share across this country. it is not race it is not gender or religion, the stories that make us who we are. the fact that this is resonating with so many people reinforces what i know is true about the country. >> you can watch this in any of our programs in entirety on both tv.org. >> the national press club holds an annual book club. they sure we spoke with several nonfiction authors. the new york times magazine talk to us about the current issues facing the national football league. >> work is a chief national correspondent and author of three books. this is his new one, the nfl in dangerous times. what is the current state of national football league. >> well the most popular port

sport in the country is never been more profitable or have more people watching. yet it feels like the chandeliers going to fall on the leg at any. and never felt more dangerous. the league has so many existential issues around health and safety around the competence of the people who run the thing and around the changing face of america. the nfl has gone to be in the most unifying institution we have had to about ten or 20 years later be in the most divisive sports brand we had. this is a five year run through the nfl. i talked about two thirds of the commissioners this is the result. sort of like a safari. >> let's go back to the beginning of the national anthem controversy about two years ago. >> yes. the height of it was about a year ago.

it started when colin up next started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. that was two years ago. it was a contain controversy for a year and then donald trump weighed in. my day job is political reporting for the new york times. football does not offer any respite from american politics these days. >> why did trump go after the nfl? i think he thinks it's a great political issue for him. his base loves the idea that he's going after these elite disrespectful athletes. i also think that he's had a long-standing obsession with the nfl. he's been trying to get in with the leak to owner team for about four decades. he's always been rejected by the nfl owners. so he last tried to get into the league by buying the buffalo bills, the owners wanted nothing to do with him. i don't know this is about the

priorities of our culture but the ultimate constellation prizes to wind up in the white house control from the bully pulpit. i think there's some revenge involved. ultimately it's fun for him and it's a winning issue. >> did he talk to two thirds of the owners, over the course of the five years did you see concerns shift from cte to public protest? >> they are short-term thinking group of people. part of the dirty little secret of the league is the owners are quite old, very rich, they don't often think of what the sport is gonna look like in 30 or 40 years there just trying to stay ahead of the record revenues are the huge broadcast contract they're getting. so there are these dust ups like

the anthem controversy but you see they don't really know how to think about these things because they just react. they don't really know what's coming or how to handle it. it's all short-term and precarious for the league. >> is it a matter of growing pains? the national football league was not always the most popular sport. they get very big very quickly? >> they been the biggest sport in america at least measured by tv ratings for about 55 years. he goes back to the late 50s. the nfl has been king in the country at least measured by these indicators for a long time. what i think the league does not have his head around is how fast this can change. their biggest nightmare is

becoming like the tobacco industry. smoking was such a part of this culture, literally it was the air we breathe. tobacco companies that they could get away with it forever and then people said what are we doing here. should we regulate this. there's all kinds of legal and regulatory and political obsessions that the leak rightfully has. that's in the middle of the culture they are trying to dominate. they are fully aware that a court like this is not a long-term guarantee. it could all and very quickly growing pains may be part of it. >> i'm curious as to the financial end of it. what did the owners think, most don't have guaranteed contracts like baseball or basketball.

often times the fan it the lifespan is two or three years tops and their pensions are nonexistent. are they worried with this combine that there were losing the pool of players? >> that's a good question. there's so many fewer kids playing football and parents allowing their kids to play football that the labor pool will skew over the next few decades into a more pool of labor like you see in boxing or things like that. that's part of it. having said that, youth participation drops in all sports matches football. in some ways the leagues are competing with phones and entertainment options for kids and grown-ups and people have.

the days of people saying the game is on saturday ordered the game is on sunday on the set network, that's all over. it's the same free-for-all. >> it's been reported that the owners of the nfl are usually in accordance with each other. they have almost a socialist understanding with regards to how they share their money. >> is true. the nfl all 32 owners are pretty much billionaires. there set for life. many generations down. they basically have decided to pool their resources. 60% of the revenue come from broadcasts contracts which they negotiate every few years. but they all share it. there is a piece of this pie that is individual revenues in the dallas cowboys can make a bunch of money in the bigger

market teams can. ultimately they are sharing their wealth and that's what works for them. that's not to say they are closer cohesive. it's essentially a cartel. the owners are sharing profits but also eyeing each other. >> the players union contract is coming up shortly. jean was the former commissioner of the nfl. >> he was known to be close with the commissioner at the time. mayor smith is the current he has a sticky relationship with the current. >> roger goodell and smith, they have been fighting like cats and dogs over the last several years. the next collective bargaining unit comes up in two years. there is a sense that the last one will be negotiated in 2010 was favorable of the owners of the league.

i think tamara smith believes that were just going to get back at them next time. you could see a harder line. i don't know if there'll be a work stoppage or but it could be a tenuous situation. pgh so, cap reinecke had said that some have blackballed him. what you think about that? >> i think not only do a lot of people think that, enough people along the way have thought it. he has the collusion lawsuit which has gotten further than most have thought. the year owners are usually pretty private and don't like to come out and private. so work in the sea. this got farther than what they

have thought. that's one of the many i went say headache they seem to have very little idea how to handle. it seems like something that could've been handled easily and has grown. >> this is your new book. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> keep an eye out for more interviews of the national press club's book fair to air in the near future. you can also watch them in any program in the entirety booktv.org.

>> up next on book tvs afterwards, louise examines the growth in illegal global trade with the emergence of new technologies. she's interviewed by the foundation of democracies. >> doctor shelley thank you so much i think you really bring things home and not away oth