Courtesy New York Newsday

(June 10, 2009) ESPN will announce Wednesday that Bellmore JFK's own Adam Schefter will join the network in mid-August - as soon as his contract with the NFL Network expires. His first day likely will be Aug. 17, when the Panthers face the Giants in a preseason game.

Schefter had been with the NFL Network since 2004 but has been off the air for several months after negotiations for a new contract went sour.

"I had a great time there and appreciate everything they did and I wish them the best in the future," he said by phone Tuesday. But . . .

"ESPN treated me the way I thought and hoped the NFL Network would - and I don't mean financially."

Schefter would not elaborate beyond that on his departure from the NFL Network, where he was among the biggest names in a smaller, less visible operation than ESPN's.

Speaking of which, how is Schefter, 42, going to get a word in edgewise as part of a crowded group of NFL reporters that includes Chris Mortensen, John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Ed Werder and Sal Paolantonio?

Click below for his response to that question.

"It's a little like the New York Yankees," Schefter said. "Just because they have a team full of people who are great players, that doesn't stop them from signing free agents."

Schefter is expected to have a presence on various ESPN platforms, including the Sunday and Monday NFL studio shows. "My role is still being defined," he said.

He added there is room for all of the network's reporters and analysts.

"They have so many vehicles for all of this, if I come up with news stories the way I hope to, they'll have an outlet for them," he said.

By moving from the NFL Network to ESPN, Schefter's visibility will skyrocket, especially on Long Island, where Cablevision does not carry the NFL's channel. (Schefter plans to live on Long Island and commute to Bristol when needed in the studio.)

"Visibility is not something that ever drove me," he said. "It's not something I ever paid attention to."

The NFL Network recently replaced Schefter with Jason La Canfora, formerly the Redskins beat reporter for the Washington Post.