I made a conscious pledge earlier this year to stop complaining about Jordan Schultz, an NFL “insider” who just so happens to be the son of the Starbucks baron.
I have—for a number of years now—been bothered by the way he’s gained a foothold in journalism, a craft I still occasionally practice and one I hold in extremely high regard.
It’s not just that Jordan Schultz has taken information from other media sources and passed it off as his own.
It’s not just the way he sucks up to sources in hopes of being told first about an NFL contract signing.
It’s that other people increasingly cite him as a reputable journalist though he flouts basic tenets of objectivity and neutrality. So I did what everyone does these days, which is to make exceptionally catty comments about it on X, where he (understandably) blocked me.
I decided I should grow up. If the son of one of the most famous businessmen in our country really wanted to put years of effort into cosplaying as a reporter, who was I to begrudge him any attention he gained?
I almost made it a whole month.
And then the Washington Post published a feature about Jordan Schultz. It went up on Tuesday. Two people texted me about it before lunch. At first, I didn’t want to read something I knew would make me angry. Then I saw one of the Post’s editors promoting the story on Twitter as a “rip-roaring, fascinating look at a guy who’s trying to upend the NFL insider game — and doesn’t really care what traditional journalism ethics say.”
Ugh. I’ll now pause to address the elephant in the room.
Given my ongoing grudge over the forcible relocation of the Seattle Sonics, you might suspect my objections to Jordan Schultz’s media “career” is at least partly the result of his father’s decision to sell that franchise. To be completely honest, it probably doesn’t help.
But I recognize that it would be wrong to hold that against Jordan, who went to high school in Seattle and now lives on the East Coast.
My issue with Jordan Schultz isn’t personal. It’s professional. On Wednesday, I sat down and read the Washington Post story. I expected to be mad. Instead, I wound up feeling more obsolete than I ever have.
Here was Jordan Schultz saying that yes, he had sent $700 Starbucks coffee machines to an unspecified number of NFL executives. He described letting players and GMs review the phrasing of his social-media reports. He let running back Bijan Robinson stay at his multi-story apartment in Manhattan, and on another occasion, Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain joined him on his family’s boat in Central America.
“If I’m going on a dope vacation and invite Pat,” Schultz said, according to the Washington Post, “he comes for a few days, people can judge and say that’s not how they would do things. I just know that, for me, it’s really important to have these friendships.”
At first, I felt at a disadvantage given my family’s lack of a boat.
Then, I clearly saw how Schultz’s decision to work in media had provided him an entry point for hobnobbing with millionaire athletes as he’s worked for places like Yahoo!, Bleacher Report and (most recently) FOX.
Ultimately, though, I arrived at the uncomfortable realization of how few people care about what I would consider to be blatant ethical concerns.
FOX host Colin Cowherd is quoted in the story saying, “He’s a good-looking guy with big energy.”
“He wants to blaze his own trail,” said Keyshawn Johnson, longtime NFL receiver who now works in media.
“Jordan really pours himself into the person,” said NBA forward Draymond Green, whom Schultz has hosted a podcast with. “A lot of his news comes from players. I think that’s stellar.”
Well, I tend to think that being a mouthpiece for players is not all that different from being a mouthpiece for teams or for a league. You’re still carrying water for rich people or at the very least letting them leave their fingerprints all over your words.
However, I’m also not sure how much of this is materially different from how other sports-media insiders such as ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Shams Charania operate.
The insider game is all about getting told something before everyone else. It depends on a source doing you a favor. How you get these sources to grant you that favor is the dark art of what is one of the most visible elements of sports media. Maybe it’s the phrasing that’s employed. Perhaps it’s another story that gets ignored. Maybe it’s the flattery that’s deployed. A family boat probably doesn’t hurt, and Schultz, perhaps to his credit, seems less concerned about hiding how this type of sausage is actually made.
The Washington Post’s story starts with Schultz reflecting on a night from earlier this year when he was sitting in a Miami Beach steakhouse along with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, two Bengals receivers whose contract extensions were being finalized. Once the deals were done, he let the players, specifically Higgins, review the phrasing of his social-media post before publishing it.
“And I was so nervous,” Schultz told the Washington Post, “because ... what if he’s like, ‘No, I’m not into that’?”
There was no need for him to fret.
“He’s like, ‘That’s smooth,’ “ Schultz recalled.
I’ll give Schultz credit, he was first on that story. He’s also practicing the art of publicity, though. I hope people can still differentiate that from actual journalism.
Danny O’Neil was born in Oregon, the son of a logger, but had the good sense to attend college in Washington. He’s covered Seattle sports for 20 years, writing for two newspapers, one glossy magazine and hosting a daily radio show for eight years on KIRO 710 AM. You can subscribe to his free newsletter and find his other work at dannyoneil.com.