Perspective: John Clayton, fueled by passion for football and people, was more than stats and scoops
“I can’t help but think that [John] is totally [angry] that he wasn’t the one who broke the story of his passing. RIP Big Guy!” one reporter-friend wrote, respectfully, as someone who had been scooped for decades by the indefatigable Clayton.
Clayton told me over the years that several teams offered nice contracts for him to become their “cap guy,” but they didn’t understand that the rush for Clayton was in breaking stories and digging for news nuggets. And NFL executive Bill Polian told me in an interview that he often learned things about the league from Clayton rather than the other way around. “This is something rare in the media business,” Polian said, that Clayton “understands nuances and can weigh all sides of a question.”