The NFLPA has some numbers on the prevalence of COVID-19 amongst its membership.  Those numbers changed during the course of the last 24 hours, downward.  Daniel Gallen of PennLive.com: The NFL Players Association originally announced 95 players have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, but that number has now been changed on the group’s official website to just 59.   The NFLPA made both announcements on its website, where it is posting coronavirus updates.   Last week, the NFLPA announced 72 players had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Friday, July 10.   The union did not disclose how many players have been tested or how many tests have been conducted, so it is unknown what percentage of the player pool the 59 positive tests represents.   Read more: NFL to allow helmet decals honoring victims of systemic racism, police violence: report   The NFLPA also announced that eight teams’ IDER plans have been approved, and 24 remain under review. All 32 plans have already been approved by NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills, but the NFLPA must approve the plans before more than 20 players are allowed in a team facility.   Notable NFL players who have tested positive for the coronavirus include Broncos pass rusher Von Miller, Rams center Brian Allen and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, according to a report. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said two of his players tested positive for the virus earlier this year, while Washington rookie Antonio Gandy-Golden tested positive during the pre-draft process.   Amongst those who tested positive, we are unaware of any hospitalizations or otherwise serious cases. – – – Former NFL player John Kuhn hints at one reason the NFLPA has been adamant against the playing of any preseason games – more jobs for veterans.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: John Kuhn entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of Shippensburg University and ended up making three Pro Bowls and winning two Super Bowl rings. He feels for the undrafted rookies this year who won’t get the same opportunity to prove themselves that he did.   Kuhn noted that the cancelation of the preseason because of COVID-19 will cost a lot of players an opportunity to prove that they can compete in the NFL. And the smaller rosters — 80 players this year, instead of the normal 90 — means 320 fewer football players across the league are getting chances to make their teams.   “Zero preseason games and 10 players cut on each team before they ever touched the field,” Kuhn wrote on Twitter. “2020 is not a fair year for anyone and unfortunately this was the price that needed to be paid so that football and its star players would feel safe enough to play.”   It’s entirely possible that there’s another John Kuhn out there, an undrafted rookie who’s capable of a Pro Bowl career, whose career is now over before it started. Another bad thing about 2020. Two tweets from Mike Pereira about no preseason and the officials: @MikePereira No pre-season? Big blow for officiating. I would have wanted to have them work one game in preparation for the season. Not good to knock off the rust in week 1 of the regular season.   @MikePereira This is the time that I usually start tweeting about football officiating and the new rules. Not many rule changes because of the Pandemic. More changes about the officials themselves and how they will attempt not to get infected. Electronic whistles? Masks or visors? Gloves? Can that many infected players really make it to the field to spread the virus, with daily testing? – – – If you can go to the games this fall, a big if, you will be mandated to wear a mask by the NFL, no matter what a local jurisdiction might compel or not compel.  ESPN.com: The NFL confirmed Wednesday that if fans are allowed at NFL games this season, they must wear masks.   Brian McCarthy, the league’s vice president of communications, tweeted:   @NFLprguy For those wondering, yes, it is league-wide: fans at NFL games this season will be required to wear face coverings   The NFL has not announced a league-wide policy on allowing fans at games, leaving it to teams to make the decision based on local mandates.   The Jets and Giants announced on Monday that there would be no fans at their home games at MetLife Stadium “until further notice.” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently issued an order limiting the number of people that could attend outdoor gatherings in the state of New Jersey to 500.   Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis said he is leaning toward not having any fans attend games at Las Vegas’ new Allegiant Stadium this season.   The Los Angeles Rams announced Tuesday that the new SoFi Stadium will be “at limited or no capacity” this season.   But several other teams have laid out plans for the upcoming season that include limited capacity with social distancing protocols, including masks. The Atlanta Falcons detailed plans Wednesday for hosting between 10,000-20,000 fans at home games.   The Pittsburgh Steelers have already said they will require masks if fans are allowed at Heinz Field this season.   Here is the plan of the Falcons. The Falcons plan to have some fans in the stands but significantly reduced capacity this season.   The team announced that it will have somewhere between 10,000 and 20,0000 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which seats more than 70,000, this season.   Season ticket holders will be sent a survey asking whether they’d like to attend home games and if so, to rank the first four games in order of which they’d most like to attend. Tickets will be distributed with the team attempting to put season ticket holders in the games they want to see, and then later in the year fans will be surveyed about which games they want to attend in the second half of the season.   The Falcons also made clear that everything is subject to change on advice of the NFL and the CDC.   All fans must wear face coverings inside the stadium at all times.

