While Shams Charania of The Athletic/Stadium/FanDuel is mostly known for breaking NBA news, he sometimes delves into breaking news in other sports. And he’s particularly done that with the NFL a few times, and has now done so again.
In 2020, Charania landed the scoop that the Miami Dolphins were going to select Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall (plus tweeted news on a couple of other picks later in the first round). And this April, he tweeted several NFL draft picks (including the Carolina Panthers taking Bryce Young No. 1 overall) before they were officially made (and got the usual criticism for “spoiling” the made-for-TV version of the draft). And on Tuesday, Charania broke the news of the Dallas Cowboys signing Martavis Bryant, shortly after they worked him out following the NFL lifting his five-year suspension for multiple violations of the league substance abuse policy:
Breaking news in the NFL: The Dallas Cowboys are signing newly-reinstated wide receiver Martavis Bryant to a contract, according to sources. Bryant, who last played for the Raiders in 2018, had 17 touchdowns and 2,183 receiving yards in 44 career games. pic.twitter.com/vWafe37r3J
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 7, 2023
How does Charania get this news? Well, we certainly don’t know his sources definitively from the outside, but many NFL players are represented by agents who also represent basketball players. That includes Bryant’s agent James Peterson, who represents a number of NFL players and also some NBA free agent (including Paul Millsap), G League, and international basketball players. But there also could be other sources who would know about this move, would be in contact with Charania on other matters, and might want to pass this along to him.
At any rate, it’s certainly notable to see Charania tweeting some NFL news. And as he told Shlomo Sprung for an AA piece in 2020 around that NFL draft newsbreaking, if he gets news, he’s going to tweet it. “It came across my phone and I couldn’t help myself, I fell back to my instincts. …You gotta do your job.” So for those looking to get NFL news out through someone other than one of the typical insiders from that league, Charania may be available.
[Shams Charania on Twitter]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.