Longtime NFL reporter John Clayton has passed away at the age of 67 after a brief illness.
\"Long before he became an ESPN icon, John might have been the best news-breaking team beat reporter of his generation, the type who could sit on a story for months and then break it before others had any clue what was going on,\'\' said The Athletic\'s Mike Sando, a longtime friend of Clayton\'s. \"He was that good. On a personal level, John was incredibly generous to me when I succeeded him as the Seahawks beat reporter at the Tacoma News Tribune many years ago. I owe so much to John and will miss him terribly.\'\'
Clayton spent over a decade at the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune before a more than 20-year run at ESPN. Clayton also wrote for several outlets, including the Washington Post, in recent years after his long stint at ESPN, and had been the sideline reporter for the Seahawks radio network for five seasons.