One-on-One: Steve Tisch

Thursday, March 13, 2008 | 4:20 p.m. | By Tripp Mickle | Comments | Print

During a one-on-one interview at the IMG World Congress of Sports, said the NFL's labor deal made him feel "queasy," adding that it's the biggest issue facing the league ahead of owners meetings at the end of the month.

"We need to see beyond it, what our options are," Tisch said. "It's complicated. Roger (Goodell's) going to have to bring everyone together with a united front."

New York Giants Co-Owner Steve Tisch (right)

It was only one of many topics Tisch touched on during the nearly 30 minutes he spent on stage at The St. Regis Resort. He also talked about Goodell's job so far, the Jets-Giants naming-rights efforts, the way his 50-50 partnership with John Mara works and whether the Oscar or the Lombardi trophy he won was more meaningful.

Tisch said he admired the effort Goodell had done in his first year and half in the league, awarding him a B+ and saying he admired the commissioner's handling of player conduct issues, which have been much larger than anticipated.

"Roger works with 32 owners, 32 different owners with 32 different personalities and 32 different agendas," he said. "But he's really done a fantastic job of working with that many voices and points of view."

Tisch said the NFL Network would be another issue of discussion at the owners meeting.
"I'm fully supportive behind the concepts of what this can be," he said. "I'm not anticipating any decisions being made at the end of the day today down in Fort Lauderdale but I am anticipating a decision can be reached at the end of the month about where this can go at the owners meeting."

Tisch said the Giants joint venture with the Jets is going well, even though it's "two very different teams with two very different, histories, traditions and cultures." He added that having time limits on decisions have helped both teams work together because it means they "cannot procrastinate."

He expects the teams, which are working with Wasserman Media Group on a stadium naming-rights deal, would like to announce the beginning of serious negotiations with a potential partner in the coming months.

The joint venture with the Jets isn't the first partnership Tisch has entered. He operates the team with his co-owner, John Mara, and said that the two operate on a foundation of trust that they developed during a meeting shortly after both of their fathers died.

"The realities of the deal are such that no decision can be made unilaterally," Tisch said, adding that even things like Tom Coughlin's renewal result from a unanimous agreement he reaches with Mara.

When it came time to pick his favorite award, Tisch didn't hesitate. While he loves his Oscar, he said the Lombardi Trophy was more satisfying because it wasn't the result of scripting and editing the way a movie is.

"(Football is) really a reality TV broadcast," Tisch said. "The experience of watching a team play as a team and the drama of the Super Bowl was possibly one of the most dramatic games ever played. I think the Super Bowl trophy for me is probably more professionally and personally rewarding than the Oscar."