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Yahoo Sports NFL writer, Detroit Native Terez Paylor Dies At 37

Yahoo Sports NFL writer, Detroit Native Terez Paylor Dies At 37

Terez Paylor
Terez Paylor stands on the field at the Superdome in New Orleans. (Instagram)

Terez Paylor, a prominent pro football journalist from Detroit, died suddenly early on Tuesday at age 37, his fiancée Ebony Reed announced in a statement.

No cause of death was given in the announcement.

“Terez was an exceptional journalist whose passion for football made him a respected voice,” Reed said in the statement shared on Twitter by Yahoo Sport, where Paylor worked.

“More important, Terez was a devoted son, grandson, brother, an adoring fiancé, and a wonderful friend to so many. To know him was to love him. He will be dearly missed.”

Paylor’s journalism career started at the Kansas City Star in 2006 soon after he graduated from Howard University. He rose from a high-school sports reporter to cover the Chiefs football as beat writer in 2013 and went on to cover major league soccer.

It was however, in pro football where he made his mark. His scoops included player trades, such as the quarterback Alex Smith’s move to Washington, as well as breaking down game film in real time on Twitter during the Super Bowl.

Paylor’s final radio show was Monday night in Kansas City, recapping the Super Bowl.

“The world has lost a good man,” wrote Tahman Bradley, news anchor at WGN, on Twitter post. “He put his heart and soul into his work but saved the most important pieces of himself for Ebony, close friends and family.”

Messages poured in on Twitter from pro football fans who closely followed Paylor’s deep coverage of the sport.

“No way. No way. This is awful. Prayers for his family. My favorite football journalist,” wrote Dain Carter @dcb_ovo, a Chiefs fan.

Another Chief fan, Jeremy Ross, wrote “You felt like you could know him through his work. He put all of himself out there and what you saw you liked. What a terrible loss.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame voter was not only a darling with the fans across the U.S. and the world, but also with his sports news colleagues.

“I’ll always remember how gracious Terez was to credit me when he didn’t have to,” NFL analyst Steve Gallo tweeted.

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