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NFL: ESPN report on Goodell is “nonsense”

Minnesota Vikings v Pittsburgh Steelers

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 17: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell shares a laugh with former Pittsburgh Steelers quaterback Charlie Batch before the game between the Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings at Heinz Field on September 17, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

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ESPN’s latest Sunday Splash report regarding Commissioner Roger Goodell has Goodell wanting $50 million per year plus the use of a private jet for life. The NFL disputes this story. Aggressively.

“The only element of the ESPN report that is true is that there is a regularly scheduled Compensation Committee conference call on Monday,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said in a statement. “There is no basis in fact for any of the other reporting. Those trying to peddle that nonsense are profoundly misinformed or deliberately trying to mislead.”

Goodell’s request reportedly was reduced to writing, so it should be easy to confirm or to debunk the report.

Regardless, the report shows that there’s an effort among some owners to leak details regarding Goodell’s demands that will make him look bad. ESPN surely is reporting what it’s hearing; the bigger problem for the league is that people who are both in the know and in a position to “peddle that nonsense” are choosing to do so.