Zak Keefer

Mike Evans is one 1,000-yard season away from breaking Jerry Rice's all-time record, but his consistent excellence was born out of agony.

Evans' father's murder drove him to the NFL. Vincent Jackson helped him stay there.

http://dlvr.it/TN52V0

His father's murder drove Mike Evans to the NFL, a 'big brother' taught him to stay there

I went to Tampa to find out what made Mike Evans one of the baddest dudes in football.

Turned out to be one of the realest interviews I've had in years.

And it started with the night his uncle brutally murdered his father outside the home he was sleeping in:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

Jayden Daniels doesn't seek the spotlight; it's coming for him anyway

After it was over — after he'd authored the most successful season from a rookie QB in NFL history — he walled off the world for a few days.

When the Super Bowl was on, he turned it off.

"Couldn't watch," he says.

Inside Jayden Daniels' road to Year 2: www.nytimes.com/athletic/656...

The story behind the story 👇🏻
www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...

Must-read here from Zak on a topic that will resonate with Bears fans

The voices in the story did not hold back:

➡️ Peyton Manning
➡️ Troy Aikman
➡️ Alex Smith
➡️ Andrew Luck
➡️ Bruce Arians
➡️ Chris Ballard
➡️ Matt Hasselbeck
➡️ Matt Ryan
... and more

The bust files: How NFL teams break young quarterbacks Finding a franchise quarterback remains job No. 1 for anyone in charge of an NFL roster, so why do they keep screwing it up?

"Organizations fail young QBs before young QBs fail organizations."

What led Kevin O'Connell to say this?

And why do so many around the NFL agree?

I spent 4 months asking Hall of Famers, No. 1 picks, busts, coaches + execs why teams keep breaking young QBs:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...

Pain took football away from Andrew Luck; what brought him back to Stanford? Luck walked out on one locker room that needed him. He wasn't ready to walk away from another.

From @theathletic.com: “I fell out of love,” Andrew Luck says, reducing one of the most shocking retirements in NFL history into five tidy words. Then, the game that was once brutally beaten out of him slowly began to pull him back in.

Andrew Luck knew he made the right decision by leaving the NFL.

He just hated what he left behind.

Read more: www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

Pain took football away from Andrew Luck.

“I fell out of love,” he says, reducing one of the most shocking retirements in NFL history into five tidy words.

And then? Something happened that he didn’t see coming.

http://dlvr.it/TMY2n9

Pain took football away from Andrew Luck; what brought him back to Stanford? Luck walked out on one locker room that needed him. He wasn't ready to walk away from another.

"I was gonna play until I was 40 or 45," Andrew Luck tells me.

To which I said, "Wait a minute, what?"

After it was over, he found himself in a fog. "I can't be 30 years old and retired. This is ridiculous."

Then something pulled him out of it:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

Aaron Donald was one of the NFL's toughest players. A stalker left him living in fear

"I accidentally married Aaron Donald."

"You can tell people I am delusional. I don't care ..."

This story isn't just creepy, it's terrifying. Great reporting from @nathanfenno.bsky.social on the stalker who left a future Hall of Famer in fear

www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

A make-or-break season for Anthony Richardson? That's not how the Colts see it

New from me: a look inside the Colts' QB battle ⤵️

A reckoning at the top — about the mistakes they've already made with Anthony Richardson — and a surprising approach if 2025 doesn't go to plan:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/652...

Raising Arch: How Cooper and Ellen prepared Texas’ QB for the Manning family spotlight Cooper and Ellen Manning spoke to The Athletic about their rising star son, who prepared for an intense spotlight by avoiding it.

"No cellphones until middle school. Even then, they couldn't be used at dinner. And until 11th grade, they had to charge their phones at night in their parents' room."

How do you raise a star QB in the social media age? Fascinating from
@brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/644...

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs offense look for answers as Super Bowl sting lingers

From Kansas City:

The Chiefs passed out the rings no one wanted this week. There was no ceremony, no real celebration.

"A reminder," Patrick Mahomes called them.

All they've thought about since February is making it back: www.nytimes.com/athletic/643...

Pacers have the momentum entering Game 7, and 'it’s all about that one game'

Forget the pundits.
Forget the ratings.
Forget all the Thunder-in-five picks.

The Pacers are one win from a title, with all the momentum in the world and the mettle to win a Game 7 on the road.

