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Who was Terez Paylor? NFL family pays tribute to sports journalist after tragic death: 'One of America's best'

The news of Terez Paylor's passing was shared by his fiancée and longtime girlfriend Ebony Reed

Terez Paylor, a former award-winning sports journalist working with the Kansas City Chiefs team in NFL, passed away on Tuesday, February 9. He was 37 at the time of his untimely demise. He was also one among the 48 voters at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a member of the prestigious guild of Pro Football Writers of America and the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Who was Terez Paylor?

Born and raised in Detroit, Paylor pursued a degree in print journalism from Howard University. In 2006, soon after graduation, he started working with The Star as a sports writer. During the initial years of his career, till 2012, Paylor was assigned to cover high school sports and the Kansas City Brigade at the Arena Football League. 

With his dedication and hard work, he soon proceeded on to cover Major League Soccer with Sporting Kansas City club. In a brief stint of 19 months, he had stayed in Columbia, Missouri to cover the University of Missouri's athletics program. 

The highlight of his career came in 2011 and 2012. In both years, he was involved with the top 10 award-winning projects for The Star publication, rewarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors organization. His precise acumen and keen brilliance as a sports reporter soon prompted The Star to promote Paylor with exclusive coverage right of the Kansas City Chiefs team.

Paylor soon emerged as a national talent to reckon with his meticulous and flawless coverage of Kansas City's NFL team. He was the person behind several high-profile breaking stories about the Chiefs, including the trade of quarterback Alex Smith to Washington in 2018. 

Regular readers of The Star and sports lovers eagerly waited for his column which contained beautifully analyzed details about the games that no other magazines carried. Later, in 2018, he left The Star and joined Yahoo Sports. There also he continued his stint in breaking NFL News about the KC team. In fact, he was the journalist behind the breaking of news like the Chief's acquisition of defensive end Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks in 2019. 

NFL family heartbroken

The news of Terez Paylor's passing was shared by his fiancée Ebony Reed with Yahoo Sports. "Terez was an exceptional journalist whose passion for football made him a respected voice. His legacy will leave an enduring impact on sports journalism, the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans," read an excerpt from her statement. 

"Terez's genius had nothing to do with turning a phrase... He knew football and the people who loved it. He built and executed a plan that quickly made him one of America's best football beat writers — an enormously competitive field," read an excerpt from his obituary by Kansas City Star columnist Sam Mellinger. He posted an emotional tweet saying, "Have spent the day crying and laughing and staring blankly. Now I’d like to tell you why I loved Terez Paylor so much.."

"Not Terez.....This just can’t be true. Praying for his family. What a great dude man. Always easy to talk and laugh with," tweeted NFL linebacker Jay March.

Candace Buckner, sports journalist at The Washington Post, shared a long tribute on Twitter, captioned "For my friend. I love you Terez."

Kansas City Chiefs also posted an official tribute statement.

"The Hall of Fame Family extends thoughts and prayers to the family of Terez Paylor, a respected member of our Selection Committee," tweeted Pro Football Hall of Fame.