The Lightning on Friday announced that CEO TOD LEIWEKE has resigned to become NFL COO. Lightning President STEVE GRIGGS has been named the team's CEO, reporting directly to Owner JEFF VINIK. Leiweke has been a Lightning exec for the past five years and also has been involved with Strategic Property Partners, the development company controlled in part by Vinik. Current NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL was the last person to hold the COO title at the league (THE DAILY). In Tampa, Danielson, Thalji & Levesque noted Leiweke "not only helped transform the Lightning into a Stanley Cup contender, but was also part of the team Vinik assembled to lead his ambitious" $1B effort to "redevelop downtown Tampa." Leiweke said, "It was, believe it or not, a hard decision. I was so happy during our playoff run. I felt that a lot of hard work and blood, sweat and tears came to fruition. This organization is poised to be very good for a long, long time to come." But Leiweke "could not say no to the NFL, or to Goodell." Leiweke said, "Maybe it's a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work in a job like that, in a position like that, with so many people I know in the NFL, in a room I'm comfortable with and with a commissioner I have a deep and abiding respect for." Danielson, Thalji & Levesque noted Leiweke is "giving up his minority ownership stake" in the Lightning and "resigned as CEO of Strategic Property Partners, the Vinik real estate firm guiding the redevelopment project." Vinik said Leiweke's move to the NFL had been "in the works for a few weeks." Vinik said, "Tod loves it here, and frankly, if I were a betting man, I would have bet that he would have stayed. But you know what? How often does someone get to be the COO of the NFL?" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 7/25).
RIGHT-HAND MAN: THE MMQB’s Peter King writes Goodell had been looking for a COO "pretty seriously for two years, and Leiweke fits because he knows the NFL, he knows current NFL owners and execs (he often subbed for the reclusive PAUL ALLEN as the Seattle owner’s rep at league meetings), and he understands the league’s goals." Leiweke will also "pick up some of the responsibility of dealing with some NFL middle managers who had been reporting directly to Goodell" (MMQB.SI.com, 7/27). SportsCorp President MARC GANIS said that as Goodell has "become busier handling complex issues like the implementation of the league’s enhanced personal conduct policy and a potential team moving to Los Angeles, he needed extra support" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/25).
