NFL Notes: SI’s King Suggests Cass As Tagliabue Replacement

Columnist Feels Cass Could Be Next NFL Commissioner

Among the speculation of who would replace NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue if he were to step down, the “ultimate winner might be a dark-horse candidate,” Ravens President Dick Cass, according to SI’s Peter King. Cass, who has a law degree from Yale and is a partner in a DC law firm, “fits the modern-day mold of a sports commissioner.” Cass helped broker Dan Snyder’s ’99 purchase of the Redskins and Steve Bisciotti’s purchase of the Ravens in ’00. He “has the respect of big-market owners” like Snyder and the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, for whom he was once a staff counsel. During last week’s CBA negotiation, Cass “played a key role in brokering a revenue-sharing plan that was acceptable to mid-market teams.” One team exec said of Cass, “I could see him as a good compromise candidate” (SI, 3/20 issue).

FREE TO FLY: USA TODAY’s Skip Wood reports 50 NFL players changed teams in the first four days of the free agent signing period, up from 25 last year. Player agent Leigh Steinberg said, “The cream of the crop has been rapidly signed for large-money contracts just as we’ve seen over the last few years” (USA TODAY, 3/16).

SUPER IMPACT: A study by St. Louis-based Sportsimpacts commissioned by the Metro Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau found that Super Bowl XL provided an economic boost of $273.9M to the Detroit area. In Detroit, Tom Walsh notes that amount is “at the low end of the range” of $262-342M the NFL had projected. Each out-of-town visitor spent an average of $363 per day, not including airfare, lodging or tickets to the game (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/16).