Being in the sports industry was always in the mind of Jeff Kerr, but as a journalist wasn’t.

Kerr knew at an early age, when he was a basketball and football player, that he wanted sports to be his future. However, playing either sport wasn’t the route he decided to take, as he realized in grade school and throughout high school that he was a good writer.

Kerr didn’t have many opportunities in high school to improve his journalism skills; there was only one journalism class, and he couldn’t write much for the school’s monthly newspaper due to being a player on the football team. After high school, he aspired to go to Penn State due to it being a great journalism school, hoping to cover Penn State sports like football and basketball.

At Penn State, Kerr was able to maximize his opportunities while also picking up new skills in the process. After graduating, he moved his way up the ranks in the sports industry through many experiences, and this set the foundation for him to eventually become an NFL writer at CBS Sports.

Even though Kerr couldn’t get into writing as much as he would’ve liked, he began to get into the radio aspect of the major while he was there. He was trying as much as he could in his time, unsure of what specifically he wanted to do after graduating.

He gained experience by broadcasting and reporting Penn State basketball games for The Lion. While he said that he enjoyed it, it was tough for him to find a work-life balance since he cared a lot about his academics. Kerr managed to find that balance, which he was the proudest of during his time at Penn State, and was able to maximize the most out of his experience there, even if he only wrote during his writing classes.

Not only did he broadcast and report basketball games for The Lion, but he also worked for Penn State baseball and the State College Spikes, which made him realize that he had the potential for a career path in the sports industry. In the process, he picked up new skills that would later help him along the way, like on-air talent and public speaking.

“Penn State really did shape the person I am today and gave me the education I needed to succeed in this world, ” Kerr said. “I’ll always be grateful. Like I always say, ‘What was one right decision you made in life?’, Penn State. Definitely Penn State.”

Kerr graduated in the spring of 2010, but even though sports remained in his career path, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to pursue radio. He said that even though he was good at it, he didn’t think he was great enough to make it a career. For that reason, he decided to give writing another try and became a sports reporter/stringer at his local newspaper, The Reading Eagle, to write more and work his way through the newspaper ranks.

In this role, Kerr had many responsibilities, including writing feature stories on Olympic sports and road game recaps for the Reading Royals and Reading Fightin’ Phils. He was the beat writer for the Reading Rockets of the Professional Lacrosse League, had to update the Reading Eagle’s sports website, and had to proof pages, edit copies, and call coaches about game previews and recaps for the local sports scene. This allowed him to make significant growth as a writer, and after being there three years, he began to work his way up the newspaper ranks.

Kerr continued to build his craft as he became an assistant sports editor for the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in August of that year, giving him a diverse background in numerous areas of the sports industry.

As an assistant sports editor, Kerr had the opportunity to be a high school sports writer in the Ches-Mont and Central League, covering football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, and field hockey. He continued to excel as a beat writer for high school football, soccer, girls’ basketball, and lacrosse in the West Chester area. Not only did he cover high school sports, but he also covered local college sports in the West Chester area, including West Chester University football and basketball. Along with that, he had to shoot videos and post them on the newspaper’s website for all events.

After being there for three years, Kerr felt that he was ready to take the next step in his career. He applied to be a writer for the Philadelphia Eagles with 247 Sports, which is a division of CBS Sports. He went through four rounds of interviews, but in the end, he got the job. He never looked back after that as he continued to build his way up in the industry.

“I tell people this all the time, I built my craft, but sometimes you get lucky with a lot of stuff,” Kerr said. “Sometimes it’s luck and sometimes it’s just finding that one person that believes in you, and I truly believe that.”

This role involved a lot of responsibilities for Kerr. Not only did he have to cover the Eagles by writing breaking news stories, features, and columns on the team and the NFL, but he had to write breaking news stories on the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia 76ers. He had to work directly with his editor and social media team to plan and execute the content and traffic strategies for the Philadelphia market. Lastly, he was involved in the expansion of the Eagles 247 Facebook page and email distribution channels through engagement posts and marketing of the channels.