NFC NORTH

DETROIT This from Dan Orlovsky: @danorlovsky7 Go re-watch the first 8 games for the @Lions last year. Matthew Stafford was the best QB in football. Stafford played exactly half of 2019.  Multiply by two and you would have 4,998 yards, 38 TDs and 10 INTs for a 106 rating.  The Lions were 3-4-1 before Stafford go hurt.

GREEN BAY One way we get to measure profitability is through the Green Bay Packers.  Here is news from their 2019 financials.  Richard Ryman of the Green Bay Press-Gazette:   The Green Bay Packers reported record revenue of $506.9 million for last year and indicated they might get through this pandemic-stricken year without dipping into their corporate reserve fund.   The NFL’s smallest-market team, and the only one that reports its finances, passed the half-billion-dollar mark for the first time in the fiscal year that ended in March, just as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country.   The Packers reported a 6.1% increase in total revenue, driven primarily by a $21.7 million, or 7.9%, improvement in national — i.e., television — revenue. Local revenue increased $7.3 million, or 3.6%, with increases in ticket prices, game-day sponsorships and Packers Pro Shop sales. The Titletown District also began to contribute to the bottom line.   The team reported net income of $34.9 million, compared with $8.4 million the year before. Profit from operations was $70.3 million, compared with $724,000 the previous year.   Total revenue, rather than net income, is the more significant number in Packers’ finances because all money, whether profit or not, goes into team operations or the community. Net income, however, does show how well the team keeps expenses under control relative to revenue.   Expenses dropped significantly this year because of non-recurring costs the previous year, including free-agent signings, coaching staff changes, payments to a league-wide concussion settlement, and costs of the Packers’ 100 Seasons celebration.   Without those on the books for 2019, expenses were $40.6 million, or 8.5%, lower.   Player expenses were $226.5 million, down from $243.1 million. National revenue more than covered player costs.   Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said between 10,000 and 12,000 fans might be allowed into games this season because of coronavirus pandemic safety measures. With national revenue covering player costs, that would be enough fans to cover other expenses.   “I think we are safely north of what the break-even point is, just based on the current conversation of where the number of fans will be,” said Paul Baniel, vice president of finance and administration. Apparently the higher number included 36 “staff” – presumably of teams, but perhaps of the NFLPA – who had been afflicted.

MINNESOTA The NBA’s Timberwolves are up for sale and the Wilfs are interested.  Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com: The Wilf family is looking to add another Minneapolis sports team to its business portfolio.   According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Wilfs, owners of the Minnesota Vikings, are a serious contender to purchase the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves after it was revealed on Tuesday that the franchise would be sold by owner Glen Taylor.   The Wilfs have owned the Vikings since 2005 and have been able to get a new stadium and new team headquarters built within the last decade alone. The team has made the playoffs six times with two trips to the NFC Championship game during their tenure leading the franchise.   Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have been one of the most inept franchises in the NBA under Taylor’s stewardship. In the 26 years Taylor has owned the team, they’ve made the playoffs just nine times and only advanced out of the first round once, reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2003-04. Kevin Garnett, one of the players responsible for that Finals run, is also reportedly an interested party in purchasing the team.

