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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Jeff Goulding
PHOENIX, Arizona — Roger Goodell finished his hour-long talk to the media, saying he enjoyed Las Vegas hosting the Pro Bowl Games and the flag football game between all-star players at Allegiant Stadium last week. In fact, the NFL commissioner, looking relaxed and at ease Wednesday at Super Bowl week here in Phoenix, said flag football will be a marketing tool to grow the NFL brand.
He stepped off the stage at the Phoenix Convention Center and Melanie Fitch was there to greet Goodell.
Goodell and Fitch are pals from way back.
“Roger, can we get a picture together?,” Fitch asked the NFL commish.
Fitch’s daughter, Marie, handed her cell phone to LVSportsBiz.com. “Can you please take the photo?”
Click. Click. Click. Done.
Fitch recalled Goodell — way before he was making $64 million a year as commissioner of America’s biggest revenue-generating sports league — worked in the mail room at the NFL headquarters in New York City.
Fitch met Goodell when he was just a young buck at the NFL because her dad was a former San Francisco 49ers player named, Paul Salata, who used to help his team during the player draft.
Maybe you heard about Salata. He’s the man known for creating the “Mr. Irrelevant Award” for the last player selected in the NFL Draft. Salata used to be at the 49ers’ team table at the draft event at the NFL’s New York office decades long before the Draft morphed into a monster event that rotates from city to city, including Las Vegas in April 2022.
Salata coined the “Mr. Irrelevant” term in 1976 — and the term has been misconstrued ever since, his daughter, Melanie, explained to LVSportsBiz.com.
Melanie Fitch said her dad wanted to the world to know that “it’s irrelevant that the player was drafted last. There are thousands of players who have been drafted and dad wanted to have the last player selected last to be as much celebrated as the first plater selected.”
Fitch was in Las Vegas in 2022 when Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy was picked last in the NFL by her dad’s San Francisco 49ers..
Fitch explained that people misunderstand the Mr. Irrelevant Award for a simple reason: “My dad wasn’t a marketing guy.”
Salata played college football at Southern Cal. He even caught a TD pass while playing in the fabled Rose Bowl venue. He played a short time in professional football with the 49ers and the Baltimore Colts.
His legacy endures through his daughter and granddaughter. Melanie Fitch is CEO of Irrelevant Week, which is staged in Newport Beach, California where she lives. Her daughter, Marie, serves as Irrelevant Week’s creative director.
Salata died at age 94 in October 2021 — one day before his 95th birthday.
While Salata may have not been a marketing maven, he would have been proud of the very relevant fund-raising work done by his family.
Irrelevant Week raises money for charities. There’s a fun, irreverent vibe to Irrelevant Week, which includes the final player picked in the draft receiving a “Lowsman” Trophy instead of a Heisman Award and even a parade.
Irrelevant Week has raised more than $1 million in donations through the decades, with money flowing into the bank accounts last year of groups like range County Youth Sports Foundation; Serving People in Need; and CASA, court-appointed special advocates who help children in the foster care system. The charities will sometimes change from year to year.
Sponsors pay for the costs of putting on the week, with Irrelevant Week raising about $70,000 a year, Melanie Fitch said.
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During Goodell’s talk, he answered media members’ questions. Highlights:
— Player concussions are up 18 percent because there are more evaluations. Overall player injuries are down six percent.
— He was asked how does he feel to be booed at the NFL. Draft. “It’s great to have fans engaged,” he said.
— Thursday Night Football, which was known for some boring games, might have games that are flexed.
— Speaking of Thursday night games, the injury rates of Thursday and Sunday games are the same.
— There was a time when Las Vegas was the boogeyman, but the NFL loves Las Vegas with events like the Draft (2022), Pro Bowl (2022, 2023) and Super Bowl (2024). Goodell joked that he’d make a mistake to underrate Las Vegas’ abolity to pull off an over-the-top event.
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A Super Bowl week staple is the counterfeit jerseys, hats and shirts media session, where Homeland Security lays out seized goods and warns the public to not fall prey to the phony sports merch peddlers.
On Wednesday afternoon, Thomas Duffy of Homeland Security investigations stressed that people need to look for the shiny holograms and buy sports merch from retailers selling licensed logo gear.
Authorities reported 66 arrests of people trying to sell $23 million worth of goods during the days leading up the Super Bowl.