Tepper's wrist slap was always in the bag
Throwing liquid at fan is no match for the owner-commissioner ties
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell came down with a $300,000 fine on Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper for tossing a drink at a Jaguars’ fan during Sunday’s shutout road loss in Jacksonville. To a man worth $20 billion, this sum is puny (the equivalent of a few dollars to the rest of us mortals) and predictably sparked cries from many quarters that the sum and sanction were too light.
Unfortunately, the slap on the wrist, if it can be called that, is entirely predictable. While Goodell’s title is NFL commissioner, he is really the NFL owners’ Commissioner. They vote him in and pay him his exorbitant pay; not the players, not the fans. He tolerated former Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder's outrages for years before they became too obscene for the league not to take action. And even after the NFL in 2021 suspended Snyder for the sexual harassment scandal at the team, the league and owner would volley back and forth who could end the suspension and whether it had ceased or if he was still banned from team and league facilities. It was little secret he was openly defying the supposed suspension.
Goodell earns, let's say $75 million a year. That figure comes out of the league budget and is funded by owners, so Tepper’s share of the commissioners' pay is over $2 million a year. That means over the next four years Tepper pays the ostensible boss more than $8 million. It would take much more than some airborne liquid to get the commissioner to swing the hammer, even if as some pointed out what Tepper did could be classified as a crime in Florida.
People in Jacksonville should be alarmed. The team is asking for $1 billion of public funding for a new stadium (hopefully this venue will create separation between customers and hot head visiting owners). The team already plays one home game annually in London, and I haven't heard whether that would go away if the city forks over 10 figures. And apparently it's okay for team owners to toss their drink at local fans and not even apologize. Tepper’s statement issued two days later used the term regret, not apology.
I asked a source I have close to the league what he/she thought of the fine, and the response was about right. And that underscores what anyone close to the league already knew, Tepper was going to get off easy. He wasn't going to receive a seven figure penalty or a suspension. A suspension could have kept him away from league meetings, which doesn’t sound that big a deal, but in the clubby world of sports team owners it is.
For Tepper, a fund billionaire, the March meeting is a big one because it is where the league is likely to put up for vote whether to allow equity and sovereign wealth funds to invest in NFL teams. Tepper is a big proponent of making the NFL the last of the American big leagues to go down this road. While the Panthers could still vote if he were suspended, he wouldn't be able to make the case at that meeting.
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Some quick thoughts. Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football package in its second season garnered nearly 12 million viewers on average per game, a 24 percent increase over year one as the exclusive TNF provider. That’s obviously good news for the NFL, but the figure still trails by more than 25 percent the figure when TNF aired on network, and well south of the current NFL average of more than 18 million viewers a game (to be fair, Thursday night is the weakest evening). The NFL has always said the TNF deal is a long-term proposition, and there are nine more years remaining on the Prime deal. The league also points to the younger demographic watching the NFL on Prime versus traditional carriers (we have all heard the gripes about people having trouble figuring out where and how to watch the games). At 12 million a game, Amazon needs just two more years of 24 percent growth to match the old TNF base on linear. Now, 24 percent growth is not assured. For one, matchups were far better in year two than year one (remember the the game is so bad it's good line during one squalid 2022 contest). There is no guarantee the matchups are as good next season. Also trends in online viewing could always change. The Wall Street Journal had an eye opening piece this week on a big uptick in digital subscription cancellations. The digital bundle is beginning to rival the cable bundle, and that is worth watching as TNF on Prime moves forward.
The enigma of reporting as eligible snafu that afflicted the end of the Lions-Cowboys game made me think about the fan and viewing experience. A lineman reporting as eligible is not a rare occurrence, but it is too often not explained to the viewer, or disclosed to the paying fan in the venue. My wife, who is a candidate for a football 101 class, loves watching games with me and my 14 year old son. Trying to explain that only some players can run or catch the ball at first touch, but then there are exceptions, well let's say I am not a very good teacher or explainer. A primer of what it means when a lineman reports as eligible would be a help to casual viewers. On the play, it sure looks like the Lions tried to pull a fast one by sending three linemen to the referee to mask who was actually reporting. Too cute by half and in my opinion, and the Lions got what they deserved. The league should have a rule that only one player at a time can approach the referee to report as eligible.
The ticket to the Super Bowl in Las vegas was always going to be likely an all time average high, which would push it past $6,000. What teams could send that to the stratosphere? The most obvious one is the Dallas Cowboys. The Buffalo Bills are another. A re-appearance of the Kansas City Chiefs probably wont do it. The SF 49ers might move the needle a bit, but they don’t have an extended absence from the Super Bowl like the Bills and Cowboys. A run to the title game by the Cleveland Browns could be another driver of ticket prices as would one by the the long woebegotten Detroit Lions. The spectacle of the Baltimroe Ravens Lamar Jackson in the final game could draw general football fans, not just Ravens diehards. Whatever the matchup–and I am in the Ravens-49ers camp– it's going to be a pricey event.