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY Terez Paylor of YahooSports.com is in awe of the Chiefs keeping both QB PATRICK MAHOMES and EDGE CHRIS JONES with long-term deals. Back in 1993, long after he’d finished coaching the iconic Showtime Lakers, the great Pat Riley came up with one of the best sports theories ever — “The Disease of Me”, sometimes known as “The Disease of More”.   The Hall of Fame basketball coach theorized that when sports teams win big, the players on that team will turn their attention to basically looking out for themselves. Inherently, that isn’t a bad instinct, but on a sports team that requires the sacrifice of self for the greater good of the team, it can lead to widespread stat-chasing and attention-seeking, the dual death knells to teams’ championship hopes.   In the NBA, the demise of the Shaq and Kobe Lakers is a great example of this. The genius of the theory swells from the fact it crosses multiple sports. Think of the 2018 Jacksonville Jaguars, who went from the AFC championship game to one of the league’s most depressing situations within two years.   You can bet many across the NFL this offseason were hoping to see shades of the same from the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Led by the game’s best player in 24-year-old Patrick Mahomes, the potential for a Chiefs dynasty became palpable the moment Mahomes coolly led them back from a 20-10 fourth-quarter deficit in a thrilling Super Bowl win.   Due to Mahomes’ youth and the infrastructure around him, the Chiefs are poised to be Super Bowl threats for the next decade. The only hope for the rest of the league — beyond injuries, of course — was front-office mismanagement. And there were no shortage of opportunities for that this offseason.   At one point this offseason, Kansas City had $177 in salary-cap space. Despite this, they managed to retain 20 of 22 starters from last season’s Super Bowl squad. They also signed Mahomes to a historic contract worth more than a half-billion dollars, all while still having enough cap room to re-sign star defensive tackle Chris Jones to a lavish contract as well.   A big reason the Chiefs pulled this off was the willingness of Mahomes and Jones to bend a little on the structure of their deals. Mahomes, in particular, had all the leverage to push for whatever he wanted, be it a fully guaranteed contract or a percentage of the deal tied to the cap.   Sure, he signed a baseball-style deal that will essentially guarantee him the total GDP of a small country over the next decade, but the deal also added very little new money to the Chiefs’ cap over the next two seasons and, more important, it allows the Chiefs to plan for future salary caps with locked-in figures for him, a major win.   And because Mahomes conceded on those two points, it gave the Chiefs a chance to bring back Jones, a franchise-tagged pass rusher who was so weary of going-nowhere contract talks that he threatened to sit out the season. That all changed, he says, when Mahomes’ lucrative but team-friendly extension got done.   “When Pat’s deal got done, Pat texted me and said, ‘Let’s get this thing done — I left some on the table, let’s get this thing done,’ ” Jones told reporters during a conference call on Monday. “And that’s when I had the security that me and the Chiefs were going to work something out.”   When Jones said that, you could practically feel agents across the league recoil.   Left some on the table? What??? Why???   The answer is simple: because Mahomes really, really cares about his football legacy. He wants to go down as an all-time great, just like Tom Brady or Joe Montana, and maybe even go down as the greatest.   And just like Brady, who certainly “left some money on the table” during his career in New England, Mahomes prioritized that over more cold, hard cash.   Sure, Mahomes is getting paid a ton but as the greatest asset in pro football, he could have pushed it to the absolute limit. Had he done that, negotiations — which were kept very quiet — might have gotten contentious. Maybe hard feelings start to develop. And by commanding even more, it would have been even harder for the Chiefs to put a team around him like the one that just won a Super Bowl.   et, that was a no-go for Mahomes, who is betting that he has everything in place to make a run at multiple rings. Hall of Fame coach? Check. Well-run organization? Check. Cap flexibility in the future to do so? You bet. Brady and the Patriots had many of the same things going for them, and while Brady is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, he won six rings in New England first.   Mahomes isn’t the only one deeming the sacrifice worth it to chase multiple titles, either. During a radio interview Monday afternoon on KCSP 610 Sports Radio, Jones said he plans on winning “five-plus rings” in Kansas City.   It’s a bold belief, the type you better have if you’re a player in an extremely violent game who chooses to take less after not really pushing the envelope in negotiations.   “For me, it was the understanding that me and Pat have,” said Jones, who took a deal with zero signing bonus money to stay with the Chiefs. “We want to create a dynasty in Kansas City. We both have the same goal, create a dynasty and build something special.   “In Kansas City, playing for Coach [Andy] Reid and all of the talent that we have, we all have the same mindset. We want to keep this team together, so whatever we have to do to make sure that we stay together, then we should come together and do that.”   And yes, other organizations will try to convince their players to do the same. But many of those pleas will be scoffed at because NFL players are almost always going to do whatever they can to make the most money they can during careers that don’t last very long. The exceptions come with perpetually winning organizations — of which there are like five — and even then, the Disease of Me is real, folks. You can even argue that after 20 years in New England, it even got to the Patriots this offseason when Brady felt compelled to leave for a place he felt more desired. And yes, chances are that someday, it will ruin whatever dynasty the Chiefs are trying to build.   In the meantime, as the Patriots showed, it can be staved off for years, even decades, provided a team has the rarest of combinations — a selfless, generational quarterback paired with a well-run organization and a Hall of Fame coach.   Without these things, the chances of going down as the GOAT significantly diminish. And without the chance to do that — to go down as the legend of legends — most NFL players won’t be looking to do management any favors, especially in the time of COVID, no matter how much teams try to cite the “solids” Mahomes and Brady may have done their teams in their unyielding pursuit of all-time legend status.

