Chris Mortensen

Chris Mortensen, an award-winning journalist who reported on the NFL for ESPN for more than three decades, died Sunday morning at the age of 72, his family announced.

Mortensen joined ESPN in 1991 and was a regular contributor to the network’s NFL shows and “SportsCenter.” He was a regular news breaker for ESPN, including the news in 2016 that quarterback Peyton Manning was retiring from the NFL.

In 2016, he received the Pro Football Writers of America’s Dick McCann Award and was honored during the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s enshrinement ceremony in August that year.

Mortensen, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer in January 2016, stepped away from his role at ESPN last year “to focus on my health, family and faith,” he said.