NFL franchises spend months building creative videos to tease opponents, take shots at rivals, and make a social media splash. This year, thirty-one of those teams have been given material with the Mike Vrabel – Dianna Russini controversy unfolding with the New England Patriots. According to sources, the league has no plans of getting in the way.
The NFL will not pre-screen schedule release videos for jokes targeting the Patriots head coach and his widely covered scandal with the former Athletic reporter. Teams are operating on their own judgment, and their social media departments have full control over their content from start to finish.
“This is the day when teams are licensed to poke fun at each other. The [Vrabel story] has become such a public matter that teams can take the shot,” a source told Front Office Sports. “You may get a call from the Patriots. But the league is not going to get involved.”
The NFL office only gets involved when major decisions related to labor, the CBA, or officiating are on the table. A tabloid scandal involving a head coach doesn’t clear that bar.
“If the Jets, Bills, or Chargers choose to ridicule Vrabel, that’s an issue between the teams,” the source continued. “The league doesn’t need to mediate that.”
The NFL is not reviewing team schedule release videos for Mike Vrabel jokes, sources tell FOS.
The league is letting teams use their own judgment when it comes to potential content about the Patriots coach’s saga with Dianna Russini.https://t.co/kEmhzRNKMb
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 14, 2026
It’s been more than a month since Page Six published the photographs of Vrabel and Russini together at the Sedona resort ahead of the owners meeting. While both parties defended each other at the time, Russini eventually resigned. The New York Post then published additional photographs that complicated the situation further. Vrabel issued a formal statement and went for counseling. The league, throughout this saga, maintained a singular stance.
“This is not a personal conduct policy, as we know it today,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said when asked if the league would take any action against Vrabel. “It’s a personal matter, and we’ll leave it at that.”
When pushed on the matter further, Goodell’s response mirrored the stance the league is now taking with the schedule release.
“I think the teams handle these matters when they’re personal matters,” Goodell said. “And they have a lot more information that can benefit everyone involved.”
But the story had already crossed into mainstream pop culture well before schedule release day. Charles Barkley’s Inside the NBA on ESPN referenced it on air, featuring Vrabel and Russini in a post that looked like the film Titanic. While the new developments every week already make matters worse, the schedule videos will certainly make it tough for Vrabel and Russini, considering how closely affiliated they are to the sport.