AFC NORTH

PITTSBURGH A loss to the Steelers family.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com on the death of Carlton Haselrig, who was an All-Pro who did not play college football: Former Steelers guard Carlton Haselrig died at the age of 54 at his Johnstown, Pennsylvania home on Wednesday   According to the Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees, via the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, Haselrig died of natural causes.   Haselrig was a 12th-round pick by the Steelers in 1989 after a stellar collegiate wrestling career at Pitt-Johnstown. He won three straight Division I and Division II titles and that’s unlikely to be matched as rules now prevent small school wrestlers from qualifying for the Division I championship by winning their division.   He did not play college football, but made the Steelers and became a starter in his third season. Haselrig was named a first-team All-Pro for his work during the 1992 season, but battled substance abuse issues and was out of football after playing for the Jets in 1995. Haselrig went on to a professional career in mixed martial arts after his football career.   Our condolences go out to Haselrig’s friends and family on their loss.

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON Tracy Smith has been elevated to special teams coordinator for the Texans.  Per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Smith replaces Brad Seely, who retired last month. Smith enters his third season. He worked with Seely for the last 10 years with three different franchises.  Before elevating Smith, the Texans interviewed former NFL players Josh Cribbs and Sammy Morris.

AFC EAST

NEW YORK JETS Jets owner Woody Johnson has made what are now considered “racist” and “sexist” remarks.  CNN.com has the story, which seems to be generated by leakers in the U.S. diplomatic community: The billionaire NFL owner who serves as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom was investigated by the State Department watchdog after allegations that he made racist and sexist comments to staff and sought to use his government position to benefit the President’s personal business in the UK, multiple sources told CNN.   Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson, the top envoy since August 2017 to one of the United States’ most important allies, made racist generalizations about Black men and questioned why the Black community celebrates Black History Month, according to exclusive new information shared with CNN by three sources and a diplomat familiar with the complaints to the State Department inspector general.   His comments about women’s looks have been “cringeworthy,” a source with knowledge of the situation said, and two sources said it was a struggle to get him on board for an event for International Women’s Day.   “He’s said some pretty sexist, racist,” things, the diplomat with knowledge of the complaints made to the IG said of Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune and one of the owners of the New York Jets.   Asked about the specific allegations reported by CNN, Johnson did not deny them. He called it an “honor of a lifetime” to serve as ambassador and “to lead the talented, diverse team of the U.S. Mission to the United Kingdom.” Johnson called the team “the best in diplomacy” adding, “I greatly value the extraordinary work that each and every member of the team does to strengthen and deepen our vital alliance.” A State Department spokesperson called Johnson “a valued member of the team who has led Mission UK honorably and professionally.”   “We stand by Ambassador Johnson and look forward to him continuing to ensure our special relationship with the UK is strong,” that spokesperson told CNN.   A spokesperson for the US Embassy in London said they had no comment on a potential IG investigation and did not deny the allegations, instead stressing that the ambassador was “fully focused” on US foreign policy priorities.   The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.   The allegations about Johnson’s remarks come as institutions across the United States — including those in the worlds of politics and sports — are facing a reckoning over the legacy of systemic racism.   It is unclear how much the investigators focused on Johnson’s inappropriate comments. Of particular interest to them were allegations that, after being asked by the President, the ambassador pushed to have the Open — the prestigious British golf championship — take place at one of Trump’s golf properties, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.   A UK government spokesperson disputes that Johnson raised the matter in a meeting with a British official recounted by a source. Notably, any decision about the location of the tournament would not be made by a politician. However, that alleged effort on behalf of the President’s family business is a focus of the yet-to-be released report from the Office of the Inspector General, sources said.   Racism and sexism allegations Diplomats told investigators that Johnson made remarks — often casually bandied about — that they found deeply offensive and demoralizing, sources said.   In 2018, ahead of an event for Black History Month — commonly marked at US embassies around the world — Johnson appeared agitated and asked if the audience would be “a whole bunch of Black people,” according to one source.   Three sources said Johnson questioned why the Black community would want a separate month to celebrate Black history and argued that Black fathers didn’t remain with their families and that was the “real challenge.” One source said an official who heard the remarks was “stunned” and that the incident was documented and made known to both the OIG inspectors and a supervisor. There were other instances when Johnson’s conduct triggered more direct pushback from embassy officials.   Four sources familiar with Johnson’s meetings told CNN the ambassador hosted official gatherings at a posh men’s-only club in London, the centuries-old, exclusive White’s. Eventually Johnson was told by another diplomat at the embassy in late 2018 that he had to stop holding those meetings, three of the sources said. None of the embassy’s female diplomats would have been able to attend.   Three sources said Johnson has described women in offensive and diminishing ways.   According to one source, at certain public events, Johnson would start his remarks by quipping about how many pretty women were present — reducing them to decorative objects in a way a source described as “just sort of cringeworthy.”   Two sources said the ambassador indicated he preferred working with women, but he suggested that was because women were cheaper and worked harder than men.   He would also comment on the way that the women in the embassy were dressed, two sources told CNN.   There’s more here. And the New York Times also has a story which again emphasizes his crime of complimenting the appearance of women or inquiring about their cultural background. The Times article included this sentence: “There have been complaints that he complimented the appearances of female employees during staff meetings, and after interviewing a candidate [for] deputy chief of mission, he asked a colleague whether she was Jewish. S JAMAL ADAMS wastes no time lashing out at Johnson with this tweet: @Prez We need the RIGHT people at the top. Wrong is wrong!

