If you’ve been following the New York Jets lately, you’ve probably heard about owner Woody Johnson’s latest move: offering severance packages to roughly 170 employees—out of a 250-person staff—in a supposed bid to “overhaul the culture” at One Jets Drive. On the surface, it sounds like a bold, decisive step to shake things up. Dig a little deeper, though, and it starts to look more like a desperate, misguided stunt ripped straight from the playbooks of high-profile figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The problem isn’t the office workers he’s trying to pay off to leave. It’s him. Woody Johnson is the toxic core of the Jets organization, and this severance gambit just put a neon spotlight on that fact for the world to see.
Let’s break this down. The Jets have been a mess for years—14 seasons without a playoff appearance, a revolving door of coaches and quarterbacks, and a fanbase that’s perpetually on the edge of despair. The NFLPA’s annual report card didn’t pull punches either, slapping Johnson with an “F” grade, the only owner in the league to earn that dubious honor. Players called out “top-down problems” and a leadership culture that’s anything but positive. Johnson’s response? Dismiss the survey as “totally bogus” and roll out this severance package plan like it’s some grand fix. It’s not. It’s a flashy distraction that screams “I’m doing something!” without actually addressing the root issue.Think about it. If you’re running a struggling organization and you suspect dysfunction, what’s the logical move? You bring in an expert—someone impartial—to do an internal investigation. You dig into the data, talk to the staff, and figure out where the rot really lies. That’s how you solve problems. Instead, Johnson opts for this bizarre, blanket buyout approach, as if the ticket sellers, accountants, and social media team are the ones tanking the Jets. It’s like treating a broken leg with a Band-Aid and calling it surgery. Worse, it reeks of imitation—echoing Trump’s government staff purges or Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter—without the context or strategy to back it up. It’s all optics, no substance.
The irony is thick here. Johnson’s trying to “cut the cancer out,” as some might put it, but he’s wielding the scalpel in the dark. The cancer isn’t the rank-and-file employees; it’s the leadership—or lack thereof—at the top. The NFLPA report didn’t mince words: players see the issues as stemming from the owner’s unwillingness to invest in facilities and foster a winning culture. And what does he do? He doubles down, alienating the very people who keep the organization running day-to-day. If anything, this move proves he’s out of touch, not in control.
Imagine if Johnson had taken a different path. A real leader would’ve hired a consultant, launched a transparent investigation, and owned up to the findings—especially if they pointed back at him. That’s how you rebuild trust and fix a broken company. Instead, he’s tossing money at people to walk away, hoping the problem magically disappears with them. Spoiler: it won’t. The Jets’ dysfunction isn’t in the cubicles; it’s in the owner’s suite. And this severance spectacle just made that clearer than ever.So, what’s the takeaway? Woody Johnson’s latest gambit isn’t a solution—it’s a confession. By mimicking high-profile slash-and-burn tactics without a shred of introspection, he’s shown the world he’s not serious about fixing the Jets. He’s the toxic component, and no amount of severance checks will change that. Until he looks in the mirror—or steps aside—this team’s going nowhere. And Jets fans? They deserve better than another season of flashy misfires.
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