Media pundits are howling for the head of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in their quest for a fall guy in the NFL PR crisis surrounding off-the-field violence of "stars" such as Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.
Further immediate damage to the league was narrowly avoided yesterday when the Carolina Panthers "deactivated" defense end Greg Hardy just before game time with the Detroit Lions. [Hardy, btw, was convicted in July of assaulting a woman, but is appealing the decision. He faces a jury trial Nov. 17.]
The current explosion of "NFL players behaving badly" news overshadowed the league's admission that it expects about a third of its retired players to develop brain trauma. The NFL, which had disputed past evidence of trauma, "dumped" those actuarial numbers on Friday.
Despite the drumbeat of negative news, the NFL thrives. More than 200M different individuals watched games last year.
The NFL inked a nearly $30B TV broadcast deal in 2011. The games are the lifeblood of networks reeling from the loss of younger eyeballs from their programming.
Car companies, soda and beer marketers, video game outfits, computer businesses and financial services firms allocate billions of ad dollars for the NFL. The see it as a sure-fire way to attract mass audiences and avoid the terror they face from ad-free DVR fare.
The NFL will survive the current crisis as long as it positions it as a PR problem, rather than tackle the equipment and rules overhaul needed to make the game as safe as possible. It will make "public concessions" such as canning Goodell, hiring a top-level female executive, funding brain disorder research/education/charities or launching intensive sensitivity training for its players.
Without the needed structural changes to the game, our grandchildren will scratch their heads and wonder why America --through its financial support and enthusiasm for what is truly the USA's national pastime -- enabled such off-field violence and on-field mayhem that led to dementia for more than thirty percent of its players.
The NFL's shame is on us, including yours truly, a longtime fan of the game.
Brunswick Group handles Endeavor, which has launched a review of strategic alternatives at the sports and entertainment combine as CEO Ari Emanuel believes Wall Street undervalues his company.
MWWPR has been retained by SportBLX to lead communications for the launch of a platform that allows fans and investors to own shares of unique assets in sports.
DraftKings is betting on Donald Trump-connected Ballard Partners to help it achieve its economic development and regulatory relief goals in Washington. (1 reader comment)
On November 15, “Ford v Ferrari” will roar into theaters, packing a publicity boost for two great global auto brands right on the marquee. Here's a Top Ten list of films in which a brand played a starring role. (1 reader comment)
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has brought on Dan Berger as executive vice president and head of communications.
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.