THIS AND THAT

HELMET DECALS If you have the right name – presumably “George Floyd” is one – you can put it on your 2020 NFL helmet.  Jason Reid of The Undefeated applauds: The NFL is planning to allow players to have decals on the back of their helmets bearing names or initials of victims of systemic racism and police violence, a league source told The Undefeated’s Jason Reid. Individual players will be given the option to choose different names, the source said.   The league has been in talks with players and their union since June about somehow honoring such victims. The NFL also is planning to have “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” traditionally known as the Black national anthem, performed live or played before every Week 1 game.   Unlike the NBA, which is allowing players to wear slogans on their jerseys, the NFL will stick to names and initials once a final agreement has been reached with the NFL Players Association. The program will continue for the entire season.   This initiative is something of a breakthrough because the league has not allowed such messaging, except for during its October NFL Crucial Catch program in conjunction with the fight against breast cancer, and in its November salutes to the military. Players also have been allowed to represent a cause on their cleats one weekend per season.   But a 17-week campaign such as the one being planned is something new for the NFL.   A list of names and initials for use on the helmet decals is being put together by the league and the NFLPA. Players have been encouraged to provide those names and initials. Clay Travis of Outkick.com, as usual, has an opinion:   If you are going to allow helmet decals, you are going to have to go back and apologize to Jason Witten because you wouldn’t allow him to wear a helmet decal with the Dallas Cowboys in honor of all the police officers who were assassinated by a member of Black Lives Matter a few years ago.   Back then the NFL said they didn’t allow political statements to be made by helmet decals.   So how in the world is the NFL going to allow a small number of helmet decals for people who were victims of police violence but they won’t allow helmet decals to honor police officers who have lost their lives trying to protect all of us.   The NFL needs to be very careful. They better not discriminate on content like the NBA is doing.  If you are going to allow statements to be made about politics on the helmets then players and teams to be able to make a variety of different statements.   That needs to be consistent.  If you are going to allow Black Lives Matter to put on people like Michael Brown when we know that “hands up, don’t shoot” was a lie.  The entire movement was a lie.   Michael Brown was not killed unjustly by a police officer.  If you allow that, you better allow players who want to honor law enforcement to do it as well.   I’ll also point this out.  The NFL would not allow Tim Tebow to put Bible verses in his eye-black.  Remember that?   If you won’t allow a player to write a Bible verse in his eye-black, how in the world do you allow a player to make a statement politically on his helmet?   The NFL better allow players who want to put Bible verses on their helmets to do so as well.   You can’t set-in-place a policy that doesn’t allow Bible verses or the endorsement of police officers for all they do for us across the country and simultaneously allow the endorsement of Black Lives Matter political slogans.   If you are going to allow this, you need to open it up to a variety of different perspectives. – – – If you are going to allow them, don’t lead me down the path that the NBA has adopted where they give you propaganda and require you to only have political opinions that they approve.   The NFL needs to be fair and even-handed. If someone wants a Bible verse, they can get it. If someone wants to advocate for BLM, they can do it.  If someone wants to advocate for abortion, pro or con, they should have that ability too.   I think this is a bad move for the NFL but I want it to be applied consistently.

