Jerry Jones apparently has opened yet another new front in his assault on Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract. Next step: Leak to the media what Goodell is looking for.
ESPN reports that Goodell has requested in writing roughly $50 million per year, along with lifetime use of a private jet and lifetime health insurance for his family.
As one unnamed owner (Jones?) told ESPN, "[S]everal owners in this league who don’t make $40 million a year.”
“That number for Roger just seems too much,” the unnamed owner (Jones?) said. “It’s offensive. It’s unseemly.”
Even if the unnamed owner (Jones?) isn’t Jones, the unnamed owner comes from a distinct minority of four or five. Those owners surely hope that the group grows, and leaks like this one won’t hurt that effort.
Regardless of the maneuverings and machinations that brought the information to light, the end result will be to indeed make Goodell even less popular among the public. (Or, at a minimum, it won’t make him more popular.) Although NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart tried to downplay fan attitudes toward Goodell during a Tuesday media briefing by pointing to the dichotomy between draft-day boos and individual fans clamoring for selfies, the news that he wants roughly $50 million per year plus a private plane for life won’t improve his standing among those on whom the league is counting to continue to support the game or, perhaps more importantly, to get back to supporting it the way they used to.