The NFL rarely does a damn thing unless it can profit off of it.
This is a league, after all, that once charged the Department of Defense $5 million to stage patriotic tributes to soldiers during timeouts. And while no one is questioning that it was opposed to breast cancer when it made the players add pink to their uniforms, the benefits of marketing the sport to women was lost on no one.
You have to appreciate the hustle. These team owners didn’t get that rich by accident.
So on Friday afternoon, when Roger Goodell, commissioner of a league that is unapologetically about cutthroats and bottom lines, actually released an apology video for not supporting the players, including during past protests that adversely affected revenue, it was no normal corporate statement.