YOU MUST DISCLOSE Charles Robinson of YahooSports.com does not like it when NFL teams buy the silence of aggrieved employees. Nearly two years ago, in the wake of the NFL’s probe into sexual harassment and discrimination claims against then-Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, independent investigator Mary Jo White presented commissioner Roger Goodell with a set of recommendations to help root out workplace abuses. Layered inside them, White targeted a tool that Richardson employed to buy silence and shield a rotting culture from the league and general public.   Non-disclosure agreements.   It was one of the dirty little tools the public became very familiar with during the #MeToo era, getting exposed multiple times in stories that detailed abuses in Hollywood, corporate America, politics, and as it turned out, inside the NFL’s Panthers. It was a fact that White laid bare in a report to Goodell, where she spelled out how Richardson had paid out monies to obtain non-disclosure agreements and hid those deals from the league. In the process, Richardson shielded his own behavior from the NFL’s personal conduct policy.   In the wake of that reality, White made a proposition to the league, a call to create “[a] specific prohibition of using Non-Disclosure Agreements to limit reporting of potential violations or cooperation in League investigations under the Personal Conduct Policy.”   Simmered down, White told Goodell that the NFL should limit the scope of NDAs to hide abuses. She appeared to pull up short of a total ban, instead suggesting something more nuanced, allowing teams to continue with confidentiality settlements but putting franchises into the position of having to report the NDAs to the league and also free the parties involved to divulge details inside an NFL investigation.   On the heels of the recommendation, Goodell said it would be forwarded to the NFL’s conduct committee prior to the start of the 2018 season. What happened after that is unclear because the league has yet to reveal what action was adopted regarding NDAs and NFL teams in the wake of the Carolina mess.   Washington, Panthers wrapped up in 3 scandals All of this is relevant now when absorbing a Washington Post story detailing sexual harassment claims by 15 separate women inside the Washington franchise — including the fact that multiple women told the media outlet they couldn’t speak publicly because of non-disclosure agreements. The franchise declined to release the women from their NDAs to speak publicly, according to the newspaper.   Yahoo Sports twice requested information on White’s recommendation and what the NFL ultimately did with it, and a league spokesman failed to respond to both messages. As of Tuesday, multiple senior-level executives in franchises have told Yahoo Sports that they have not gotten a change in guidance on the league’s use of NDAs since the close of White’s investigation in June 2018. That suggests the NFL made no changes with NDAs or that teams haven’t been broadly making senior-level employees aware of new personal-conduct policy legislation.   Whichever it may be, a troubling fact remains: Since 2018, two NFL franchises have continued to use NDAs in some fashion to hide sexual harassment claims inside the organizations. In the Panthers’ case, the use of the tool for concealment rose all the way to the team owner. In Washington’s case, the scope of the NDAs isn’t fully known because we don’t — and may never have — another independent league investigation to lean on. That’s concerning for a league that saw this same Washington franchise bury an allegedly slimy cheerleading calendar shoot scandal in 2018, an incident that was also partially obscured by confidentiality agreements cheerleaders signed when initially going to work for the team.   Why NFL should examine NDA policies If all of this isn’t coming into focus by now, let’s go ahead and put the fine point on it.   