NFL senior vice president of communications Greg Aiello, one of the league’s longest tenured employees, will leave his job after the Super Bowl, Sports Business Daily reported Thursday.
Per SBD’s Daniel Kaplan, Aiello’s departure after 18 years with the NFL (and 39 in football communications altogether) is part of a voluntary incentive program the league is offering to employees of a certain age.
“It’s a voluntary incentive program to support some of us who have dedicated our lives to the NFL but are ready to move on and do other things,” Aiello in an email wrote. “To sum it up, it’s been a wild 39-year ride.”
Per SBD, only a small number of NFL employees are availing themselves of the incentives. But even if this program won’t result in a huge amount of exits, the fact it is targeted at long-tenured employees could mean some significant staffers are leaving. It also seems to suggest the league may be looking to get younger at key positions.
Aiello worked in PR for the Dallas Cowboys from 1979-90 before joining the NFL as a league spokesman. For years his name was front and center in all the NFL’s PR flare-ups, during the commissionerships of both Paul Tagliabue and Roger Goodell. In recent years, he has transitioned to an internal communications role. Before his career in PR, he was a sportswriter for Newsday and UPI.
