Friday, July 03, 2026

Missouri Attorney General investigating ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller


ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Matt Miller, a Webb City resident, is being investigated by the Missouri Attorney General's office, according to a report on the website Awful Announcing. 

The website said the attorney general's office said it has "an open investigation into this issue."

The investigation was confirmed by USA Today, which received the following statement from the attorney general's office:

 

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office encourages consumers who believe they have been misled to contact us. Attorney General (Catherine) Hanaway takes consumer protection very seriously, and we will work diligently to uncover the facts.

Much of the attention that has been centered on Miller, 42, came after a June 17 crash on MO 96 a mile and a half west of Oronogo that occurred when the 2023 Ford Bronco Miller was driving crossed the center line was struck by a 2024 International driven by a 28-year-old Springfield man.







Miller was flown to Mercy Joplin where he was treated for numerous fractures and had to have an arm amputated.

After the accident and a subsequent Go Fund Me page was established for Miller's expenses, Awful Announcing, Reddit and other social media sites were bombarded with complaints about fantasy sports leagues and charities operated by Miller.

From Awful Announcing:

Much of the scrutiny of Miller centers on the framing of these leagues and other ventures as being tied to his charitable efforts. Miller has said his 417 Foundation started in 2013, inspired by his mother’s work with low-income preschoolers in Joplin. 

Public incorporation records instead show the foundation wasn’t formally established in Missouri until December 2018, and it received a cease-and-desist notice about a year later. 

The foundation has never filed a Form 990 with the IRS, its website is no longer active, and its social media account stopped posting in 2021, even though Miller continued advertising 417 Foundation fantasy leagues as recently as May 2022. In recent years, Miller has described his charitable efforts as being tied to a new nonprofit.

Miller's Go Fund Me page has raised $51,247 of its $55,000 goal at this writing with 435 donations. When the Turner Report first write about the page June 25, the goal was $30,000.

Miller, a Joplin native and Missouri Southern State University graduate, signed his most recent contract with ESPN in March 2025. The network released this statement at the time:

ESPN has re-signed NFL draft analyst Matt Miller, ensuring he remains a key part of ESPN’s year-round NFL draft coverage, including an integral part of ESPN’s NFL draft day three presentation, for the coming years.








Miller’s exceptional knowledge and expertise on all aspects of the NFL draft will continue to provide fans with informative information year-round on ESPN.com and ESPN+, specifically in the form of prospect and position rankings, multiple mock drafts and the latest draft intel from scouts around the league. As he has done for the past four years since joining ESPN, Miller will appear across SportsCenter, Get Up, NFL Live, mock draft specials and on ESPN+ exclusive specials during NFL draft season.

For the third year in a row, Miller will have a seat at the desk on day three of the 2025 NFL draft (Sat., April 26, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC), joining Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, Field Yates and Rece Davis, for the entirety of ESPN’s coverage of the final day of the NFL draft (rounds 4-7). Further details on ESPN’s coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft will become available in late March on ESPN Press Room.

Before joining ESPN in February 2021, Miller served as the lead NFL draft analyst and insider at Bleacher Report from 2010-21, where he helped launch The Draft Scout. Prior to Bleacher Report, Miller worked as Director of Scouting for New Era Scouting from 2006-10 and a coach and recruiting coordinator for the CFL’s Joplin Crusaders (2006-08).

According to Awful Announcing, ESPN isn't answering any questions about Miller's accident, the Go Fund Me page or his future with the network.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Matt’s having a bad month. The accusations about the fantasy leagues and scouting came out a couple of weeks before the accident. Then he crashes and that story got the Streisand effect to where the MO AG smells a way to get her name in the news.

The info they’ve put forward is damning with the charity. The fantasy and scouting class stuff is pretty unimportant next to running a fake charity with his mom. His brother cut off his Twitter account, he ran a lot of the fantasy stuff with him. Gotta hand it to the guy he’s got a lot going on. Hope he’s physically alright.

Anonymous said...

The allegations are that the fantasy leagues were supposed to benefit the charity, which appears to not be a charity, so his whole fantasy draft thing possibly might be tainted by his charity if it's fake.

People are also starting to ask if any of the money supposedly intended for the so called charity went into a certain upscale cocktail lounge in Joplin's downtown art district.

One cough. Two coughs. Two coughs.