Darryl SlaterTue, February 3, 2026 at 1:49 AM UTC·3 min readNFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday made his first comments about Giants co-owner Steve Tisch’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late notorious convicted child sex offender and human trafficker.
And Goodell’s brief remarks — at his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference — echoed the league’s statement from earlier Monday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere’s what Goodell said when asked about the extent to which the NFL will investigate Tisch — and also whether he might face punishment, via the league’s personal conduct policy:
“Well, you may be getting ahead of yourself on the second part. But I would say that absolutely we are going to look at all the facts. 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 was asked whether he’s concerned about how Tisch’s relationship with Epstein reflects on the league.
“Sure, but that’s why we have a personal conduct policy, and that’s why we’ll look into the facts,” he said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis was the NFL’s statement from earlier Monday: “The league is aware of the reports and Steve’s response. Our office will look into the matter to understand the facts.”
So yes, it remains possible the league could discipline Tisch under its personal conduct policy, as has happened with other owners.
Before issuing Monday’s statement, the NFL had not returned multiple messages seeking comment from NJ Advance Media and other outlets.
On Friday, emails released by the Department of Justice showed Tisch relied on Epstein to arrange encounters with women, though there are no indications they were underage. The emails were sent in 2013.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere is Tisch’s statement — released Friday night — which did not mention Epstein by name and was issued through a Giants spokesman:
“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.”
Left unsaid and unacknowledged by Tisch: In 2013, Epstein was already a convicted child sex offender.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty and was convicted in Florida of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. He served almost 13 months in custody, with extensive work release.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFive years later, when Epstein was already a documented child sexual predator, Tisch was palling around with him over email — and also using him arrange those encounters with adult women.
It remains unclear, even after Tisch’s Friday night statement, whether he knew in 2013 about Epstein’s 2008 child prostitution conviction.
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