NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual Super Bowl week press conference at the San Jose Convention Center on Monday.

Goodell was asked about Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny, who has been very vocal about ICE and whether he will make a political statement during the performance.

Bad Bunny is coming off a huge night at the annual Grammy Awards, taking home three Grammys for Album of the Year (DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS), Best Música Urbana Album and Best Global Music Performance for his song “EoO.” Bad Bunny gave a powerful speech after winning Best Música Urbana Album, starting off by saying, “ICE out.”

The singer was chosen last year as the Apple Music Halftime Performer for his global impact and popularity.

Goodell told the media that “Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him.”

The commissioner added that “the other reason is he understood the platform he was on and this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that, and I think artists in the past have done that.” Goodell believes Bunny will have a “great performance” and hopes that it unites people instead of causing division.

ICE agents are set to have a presence at Levi’s Stadium, and if that is the case, Bunny will almost certainly make a huge statement.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked on Monday during his Super Bowl week press conference about a highly sensitive subject involving Jeffrey Epstein and his emails with New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch.

According to recent public files released by the Department of Justice, Tisch’s name appeared in connection with Epstein. According to emails exchanged between Tisch and Epstein, they discussed multiple women as Epstein worked to connect the women to other billionaires. The files show inappropriate conversations between the two when they would refer to the women and their physical features. Tisch’s name appeared at least 440 times across the three million documents released on Friday.

>99 NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS FROM JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S SECRET FILES – SLIDESHOW

Tisch once offered Epstein two tickets to his MetLife suite, with Epstein then allegedly inviting him to his private Caribbean Island, according to the documents.

When Goodell was asked about Tisch, he said that the league is currently looking into the situation and that he wanted to get all of the facts before jumping to conclusions. “We’re going to look at the context of those, we’re going to try to understand that, and we’ll look at how that falls under the policy. But I think we take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first,” Goodell said.

Tisch made a statement about his relationship with Epstein, saying, “We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments. I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

Tisch’s father bought a 50% stake in the Giants in 1991, and the Tisch family has been co-owners ever since. John Mara is the other owner of the Giants.

The NFL released a statement on Monday regarding Tisch, saying, “The league is aware of the reports and Steve’s response. Our office will look into the matter to understand the facts.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to starve sports fans of action and creates chaos for every league, the NFL has been able to size up the situation in the most fortunate of circumstances. The NBA and NHL cut their seasons short because of the virus, and the MLB was full steam ahead with the beginning of their 2020 season before it was shut down due to coronavirus concerns. The NFL finished their season just three months ago, and we’ve only just reached the summer hot spot where multiple free agents and trades are getting going, but no balls will be thrown for a little while longer. Roger Goodell and the NFL have the luxury of sitting back and analyzing the months to come, pondering the possibility of isolating the league in one, healthy place to finally give the fans some sports. 

While confidence is high for Goodell and the league, there are still many offseason problems to solve. 

The first being the new online, “Digital” 2020 NFL draft. Much to the displeasure of the fans, the media and even GM’s, the Goodell has decided to carry forth this year’s draft online. There aren’t many further details as to what platform(s) they plan to use, but it has proved to be worrisome for those who plan to both tune in, and those who have a role in making the draft run smoothly. There has been plenty of skepticism about owner’s and coaches abilities to function with the technology necessary for the online draft, however, many people also believe that grown men worth billions of dollars should be able to understand the basic tech. 

The most pressing of draft issues for NFL war rooms across the nation does not simply come from making a Zoom or FaceTime pick of a primetime college player, but after the draft, as teams negotiate and load up on undrafted free agents. Considering that important pieces of the staff room will be in different locations, the hectic period at the end of the draft, signing undrafted free agents, will only be more complex. 

While these complications will inconvenience NFL staff rooms, they will truly be just that, an inconvenience. There are much bigger issues at hand for the league, more focused around money and pay for players. 

The two issues come from the money paid from teams to players, which is negotiated by the NFLPA and the league, and then the individual money and contracts negotiated by teams and agents. The NFL recently released their “virtual period” protocol, which will start on April 20, so there will be significantly more details to follow around that time. 

First, there are workout per diems, which the new CBA designates $235 for daily workouts as part of the offseason workout programs. These programs last about eight weeks, starting from in-class instruction to OTA’s. That $235 continues on to tally about $7,500, and while the importance of that sum varies in importance from vets to first and second year players, many of the younger players on the team can only be sure of receiving that program money this offseason. 

Last week, the NFLPA sent out a memo with do’s and don’ts for the beginning of the offseason workout programs, however, they stated that the offseason has not officially started, therefore, no players can be paid. While the rules are changing due to COVID-19, for now, no money will be moving around.

Second, there is the issue of workout bonuses. Aside from the negotiated per diems, many players’ contracts include bonuses for their participation in scheduled team workouts. This tactic originated with the Green Bay Packers, as they searched for ways to get their players working out together, rather than players training in more desirable, off-season locations like California and Florida. At first, the movement was slow and there was significant push-back, however in 2020, there are workout bonuses valued up to $750,000. 

In the larger scope of things, the amount of money up in the air is vast for the coming offseason, looking at around $56 million – with $20 million of that coming from the sum of the per diems, and $36 million coming from the workout bonuses. Obviously the question on players and staff minds alike is whether that will be paid, but right now, the money is staying in the organizations’ pockets. 

There will certainly be bigger issues in the coming weeks and months for the NFL, and while $56 million may not be a large dent in the pocket of the league, it is quite important to most players and their income. No team or league for that matter was preparing contracts with a global pandemic in mind, and while some teams may want to hold that money since players are not officially on the teams premises, it’s rather unfair to starve them of their workout money, especially when they are training, just in another location. As the weeks continue, we will be able to see this conflict unfold further, and while the NFL adapts the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic, fans can only hope to see 11 on 11 come that first Sunday.