Silver in the report indicated that he would not consider leaving the NBAGETTY IMAGES
An ESPN report Thursday that said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had been approached by NFL owners and Fortune 500 companies about potential jobs generated heavy discussion on the morning sports shows. Silver in the report said he would never think about leaving the NBA, and ESPN's Dan Graziano said the story is "not likely to lead to anything" for him. Graziano: "Except for maybe huge raises ... if he can scare the NBA into thinking the NFL is trying to steal him." Some NFL owners feel the league has "taken too much of a public relations beating on some issues" in recent years. But ESPN's Domonique Foxworth said, "As much as we give (NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell a hard time, his biggest sin is he's bad on TV and he's bad under pressure" ("Get Up," ESPN, 2/15). ESPN's Mina Kimes said the NBA press and Silver "have a much better relationship" than Goodell has with the NFL press ("The Dan Le Batard Show," ESPNews, 2/14). ESPN's Bomani Jones said Silver "seems to have some actual flex among his owners." Jones: "I don't know how that goes over in the NFL because they seem to want a commissioner to do just what they tell him to do" ("High Noon," ESPN, 2/14). ESPN's Dan Le Batard: "When you've seen what's happened with the commissioners in football and basketball, you'd arrive in the place, 'Hey, Roger Goodell might love power while Adam Silver loves basketball.'" Kimes: "Either Adam Silver is making a significant amount of money as well or the NFL is so undesirable that he won't even consider it" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 2/14). ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said Silver is "socially conscious, he is politically liberal, he's a players guy." Kornheiser: "This would be a sea change for the NFL" ("PTI," ESPN, 2/14).