Twice since 2018, the NFL has had stories arise about grotesque “cultures” inside of franchises that ended with allegations of workplace harassment or discrimination. Twice, non-disclosure agreements surfaced as a form of stifling information from being revealed to the public — and possibly the league in both cases. And twice, some form of external investigation will have been undertaken, first in the case of the league against Richardson and the Panthers in 2018, and now in the probe Washington will be commissioning into themselves (with still no word on whether the league will conduct its own investigation).   When the NFL is overseeing 32 billion-dollar corporations, having two of them run into serious harassment or discrimination problems isn’t great. When both of those corporations reached for the same tool to obfuscate their broken cultures, that’s an even bigger problem. Particularly when two years ago, an independent investigator called that into question.   Yet here we are, talking about NFL teams and non-disclosure agreements again. And lest anyone forget, we could also pull the Colin Kaepernick mess into this as well given that the league office itself stepped into a non-disclosure agreement at the settlement of that grievance, forever squashing the digital information and depositions of franchise owners and executives that took place in the case.   Taken in a wider scope, it’s not a great look for the league. Particularly in an era when harassment and discrimination claims mean more than ever in corporate America. And most especially for the NFL, whose teams drone on and on about having the right culture inside the building.   If the NFL wants to convince the general public that it’s doing the right things and taking a changing climate seriously, it’s probably best to do away with the legal remedies to silence voices when something goes sideways. If the league thinks it’s important to settle claims with money, that’s its prerogative — especially if the grievances could eventually lead to litigation. But employing non-disclosures in a fashion that hides a problem (and by nature, allows a problem to continue or get worse) is tantamount to an endorsement. And that goes for both the NFL’s teams and the league office that oversees them.   Given what happened in Carolina and what allegedly happened in Washington, there is little doubt that concealing these problems helped teams avoid embarrassment and protected the NFL’s image as well. And that puts Goodell and the rest of the NFL within a whiff of being silent partners with guys like Richardson and cultures like Washington.   Two years ago, Mary Jo White recommended the NFL take steps to distance that, or at least make it clear that the league wasn’t going to tolerate being kept in the dark when franchises stepped onto the wrong side of morality or ethics. Two years later, it’s time for the NFL to go further.   Prohibit club owners and their franchises’ officers from deploying non-disclosure settlements that dictate silence from victims. Create a rule that all agreements — whether driven by confidentiality, non-disparagement or non-cooperation — be on file with the league office. In the event that the covenant of transparency is broken at the senior levels of a team when it comes to harassment or discrimination, mandate an external investigation that becomes public. And make the outcome of that investigation grounds for divesting a franchise owner from a team.   Until the NFL does this, it will be a part of the culture problems that continue to exist inside it — not an observer and arbiter of them. Presumably, Robinson would see that the employees – who receive substantial cash payments for the lack of disclosure – will somehow be made financially whole for the benefit of making the job of reporters easier.