Adam Schefter Explains Getting Duped By Fake Olivier Vernon Signing Tweet Last Year
Back in March 2016, ESPN's Adam Schefter appeared on NFL Live to discuss the breaking news of Olivier Vernon signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a four-year deal worth $75.5 million. The only problem was that the deal never actually happened.
Schefter and many others fell for a fake tweet by Twitter user @UncleChaps, who changed his Twitter profile to look like Jay Glazer's. NFL Live ran with the report and Schefter started analyzing the fake deal. Vernon went on to sign an $85 million deal with the New York Giants.
Schefter apologized on the air shortly after the segment ran.
On Monday, Schefter laughed and told his side of how that happened in an episode of Pardon My Take.
"On that day, in that week, that's like Christmas week to kids. That's like draft week to Kiper and McShay," Schefter said.
"You're in your own world and you're trying to track all the free agent news that's going on," he added. "So I'm sitting at the desk in the middle of NFL Live and they say to me, 'We're going to come to you on Olivier Vernon.' I said, 'OK. Fine. You can come to me on Olivier Vernon. You can come to me on Alshon Jeffery. Whatever I can share with you, I certainly will.' They come to me and it says on the screen 'Olivier Vernon signs with the Jaguars.' Now, you're looking at that and you're first reaction is, 'Goddamn. I got beat on a story.' And you got beat on a story while you're being put on TV to see your reaction for the first time. There's nothing worse than that."
"So they come through, 'Adam, what do you know about this?' The truth of the matter is I don't know a lot about it because I've been trying to track whether he's going to the Giants or the Jaguars or someone else. Now you're telling me that it's out there that he's signed withe the Jaguars. And I go, 'Well, he was talking to Jacksonville and apparently he's made his decision.' Somehow, in a time when everyone's being hasty...Chaps dunked on us."
In his interview with PMT, Schefter also noted that he now takes his phone with him while working out after missing text messages alerting him of the Rams trading for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
