NFL fans might not care which insider they get their information from, but Ian Rapoport believes there’s value in being first.
When breaking news hits the NFL, you can expect Rapoport, Adam Schefter, Dianna Russini, Jordan Schultz and other insiders to post similarly worded information on social media within minutes or even seconds of each other. There isn’t a win-loss record or measurable statistics keeping track of who had every piece of news first. But to the people breaking the news, it still matters.
Rapoport was the featured guest on Andrew Marchand’s podcast this week. And near the end of the interview, Marchand asked Rapoport to go inside the insider game, noting the frequency that we see similarly worded breaking news announcements. According to Rapoport, he gets less than half of his scoops from agents. But even as scoops come from a variety of sources, those sources are sometimes sourcing multiple insiders.
“Some people will copy and paste (from their source) because you want to be first. I don’t believe that anyone’s copying anyone else,” Rapoport said on Marchand Sports Media. “I think they probably just got the same text from the same source. It just fired as quickly as possible. I do see the value in it. Now I’m biased. It’s my job, but I do see the value in it because if you’re first, it gets more clicks. It gets credited more. It gives your outlet more visibility…that’s publicity.
“I think it helps you. It helps the company. Even if you’re just 30 seconds before, you’re probably the guy that gets credit. I do see the sort of PR value in that. And I would also say – for the fans – you want it as right as possible and as quickly as possible and so, you should want it out from your guy as soon as you can get it.”
There is a reason why Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport have built themselves up into the two most must-follow insiders in the NFL. So even if there isn’t value on being first on every piece of news, there certainly is value in being known as the best at your craft, as Schefter and Rapoport are widely recognized.
But the life of an insider is a tireless grind. And when you consider the amount of time these insiders spend on building relationships or being married to their phone all in an effort to be first on a piece of news by 30 seconds, it’s hard not to wonder whether the payoff is worth it.