# Seth Wickersham

Seth Wickersham is an American sports journalist for ESPN and ESPN The Magazine.
Wickersham is native of Anchorage, Alaska and attended Robert Service High School. He has written for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine since graduating from the University of Missouri in 2000. His work primarily covers the National Football League (NFL) and has been featured on Outside the Lines, SportsCenter, NFL Live, The Ryen Russillo Show, and E:60. In his 18 years at ESPN, he has profiled the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Bill Belichick, John Elway, Odell Beckham, Jr., Bill Walsh, Jim Harbaugh, and Y.A. Tittle, among others, and he has written deep dives into strained relationships within the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Along with senior writer Don Van Natta, Wickersham has written critically acclaimed investigations on the NFL's handling of the Spygate and Deflategate cheating controversies, the Rams and Raiders franchise relocations, the behind-closed-doors meetings on the inequality protests, and the efforts by Jerry Jones to block Roger Goodell’s contract extension.
In a 2018 profile, Wickersham reported that Patrick Mahomes loves ketchup and puts it on steak. Shortly after, Mahomes signed an endorsement with Hunt's Tomatoes & Ketchup.
An October 2022 story by Wickersham, Tisha Thompson, and Don Van Natta Jr. is widely credited with triggering the push for former Commanders owner Dan Snyder to sell the franchise.
A December 2022 story by Wickersham detailed Andrew Luck’s decision to retire from the NFL, the first time Luck had spoken about it.
Wickersham has also broken many news stories, including on tension among NFL owners over a $790 billion settlement between Stan Kroenke, the league, and St. Louis, and the unique restrictions on Tom Brady as a broadcaster.
Outside of the NFL, Wickersham has written about Alex Honnold, Gregg Popovich, race horse euthanasia, the plight of a fired college basketball coach, suicidal Kenyan runners in Alaska, Bangkok ping-pong championships, and NCAA compliance officers. He also once interviewed legendary Queen guitarist Brian May about “We Will Rock You,” the most-played stadium anthem ever.
In 2018, Wickersham was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting. His stories have been anthologized in the Best American Magazine Writing, the Best American Sports Writing, The Year's Best Sports Writing Next Wave: America's New Generation of Great Literary Journalists, and in Words Matter: Writing to Make a Difference. He has won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the Pro Football Writers Association. He and Van Natta were named The Big Lead's Sportswriter of the Year in 2023.
In the fall of 2021, Wickersham’s book It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness was released. It was a New York Times bestseller and was named Nonfiction Book of the Year by Sports Illustrated and the National Sports Media Association.
Wickersham's second book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, will be published on September 9, 2025. A collection of his work will follow.
He is cousins with comic and actor Nick Swardson, and Metropolitan Opera musician Jason Haaheim.
He is credited as playing himself in the 2014 movie Draft Day, though the scene was cut before it was shot.