In-Depth
Five for 55
A cast of hundreds has contributed to making sure Super Bowl LV takes place as scheduled. Here are some groups and people that played a leading role.
Higgins
National football league HQ
Peter O’Reilly, Executive vice president, club business and league events, NFL
■ Planning the Super Bowl is normally a major but somewhat routine affair. This year taxed O’Reilly and his entire team to find a way to keep the game going in totally unprecedented circumstances.
O’Reilly
Mayer
Medical Professionals
Dr. Allen Sills, NFL chief medical officer
Dr. Thom Mayer, NFLPA medical director
■ This duo oversaw every aspect of the league’s approach to playing during the pandemic. While the details of the Super Bowl have been difficult to put together, it could have easily been derailed by mass cancellations during the regular season. That didn’t happen.
DeMaurice Smithgetty images
The Host City
Rob Higgins, CEO, Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee
■ The Super Bowl is absolutely crucial to this tourism-dependent market, especially after the city missed out on the home games from long postseason runs by its other two teams: the Stanley Cup champion Lightning and the World Series runner-up Rays.
Sills
NFL ownership
Jonathan Kraft, Chair, NFL Fan Engagement and Major Events Committee
■ As the lead liaison from ownership to O’Reilly’s team, all policy decisions went through the president of the New England Patriots.
Kraft
The union
DeMaurice Smith, Executive director; JC Tretter, president, NFLPA
■ Insiders say the union and the NFL have rarely gotten along better than they have during the pandemic crisis.
