Sports reporters are expected to cover the game without taking sides. Yet as gambling money pours into the media landscape, that standard is facing increased scrutiny. Now, a former NFL player and longtime broadcaster is speaking up about it.
Mark Schlereth, a three-time Super Bowl champion who spent years at ESPN before moving to FOX Sports, recently weighed in on a growing controversy involving ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
The two are business partners in a sports betting company, and Schlereth thinks that’s a problem nobody wants to talk about.
Adam Schefter’s Business Relationship With Robert Kraft Raises Ethical Concerns
It started when a user on X asked a pointed question. “Why is nobody talking about the fact that Adam Schefter is a business partner in a gambling company with Robert Kraft? Seems like a conflict of interest or even collusion from both sides.”
Schlereth replied, “The league is knee-deep in bed with gambling sites. They’re making billions of dollars… I can’t make it all make sense.”
Tony Farmer, another voice in the sports commentary space, jumped in with his own take, pointing out just how long this issue has gone unaddressed.
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“It took 5 years, but Mark Schlereth just became the first current or former NFL player in history to comment on Adam Schefter and Robert Kraft owning a sports betting company together. You can bet on Pats players and Schefter’s reports move betting lines.”
Farmer, who recently called out Schefter for the way he spoke about the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini scandal, then challenged others to follow Schlereth’s lead. “Anyone else brave enough to follow in Mark’s footsteps and speak up on this issue?”
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Back in 2021, Schefter invested in Boom Entertainment, a company that builds sports betting apps for outlets like NBC Sports, Barstool, and the YES Network.
Kraft was right there with him as a co-investor. Given that Kraft owns an NFL team Schefter regularly covers, the arrangement raised eyebrows almost immediately.
Bloomberg reporter Timothy L. O’Brien dug into the story that same year and flagged concerns about how the investment might color Schefter’s coverage. Bloomberg noted that people in the media world were already wondering how the partnership might shape his reporting on the Patriots specifically.
Schefter has built his career on being first and being trusted. He’s got nearly 12 million followers on social media who expect straight information, not spin. If there’s even a perception that his ties to Kraft affect what he reports, that trust takes a hit.
