On the walls of 345 Park Avenue, the NFL's headquarters in New York, top executives have a framed copy of a headline that ran in this newspaper in 2011. It says "The League That Runs Television." This was after the league collected $27.9 billion in new TV money. And that was only part of their TV money.

The fact is, the league runs the television industry, the advertising industry, and nearly anything else that requires lots of eyeballs. The league claimed last year that 205 million unique people watched an NFL game. Advertising rates are through the roof. Companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars to have a middle-aged coach wear their hat or hoodie on the sidelines.

In the darkest week in the league's history, one full of embarrassment and ugly turns, a nervous corporate executive or two probably pondered: What if the NFL ever stopped being the NFL?

To recap, in the last week, video emerged of Baltimore running back Ray Rice hitting his then-fiance, Janay. The league denied having seen the video and Rice was suspended indefinitely and released by the Ravens. The suspension is now under appeal. An Associated Press report emerged that the league had seen the video, which the NFL swiftly denied. Then star Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson was indicted by a Texas grand jury for child injury charges. Separately, the league said in federal paperwork that it expects about a third of its players to develop cognitive problems.

Let's be clear. The NFL isn't blowing this off. Its executives have been huddled inside league headquarters, with top brass canceling at least two trips to try to manage the dramas. There's no evidence the walls are closing in. Thursday Night Football's ratings were higher than anything CBS has shown on a Thursday in the last eight years. No sponsors said they are reconsidering their relationship with the league. Owners privately and publicly expressed support for commissioner Roger Goodell.