Ben Gilbert

It's also interesting to note who wasn't producing content about concussions.

I mean, this Will Smith movie came out that I don't think was through the media channels of any of the NFL's partners.

I think the NFL wields a lot of influence and saying, oh, you may not be a part of the networks that get our broadcast in the next generation.

Yep.

Speaking of hard to control the narrative, let's talk about blackballing Colin Kaepernick.

And I think an interesting place to start is the job of the commissioner.

So the commissioner is not the president or CEO of football.

The owners are not their executives, and the commissioner's obligation is not to the fans.

The commissioner is hired to do one job, and that job is...

speak for and do things that are in the best interests of the owners as a whole.

And so if the most powerful owners want something, that is what the commissioner does.

That is what the message is from the NFL.

The NFL itself is a very thin layer on top of a whole bunch of teams that are their own very large businesses.

In fact, a lot of hay was made about the NFL switching in 2015 from a nonprofit to a for-profit.

The NFL has very little net income.

Who cares what its tax filing status is?

Right.

The teams are their own taxpaying entities and their own businesses.

And so Roger Goodell makes $40-plus million a year to do what the owners want, and they hire him to do that, and they will fire him if he doesn't do that.

Back to Colin Kaepernick.