Column from an ear-splitting Game 6: www.nytimes.com/athletic/643...

Travis Kelce is 'only interested in Super Bowl rings.' Next up? The chase for No. 4

From Kansas City, for @theathletic.bsky.social:

"I feel like I failed my guys," Travis Kelce said Wednesday, going back to the pain of Super Bowl LIX.

The Chiefs' tight end dishes on why he came back, dropping weight and if 2025 is his Last Dance: www.nytimes.com/athletic/643...

Correct -- but not a top 10-pick by the Pacers (as the story noted)

On the doorstep of NBA Finals control, the Pacers let Game 4 slip away Make no mistake: If Indiana goes on to drop this series, Friday's game will be the cause. The Pacers simply found so many ways to lose.

It was right there for the Pacers Friday night — a win that could’ve changed this franchise forever.

Then the team that’s feasted in crunch time throughout the playoffs crumbled.

Now, it gets really hard.

Column from Game 4: www.nytimes.com/athletic/642...

Pacers are showing who they really are — and that they’re for real Game 3 revealed what the Pacers look like at their best. Dogged. Determined. And dominant when it matters most.

They don't pay the luxury tax. Their star is a lightning rod for criticism. They're stubborn about their style. They don't give a crap who gets credit.

That is who the Pacers are.

Now they're 2 wins from a title.

Column from Game 3: www.nytimes.com/athletic/642...

A few years ago, I asked Jim Irsay about passing down the Colts to his daughters.

"I want them to be who they are. They've known this league since they were in their cribs. They're intelligent. They're good listeners. They're motivated. It's truly a blessing, and rare that it works out this well."

Jim Irsay thought about this a lot and planned for it. He wanted all 3 daughters to have equal share in ownership — and most importantly, for the team to stay in the family.

Carlie Irsay-Gordon has been a heavily involved exec for several years; was expected she took the helm.

Details of the Colts ownership transition, per the team:

Carlie Irsay-Gordon becomes owner + CEO. Essentially, she's the boss.

Casey Foyt becomes owner + executive VP.

Kalen Jackson becomes owner, chief brand officer and president of the Colts Foundation.

Two days, one city, two championship events separated by just seven miles and juxtaposed in scope and spirit.

The Women’s College World Series. The NBA Finals. All happening in Oklahoma City.

http://dlvr.it/TLCfJ0

Between Pacers' NBA Finals run and Caitlin Clark mania, Indiana is having a basketball moment

A proud basketball state is having a moment.

In Indiana, hoops are as hot as ever.

New at @theathletic.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/athletic/640...

How a phone call from a college football legend reset Sean McVay’s coaching career Chris Petersen didn't know Sean McVay, but when he saw the young coach struggling in ways that seemed familiar, he had to reach out.

Right after the highest peak of his NFL life, Sean McVay was at a personal low.

He didn’t know himself.

But Chris Petersen saw him. And his first instinct was to help.

How one small, kind act from a stranger led to a deep bond and reset McVay’s career: www.nytimes.com/athletic/639...

Pablo Torre on how Sports Illustrated fact-checking job informed his career: 'It was like taking a MRI to art' While Pablo Torre's currently known for a video show, his fact-checking days at Sports Illustrated were key to him getting there.

Pablo Torre shared how his time as a Sports Illustrated fact checker has influenced his career.

Since its launch 19 months ago, “Pablo Torre Finds Out” has leaned into “adversarial journalism.”

No story has generated more traction than Torre's reporting on Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson.

More on how it catapulted PTFO into the mainstream: http://dlvr.it/TL4NLw

Jordon Hudson, Kash Patel and MJ’s fax machine: Pablo Torre’s ‘terminal content brain’ battles the algorithm Torre had to leave ESPN to carve out a spot in the media landscape that fits him, mixing the silly — even the salacious — with the smart.

From @theathletic.bsky.social: After leaving ESPN, Pablo Torre is carving out a spot in the sports media landscape. He has his own show and a recurring seat on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” But none of it happens if Torre doesn’t bomb the LSAT his senior year of college.

Pablo Torre had to leave ESPN to carve out a spot in the media landscape that fits him, mixing the silly — even the salacious — with the smart.

Here's how the journalist has been able to cut through the noise with his own show, “Pablo Torre Finds Out”: http://dlvr.it/TL47fH