It increasingly seems like there are two NFLs: one for the players and one for those in charge. No, I don’t mean the economic divide that left-wingers perpetually gripe about. I mean the divide between the faithful and those who care much more about other cultural things.

We’ll consider several strands of pre-Super Bowl news. My Kansas City Chiefs didn’t even make the playoffs this year, so I don’t really care who wins this Sunday. Having been a fairly regular NFL fan since the 1980s, though, I’m intrigued by the sport and its tangential controversies.

Let’s start with the faith angle. “Faith takes center stage ahead of Super Bowl 60,” reports NewsNation in an article about the increasing number of players sharing their faith with interviewers. It’s not new to see players point to heaven when scoring a touchdown, or to hear them thank God after a victory (or even a loss). However, it seems an increasing number of leading quarterbacks and other prominent players are becoming more vocal about their personal faith.

“I thank the good Lord” for the opportunity, said New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye after winning the AFC Championship last week. Maye regularly speaks of his faith, and his social media bio includes the name of Jesus. It’s refreshing when someone uses that name reverently instead of — like most of Hollywood — as a curse word.

Similarly, after winning the NFC Championship, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said, “I just want to give all glory to God. … Win or lose, I wouldn’t be here without him.” His social media bio says he’s a “follower of Christ.”

A number of other NFL quarterbacks are outspoken about their Christianity — Bo Nix, Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, C.J. Stroud, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and (my personal favorite) Patrick Mahomes are among them. Plenty of other key players are faithful, too. It’s pretty normal to see players gather for prayer before and after games. Perhaps there’s something about the somewhat war-like nature of football that reminds players of their frail humanity.

It’s very good news when so many people embrace The Good News.

What’s remarkable to me is the utter disconnect between the men on the field putting on a great show and the men in control behind the scenes. The players are the ones earning the league and the owners tons of money, generating fans. No one goes to see a game because Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones or even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might be lurking in the suite above. (Taylor Swift, maybe, but that’s another discussion.)

But speaking of Goodell, what does he care about most in the lead-up to Super Bowl LX? It might be Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion among NFL coaches.

“We still have more work to do,” Goodell lamented after none of the 10 teams looking for a new coach hired a black one. Maybe Goodell is unaware that roughly 70% of NFL players are minorities.

The NFL’s Rooney Rule includes these requirements: “Clubs must conduct an in-person interview with at least two external diverse — minority and/or female — candidates for any GM or head coaching interview. Clubs must interview at least two minorities and/or women for all coordinator positions.”

Seriously? A female?

With all due respect, given that women don’t generally play football, it’s going to be challenging to find many who are interested in coaching it. Not unheard of, but challenging. That’s to say nothing of the challenge of her earning the respect of players.

As for color, no one goes to or skips a game because of the color of one guy’s skin on the sidelines. Fans attend because, as Martin Luther King Jr. extolled, we care about the “content of their character” — i.e., how well they play.

What else does Roger Goodell want to make sure everyone knows? That Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny “understands” that “this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together.”

Who is Bad Bunny? His real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, and he’s the Puerto Rican, Trump-deranged, pro-illegal-immigration homosexual activist who represents the NFL’s big middle finger to the rest of us. He raps in Spanish.

Accepting the Album of the Year Award at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny declared, “ICE out” — a reference to his objection to enforcing immigration law. Goodell thinks that “unites people”?

All the unity must be why Turning Point USA felt compelled to put on an alternative halftime show for normal Americans, featuring Kid Rock of shoot-the-Bud-Light fame. The TPUSA show — put on by the organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk, a strong Christian — aims to celebrate “American faith, family, and freedom.” That’s much more in line with the trend of leading players on the field. You can find it on TPUSA’s YouTube channel beginning at 8 p.m. Sunday.

“We’re approaching this show like David and Goliath. Competing with the pro football machine and a global pop superstar is almost impossible … or is it?” Kid Rock said in a statement issued through Turning Point. “He’s said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish? Cool. We plan to play great songs for folks who love America.”

The NFL has “more work to do,” alright. Just not the work that preoccupies a wokie like Roger Goodell.

Follow Nate Jackson on X/Twitter.