It started on Tuesday. And it hasn’t stopped.
Colts owner Jim Irsay broke ranks by calling for Commanders owner Daniel Snyder to be given the boot. And Irsay didn’t get (or maybe didn’t heed) the message from Commissioner Roger Goodell that the owners should wait for more information before saying anything more about Snyder.
As one source with knowledge of the dynamics recently explained it to PFT, there’s a belief in league circles that Irsay views this as a chance to change his legacy.
As a result, Irsay has kept talking. He spoke to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports. Irsay also spoke to Peter King. Irsay’s remarks to King landed in his latest Football Morning in America column.
“Did you know that George Halas came to my wedding?” Irsay said. “Did you know that, at one of my first league meetings, Art Rooney welcomed me and gave me a cigar? I’ve learned from Pete Rozelle, from Paul Brown. How fortunate I have been. We are all fortunate to be a part of this great league. And I know, at night, when I open up the door, there’s a mirror, and that’s the person I have to answer to. How do we all want to be remembered by our great-grandchildren?”
Irsay has been running the Colts since 1984. He grew up in the business, literally, at a time when a different vibe permeated the league.
“When I got in this business, some of the greatest owners in the history of the league — Wellington Mara [Giants], Dan Rooney [Pittsburgh], Lamar Hunt [Kansas City] -- showed a young man learning the game how to behave under pressure, with decency, with integrity, always putting the game first,” Irsay told King. “The [NFL] shield means something. You don’t take every penny. Why did the New York Giants take a revenue-sharing deal for the TV contract way back in the sixties? So all teams would have an equal chance. Because Wellington Mara was for the good of the league. It’s so important, what we stand for as a league. . . . When Lamar Hunt died [in 2006], I remember being at his wake. And [former commissioner] Paul Tagliabue turned to me and said, ‘Well Jim, they’re all gone now. It’s your turn.’ And I’ve thought about that.”
He’s thought about it, and he has acted on it. He’s saying what others are thinking. He’s showing no fear of consequences, whether it be litigation or the vague concern that Snyder may try to smear him. (Irsay arguably is unsmearable.) Irsay is putting the interests of the league above his own.
“Two things destroy great institutions,” Irsay told King. “Being emotional, and rationalization. Rationalization — that’s saying, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad, we can deal with this. You know people are always gonna love the game. They’ll always turn on the TV to watch [Patrick] Mahomes Sunday.’”
Irsay is right. It’s too easy to go along, especially when trying to change the status quo will take so much effort, work, and trouble.
The owners seem to be ready to try to change the status quo. It’s not a difficult proposition; Snyder is widely reviled. Even then, someone has to pull the cord on the lawnmower. Irsay is trying, and the history of the NFL should regard him favorably for being the one to stand up and say what needed to be said, when others wouldn’t.