In the days prior to and since the 2016 draft, Annie Apple quickly has become an intriguing and powerful figure in the NFL landscape. The mother of Giants first-round cornerback Eli Apple has sounded off about that ridiculous “can’t cook” assessment of Eli from an anonymous scout (who also should be an unemployed scout), the “thirsty girls” sliding into Eli’s direct messages on Twitter, and her son’s desire to wear a Rolex on draft night.
She also complained about the lack of quality desserts backstage at the draft. Commissioner Roger Goodell quickly responded by sending Annie Apple brownies.
It worked. Annie Apple thanked Goodell on Twitter for the “incredibly thoughtful” gesture and expressed gratitude for being “part of the NFL family.”
As NFLPA president Eric Winston pointed out last week, it’s not a family. But it’s important for the league office to ensure that Annie Apple believes it’s a family at every turn of her son’s career, and beyond. If/when she becomes cynical or disillusioned about the business that is pro football, she could do a considerable amount of P.R. damage to Big Shield.
Look for the courtship to possibly even culminate in some sort of a formal relationship between Annie Apple and the NFL, with perhaps a platform on the league-owned website or some other presence with the NFL’s in-house media conglomerate. It will appear to be organic, because she clearly has the chops to develop into an authentic voice for a demographic that has never resonated with the public in a significant way.
If it happens, it will at least in part be calculated to ensure that Annie Apple never decides to become the one thing the NFL surprisingly has never had to endure -- a parent who has direct knowledge from her son about how things really work and a gift for communicating information and opinions in a compelling way.
