Peter King's lengthy profile of Goodell

I am sure the Goodell name nonetheless opened many doors and led to great opportunities. I am also quite sure that Peter King would not acknowledge the role the name played, as the Seattle Seahawks recently had an intern by the last name of King who could be paying similar "dues."

I happen to think Goodell has done a good job thus far. But it is lunacy to think he just showed up as an NFL intern and began his meteoric rise without being bestowed any privilege from his bloodlines.

 

He took a buyout. He was not "gassed." But don't let that get in the way of your usual shots at him.

 

Either way he would have been a good choice if SI did not want a puff piece.

 

That we can certainly agree on.

 

The bothersome thing about the story is Goodell, son of a senator, is the onliest guy who ever wanted to make a dead father proud.

 

But he has that good-lookin' wife who works on Fox News. She probably brings home a pretty penny.

 

I know we're supposed to care as journalists, but readers don't care who the byline is. They care about the story, and, without knowing better, that's a pretty nice piece on the commish, with a writer who they're familiar with so ut only boosts credibility. You think SI cares to tend to journalists or its readers? They couldn't probably care less how it's perceived by the media.

 

I care who the writer is. I can look at by-line and pretty much know what I am going to get.

 

That's a pretty fucking good milkshake. I don't know if it's worth five dollars but it's pretty fucking good.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but doens't King's check come from NBC? Or is he on NFL Network too? Or were you talking just about Verducci? I have no problems with Peter King writing the story. He's an expert. The negotiations are complicated, as are league issues, and he knows them as well if not better than anybody at SI.

The story King did a few months back where he actually held a damaged brain at BU? The concussion story...was he a shill for the NFL then too? I mean I guess you could say he was shilling for Goodell's new anti hitting rule but that one felt down the middle if not attacking the NFL for not doing something sooner.

 

Strictly talking about Verducci. I think it gets really complicated when talking about writing for outlets that have TV deals with leagues and teams, including ESPN's entire operation.

Off topic: Didn't King write at some point that he had no interest in writing about NFL labor issues? Or was it more like, "Not my favorite thing, but I'll do it because it's my job." It actually came up in the context of the Verducci-Chass pissing match, aka the undercard of the Jones-Whitlock brawl.