Adam Schefter is at it again.
The ESPN senior NFL insider, who has recently drawn the ire of NFL fans for posting AI-generated images alongside his reporting on social media, for directly challenging the reporting of a colleague, and for offering a puzzling defense of outgoing Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, found himself the target of his readers once again on Thursday.
When San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was named a finalist for NFL MVP, Schefter posted what should have been a fun piece of trivia about McCaffrey’s unique season:
“49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is believed to be the first player in NFL history to be a finalist for MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year all in the same season.”
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is believed to be the first player in NFL history to be a finalist for MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year all in the same season. pic.twitter.com/d4oKjZYecn
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2026
The problem?
McCaffrey was not the first to check all three boxes. In fact, multiple NFL players have done the same thing in the past handful of years.
Users on X quickly tagged Schefter’s post with a Community Note to set the record straight. Adrian Peterson was a finalist for MVP, OPOY, and CPOY in 2012, while Joe Burrow did it just last year.
In essence, ESPN treats Schefter’s social media feeds as a one-stop shop for NFL coverage, including news, statistics, videos, and other information. The sheer amount of content posted to Schefter’s X account (likely by a team of ESPN staffers) will always leave openings for these types of mistakes.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.