Business

Suit could sink or save NFL

When National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell holds his annual Super Bowl press conference tomorrow, he may want to wear a helmet.

In addition to the regular questions about rule changes, team finances and TV contracts, the CEO of the $9.5 billion-a-year in revenue sports juggernaut is surely going to be asked about the growing issue of concussions and the general safety of the sport.

The league is being sued by more than 4,000 former players who claim Goodell and his predecessors didn’t sufficiently alert players to dangers of the game.

And more, there’s ample evidence that the NFL did something even worse — downplayed the seriousness of concussions and even glamorized hard hits after reams of evidence showed the hard toll the hits were leaving in their wake, according to an upcoming report.

For example, after a 1994 Sports Illustrated article highlighted that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach retired after suffering 20 concussions and that ex-Philadelphia Eagles passer Ron Jaworski had 30 brain injuries, the NFL formed a committee led by a doctor who was not an expert in head injuries, according to “Crunch Time,” the cover story in Bloomberg Businessweek.

In the story, which hits newsstands tomorrow, writer Paul M. Barrett asks whether the suit, which seeks billions of dollars in damages, will doom the NFL — or save it.

As late as 2007, NFL Films continued to glamorize head hits in videos, such as “Moment of Impact,” the story claims.

“Suddenly you’re down, and you’re looking through your helmet’s ear hole,” the DVD’s ad copy reads. “Pain? That’s for tomorrow morning.”

An NFL spokesman admits the language was a mistake.

Even President Obama this week said that if he had a son he would have second thoughts about letting him play football.

Experts feel the suit is likely to be settled — as neither side wants its dirty laundry aired in public.

Most feel the NFL will easily survive the lawsuit — even if it has to pay the plaintiffs a whopping $5 billion. If paid out over 25 years, the settlement amounts to just $6.25 million a team per year — about 5 percent of a team’s current salary cap.Post staff