As the NFL gathers in Arizona for its 2026 annual meeting, one name is bound to come up, at some point.
Nearly two months ago, Giants co-owner Steve Tisch was linked to Jeffrey Epstein in the most recent release of the so-called Epstein files. From the contents and timing of the messages (after Epstein was first convicted) and subsequent reporting that possibly illustrates one of the dates arranged by Epstein for Tisch, the NFL has said as little as possible, and apparently done even less.
On February 2, Commissioner Roger Goodell said at his Super Bowl-week press conference: “Let’s get the facts first.”
Subsequent requests for comment to the league have been met with reference to Goodell’s remarks, despite intervening developments. There’s no indication that the NFL has investigated the matter, or that it is even inclined to do so.
Meanwhile, others in the NFL ecosystem have not been quiet. As one high-level employee from another team told PFT in late February, “Steve has to go.”
The news that Tisch and his siblings want to transfer their Giants equity into their children’s trusts seemed to be, on the surface, an easy off-ramp for the NFL. However, Tisch reportedly will remain the chairman of the Giants’ board, even after he surrenders his ownership stake in the team.
Is that enough for the NFL? Again, his name is bound to come up, at some point, during the first ownership meeting since the news of the Tisch-Epstein connection first broke. Especially in light of recent reporting from Vimal Patel of the New York Times regarding the efforts to remove the names of various Epstein associates from buildings on university campuses.
Last month, Front Office Sports reported that Tufts University is “monitoring the situation” involving Tisch, given that the school opened the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, a 42,000-square-foot athletic facility, in 2012. Via Patel, the Tufts student newspaper has since called for the university to remove Tisch’s name from campus buildings, in order to “preserve the university’s commitment to ethical, honest and principled civic engagement.” The university publication noted that, in 2019, Tufts removed the name of the Sackler family from its medical school, given its role in the opioid epidemic.
What will the NFL do about Tisch? Will it investigate his full and complete ties to Epstein, along with the specific question of whether Tisch used his status as a film producer for potential quid pro quo liaisons brokered by Epstein? Or will it continue to do nothing and say nothing, hopeful that Tisch handing his chunk of the team to his children will be enough to get people to stop saying that something (an investigation, at a minimum) should be done?
It all comes back to the basic question of whether there’s a double standard for players and owners. The league insists the bar is higher for the owners. Reality suggests it is lower.
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