As the ever-expanding Jerry Jones assault on the NFL continues, the league is taking issue with some of the reporting regarding the ongoing effort to block Commissioner Roger Goodell’s new contract.
During a Thursday afternoon media briefing, NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart disputed various claims made in the aftermath of the news that Jones had hired lawyer David Boies.
As to the ESPN report that Goodell is “furious” with the effort to convert the guaranteed nature of his pay to something based more on incentives and performance, Lockhart said the claim is “just nonsense.” Added Lockhart, “That could not be further from the truth.”
Of course, this implies that the truth is Goodell is perfectly happy and content with everything that’s happening. Which means that he should have already signed the deal by now.
Lockhart also declared that “everything I’ve read” regarding the issue of guarantees and incentives is “wrong and should not be taken seriously.” Again, if that’s true, why hasn’t the deal been done?
Clearly, there’s something going on with the contract that has kept the proposed contract from becoming an actual contract. Otherwise, Jones wouldn’t be trying to build internal support to block the contract, instigating a major sponsor to criticize Goodell, sending letters that accuse Falcons owner Arthur Blank of misleading other owners regarding the deal, and/or considering the Al Davis nuclear option of suing the league and its clubs.
Also, our guess is there’s nothing wrong with the reporting of Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta, Jr. of ESPN, whose work Lockhart seemed to be targeting. For more from Wickersham regarding the issue (the interview pre-dated the league’s comments), check out the video.