared partnership with Kraft is the less egregious aspect. The NFL already hires its own reporters to cover teams, so an insider having a business connection with an owner, although not ideal, is not without precedent.
But an NFL insider for ESPN having an interest in a sports gambling company? That raises a striking conflict of interest. ESPN has yet to comment on the report of their top NFL insider investing in Boom Entertainment.
Schefter is the sport’s most well-known reporter among fans. The connections he built spiderwebs through the league, helping him to get scoops on player trades, signings, firings, injuries, and anything else that might be deemed inside information on which team is better set up to win or lose a game.
While that information has been valued by ESPN long before they showed an interest in gambling, it’s even more valuable thanks to sports wagering being readily accepted. The information is not being provided only to fans hoping to see their favorite team get a win, it’s helping to determine where bettors will funnel their money.
“There are few things in life more satisfying than getting a big story. It’s like a drug, you become addicted to it,” Schefter once told HBO’s Real Sports. “It’s a serious responsibility.”
Schefter’s more than eight million followers on Twitter view it as a serious responsibility as well. If Schefter has a financial interest in a gambling company, his NFL scoops are inevitably going to get questioned by football fans. That’s a bad thing for Schefter and for ESPN.
Could Schefter promote or mask information with wagering interests on his mind? Could Schefter withhold information from ESPN to sell his Sunday morning scoops on a gambling platform? And does any of this conflict with his current contract at the Worldwide Leader?
As Schefter watches ESPN let go of high-priced talent such as Maria Taylor, Kenny Mayne, Trey Wingo, and Dan Le Batard, maybe he views investment in Boom Entertainment as a long-term landing spot for his impressive career. But as long as ESPN is letting Schefter hand out inside information under their name, they probably should have asked him to avoid sports gambling interests.
