Chris Mortensen, ESPN award-winning football analyst, dies at 72

ESPN football analyst and award-winning journalist Chris Mortensen died Sunday, the network announced. He was 72.

"Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate," Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, said in a statement. "He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones."

Mortensen announced in January 2016 that he had Stage IV throat cancer.

He first appeared on ESPN in 1991 as part of "NFL GameDay" and "Outside The Lines" after years as a newspaper reporter and was a consultant for "NFL Today" on CBS. He won the George Polk Award for reporting in 1987 while on the staff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"It's a sad day for everyone in the NFL. I admired how hard Chris worked to become one of the most influential and revered reporters in sports," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a statement. "He earned our respect and that of many others with his relentless pursuit of news but also with the kindness he extended to everyone he met.

"He will be greatly missed by many of us in the league who were fortunate to know him well beyond the stories he broke each Sunday. We send our condolences to his family, his colleagues and the many people Chris touched throughout his well-lived life."

Mortensen served in the Army for two years during the Vietnam era and began his journalism career in 1969 at The Daily Breeze, a newspaper based in his hometown of Torrance, California. He would go on to work for The Sporting News and The National before he joined ESPN and was nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes during his career.

Mortensen had received the Pro Football Writers of America's Dick McCann Award in 2016.

"Mort helped set the journalism standard in the early days of ESPN. His credibility, attention to detail and reporting skills catapulted our news and information to a new level," Norby Williamson, executive editor and head of studio production for ESPN, said in a statement. "More importantly, he was a great teammate and human being. He personified care and respect for people which became the culture of ESPN."

Mortensen, who served as senior NFL analyst at ESPN, was featured on various shows on the network throughout the year and was a staple of ESPN's NFL coverage. 

Mortensen’s son, Alex, played quarterback at the University of Arkansas. He is survived by his wife Micki and son.