NFL insider Ian Rapoport has been in the business long enough to understand that things are going on behind the scenes even when he's not on the job. "News happens when it happens, right?" Rapoport said while sharing an ice cream with Claire Rogers on the Golf.com YouTube channel.

"I’m never off. Even when I’m not working, I’m always working,” the veteran analyst added during his appearance on the August 13, 2025, episode of Scoop. Yet, just because he's always on doesn't mean he doesn't make time for himself. So Ian Rapoport recalled how is love for golf crossed paths with breaking Baker Mayfield's NFL transfer news.

Posting about Baker Mayfield fromthe bunker

During his conversation with Rogers, Rapoport explained how excited he and his friend were to play some golf at the Congressional Country Club. "So, two summersago. I go with my buddy to play Congressional, and I hadn't played it ever," said the NFL analyst. However, Naker Mayfiled's trade was on the back of his mind.

"Baker Mayfield... at this point is on the Browns, and I knew he was going to get traded and I was ready to break the trade," said Rapoport. The only problem was that things weren't finalized yet. "It wasn't quite ready yet. Not everyone had been informed, and they hadn't fully agreed on thecompensation," he added. Yet, when it happened, the timing couldn't have been more fateful.

Just when Ian Rapoport was "playing really, really well," he got the text message that told him to get ready. The deal was almost done, and the news would come through at any moment. Yet, things were taking just long enough that the NFL insiders didn't want to break his flow either. So, he handed his phone to his friend with a simple instruction.

"All right, hold my phone. If you get a thumbs up, go to Twitter and hit send." I was like, 'But I'm going to hit my bunker shot,'" he revealed. Thankfully, the news came in just after Raporot hit a "terrible" bunker shot. That's when he finally broke the news, and it pumped him up so much that he hit a "mammoth drive" in his next shot.

So it's safe to say that it wasn't a regular day at the office for Ian Rapoport. Yet it's something he has learned to live with. "So, I'll go from like textmessage, tweet really fast, calm myself... then you know? Hit a gap ledge, like whateverit is," the NFL insider laughed. Although it's not something everyone can relate to, Rapoport explained that's how he has trained himself, and it's what kept him playing golf.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi