Former NFL COO Tod Leiweke is "ready to open up, and he has some sharp words for those who attack the league" and Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Leiweke said criticism of Goodell is "complete, ridiculous malarkey." He added, "I don’t mean to make light of executive compensation ... but I think Roger has added extraordinary value to the NFL. I am one guy who says, without really knowing the details of his contract, I don’t think Roger Goodell is overpaid.” Leiweke: "People just love taking shots and so be it, that’s part of life, he accepts that. I guess I found it a little bit harder, I grit my teeth a little bit more, but you follow his lead." Asked about the recent N.Y. Times story that "detailed a meeting last October between players and owners in the aftermath" of comments made by President Trump, Leiweke had "harsh words for whomever released the audio recording of that discussion." Leiweke: "Sometimes people do things that I think are dumb and unwise and go against the very being of the NFL, being a team sport and trust and all those things. It happens, it is unfortunate, and there were a couple of times it happened, and I wish I had known who had done it because you would have loved to confront that person." He added, "There were times that I wanted to speak out, but that’s not Roger’s way. He is on the other hand a very humble guy and he doesn’t beat his chest. He doesn’t parade around and say, ‘Look how good I am.’ Sometimes I wish we did a lot more of that for him. Now I can say these words" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/7 issue).
