In the NFL, team reports, in which the 32 teams are evaluated based on various criteria, will no longer be published in the future. It comes as no surprise that Woody Johnson was one of the driving forces behind this development. A commentary.

For many people, the year 2000 was a wonderful time, something they like to look back on fondly. Whether it was the millennium itself or special personal experiences.

And then there are the New York Jets fans, who associate one thing in particular with that year. That was when Woody Johnson bought the franchise for $635 million. His track record since then? Disastrous.

In the NFL, there is a guiding principle that bad franchises usually remain unsuccessful because their owners repeatedly interfere in day-to-day business despite their lack of expertise. In a fit of supposed cleverness, decisions are made that can hardly be explained rationally. The Cleveland Browns operate in a very similar way, with Jimmy Haslam wreaking havoc there.

But back to the Jets. The franchise has never been synonymous with success, but 15 years without a playoff appearance? That’s quite a feat, but not a positive one. Woody Johnson has played his own part in this dry spell.

NFL: Report cards no longer published

Quite a few fans consider the 78-year-old to be the worst owner in the NFL. Naturally, billionaires with a tendency toward narcissism don’t want to hear that. Too much contact with reality is not necessary.

In this respect, the annual reports on NFL players have always been an interesting thing for Johnson and the other owners in the NFL. After all, there could hardly be a more honest assessment of the state of a franchise.

For several years now, the NFLPA players’ union has been conducting a survey among its members, asking professionals to rate their franchise based on various categories.

Now, however, under pressure from the NFL—i.e., the owners—the publication of these figures has been discontinued. The survey will continue to be conducted, but the results will no longer be made public. The NFL argued that the team evaluations violated the league’s bylaws and rules of procedure, which prohibit players from “publicly criticizing a member team or its management, staff, employees, or coaches.”

Fans of the Jets, Browns, and Co. deserve sympathy

One of the drivers behind the complaint is said to have been—you guessed it—Woody Johnson. Which fits the picture all too well. Because someone like Johnson naturally doesn’t want to be confronted with his own failure.

The embarrassment his team has been causing on the football field for years is now being followed by embarrassment off the field. Johnson is showing himself to be an offended diva who is incapable of taking responsibility.

This is what distinguishes good owners from bad ones. The former take note of the survey results and consider where they can improve their team. The latter only think of themselves and their egos.

And that’s how the respective franchises are run. Some want success and do everything they can to create the necessary conditions for it. Others are only concerned with their own reputation, so they constantly interfere and don’t realize that this is what causes maximum failure. The fans of the Jets, Browns, and other chronically unsuccessful teams deserve maximum sympathy for having such people in charge of their teams.