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This is somewhat astonishing . . .
Robert Saleh still has a lot to prove as a head football coach after going 11-23 in his first two years with the Jets, but he’s a good man, and he deserves better than this.
He made it clear he didn’t want to do “Hard Knocks.”
“I know there are several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building. We’re just not one of them.” – Saleh said on June 9.
Today, Adam Schefter announced: “NFL and NFL Films have selected the New York Jets to serve as this year’s team on Hard Knocks, per sources. Jets report to training camp one week from today, July 19, and the cameras will be rolling in full force.”
Just what they need after 12 years out of the playoffs, cameras “rolling in full force.”
Are they MGM Studios, or a football operation that finally wants to turn around their football culture?
But perhaps it’s unfair to blame the football operation. Based on what Ian Rapoport announced on June 6, this might have been driven by the Jets’ business side.
“I think the business people and really high-up people with the Jets, all the way up to ownership would probably be pretty psyched about it,” Ian Rapoport announced June 6 on Pat McAfee’s Show. “Let’s just say there are some higher-ups with the Jets who, if they were on “Hard Knocks,’ would probably not be upset by it.”
Look, I have no idea how Jets’ ticket sales are going. It’s very hard to find that out. It’s very guarded information. But while many assume they are doing a brisk business at the box office after the Aaron Rodgers trade, it’s possible, with inflation at a 40-year high, it’s not going as well as expected.
So maybe the Jets’ business side wants “Hard Knocks” as Rapoport said. Perhaps some on the business side want “Hard Knocks” to sell more tickets.
One fan tweeted at us that he feels the “Hard Knocks” decision was driven by the owner.
“It’s literally only Woody who wants it bc it means more exposure, which means more money and sales, and that’s all he cares about,” tweeted a fan name Caleb Zecher.
Without being in the meetings, it’s hard to discern if Woody Johnson drove this decision.
But something you need to keep in mind, even though it’s ignored by the mainstream media, is that the most powerful man at 1 Jets Drive, aside from Woody and Christopher Johnson, is a guy named Ira Axselrad.
He manages “The Johnson Company.”
Axselrad is a brilliant man.
It’s his job to manage the Johnson’s money.
That is his job. What I’m writing is not a judgment. It is what it is.
The man has a job to do, and he does it well.
It’s not his job to run the football operation, it’s his job to manage the money.
His power in the building is enormous, even though you don’t hear his name. Enormous!
Not saying Axselrad decided for the Jets to do “Hard Knocks.” That would be presumptuous. I’m not in the meetings, but he has tremendous power in the building, and “Hard Knocks” is considered good for business.” It could help the Jets bring in a lot more money in ticket sales.
After trading for Rodgers, and having to pay him about $50 million this year, it’s important for the Jets to fill MetLife Stadium.
And this is clearly a business decision to do “Hard Knocks.”
How do I know?
The head coach doesn’t want to do it.
July 12, 2023
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