NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has been one of the most well respected and trusted NFL media members for quite some time. But according to Rapoport, anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps will need to put in the time and effort to gain the trust that it took him years to gain amongst both players and NFL organizations.
Rapoport is not only one of the most accurate NFL insiders, but also one of the most timely. And during an appearance on the Breaking In podcast, hosted by Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Rapoport explained how it took him around eight years at NFL Network until he believes he was truly at the “forefront” of breaking national NFL news.
“So, I got hired at NFL Network to be our Dallas correspondent, with the thought that eventually I would be our insider,” said Rapoport. “And so, for two years, I was on the road for Thursday Night Football. Wednesday to Friday, walking every sideline, meeting people, introducing myself to coaches and GMs and coordinators, and some players and agents who happened to be there. And you know, I was on the road Wednesday to Friday, and then I was in LA Saturday and Sunday for Gameday Morning. So I had two young kids that I basically didn’t see for two years until after the season.
“So after two years, I was like, alright, I’ve gotten a lot of numbers. I’ve met a lot of people. Now it’s time to really start breaking some news. Except it probably took another three years, or maybe even four years, to really get people to trust you enough to tell you the news before it happened. So I would say it was realistically like a six-year stretch of meeting everyone and working the relationships to even think about breaking news. And then probably another two years after that to really be at the forefront.”
Rapoport would then go on to warn those attempting to shortcut this relationship-building period, saying that taking the time to gain trust is an essential factor that will never go away.
“You know, you will see people attempt to shortcut it,” added Rapoport. “And you can have success in different ways. But the shortcut does not work. Because it’s all about relationships and it’s not going to be perfect. And you really have to rely on the relationships you built when things don’t go great. That was a good process, it just took a very very long time to get there.”
Very few are likely willing to put in the time and have the mental fortitude required that it truly takes to be someone like Ian Rapoport, who is rivaled by only a select few like ESPN’s Adam Schefter amongst other prominent NFL insiders that are first to the most pressing stories in all of football.
So, unless we see a situation where Rapoport simply grows out of the incredibly busy world of being an NFL insider, much like we saw from former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, don’t expect for Rapoport to slow down in his responsibilities covering the league anytime soon.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.