His bosses at 247 Sports took notice of the growth Kerr had and all the hard work he was putting into this role. He was in this role for three years, and then in 2019, he was promoted to become an NFL writer for CBS Sports.

In this job, Kerr has a lot of responsibilities, which he said have changed over the last couple of months. Not only has he covered significant NFL games throughout the season and the Eagles weekly, but he has also had to write a lot of features and columns on the NFL. He also writes breaking news stories and does in-depth analysis to explain the significance of it. In the process, he started to work for CBS Philadelphia as well and was presented with the opportunity that he knew he couldn’t turn down: covering the Phillies.

“Baseball is my favorite sport, but I do love covering football. I cover pretty much every Eagles game at home and some games on the road,” Kerr said. “I write a lot of feature stories for the NFL and for the Eagles, I’m writing [about] what’s going on in practice [and] day-to-day stuff to get some features there. Same with the Phillies. There’s always a story within the game story. That’s what I try to do when I’m at games, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Whenever Kerr must pitch and structure an NFL feature, he has a process where he pitches a story he wants to write about. From there, he and his editors work together in producing a headline and finding ways to enhance the story. After that, they decide when it’s a good time to publish it.

He says that he doesn’t like the idea of getting it out the fastest, and it’s more about getting out the latest, which is something he really likes about working with CBS.

An angle that Kerr likes to use whenever he’s covering the Eagles or Phillies that national outlets might overlook is stats. He said that he compiles piles of stats since it’s very quick for him to do and likes to carry them into his articles, podcast, and tweets on X. With this, he likes that people can form their own opinions on a sports-related subject and tries to make people better fans of their teams.

“That’s what I like to do. I always like to present people with the facts because they’re the hardest things to argue,” Kerr said. “That’s how I kind of deal with this social media age. I’m just presenting [the facts]. I’m trying to make you a better fan.”

Not only does Kerr have experience with journalism, but he has been able to use some skills that he gained at Penn State, like on-air talent. When he was at Penn State, he was told that he wasn’t talented enough to make it on TV, so every time he goes on-air, he uses that as motivation to perfect his craft. He reminds himself every time that he’s just having a normal conversation by repeating all the information he gathered in his report. Now, due to his role at CBS Philadelphia, he has had the opportunity to make appearances on CBS Philadelphia’s “Sunday Kickoff” show during the NFL season, provide access from the field, and updates from the Eagles and their opponent throughout the week.

When it comes to leadership for Kerr, his leadership principles that guide his approach to team building and decision-making are being authentic and being yourself. His motto for his entire life has been to treat people the way you want to be treated, and he says that it’s important to always be positive in the journalism industry. That helps him whenever he must write stories about people he doesn’t know, since his main objective is to write a relevant story and build a relationship with the interview subject.

Over his nine-year career with CBS, Kerr has achieved many accomplishments. He’s had the opportunity to interview high-profile NFL players like Patrick Mahomes, Saquon Barkley, Micah Parsons, and many more. In his first year covering the Phillies, he got the opportunity to cover them winning the NL East and their playoff run.

As he looked back at his time covering the Eagles, he is grateful that he’s been able to cover two Super Bowls, including Super Bowl 59 when the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, and he had the opportunity to be in the winning locker room. He shared he is thankful for being able to stay at the same company for nine years and plans to continue accomplishing goals in the next step of his sports journalism career.

“You never know where the future is going to take you, but you always want to try new things, and that’s how I want to do,” Kerr said. “There might be a day where I want to cover the 76ers, but I always feel like the stuff I do outside of journalism helps me become a better journalist because I’m understanding stuff more. If I could cover the Phillies every day, [I would] love to do it.”

As Kerr looked back on his journey from Penn State to CBS, he gave useful advice to students who are looking to work in the sports industry soon, especially in the journalism industry.

“Keep grinding. Take as many answers as you can [and] don’t let anyone discourage you,” Kerr said. “Just keep writing. Don’t get in this to be the best writer. Look like you are in this because you’re enjoying what you’re doing, no matter the penny. Try to be as well-rounded as you can, cover as many sports as you can do in school. Just keep trying to perfect your craft and give someone a reason to hire you.”