• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 4, 2015

So what are the odds that TV commercials for Sony Pictures’ football movie “Concussion” finds its way onto the NFL Network later this year? Slim to none, perhaps.

The movie takes a hard, dramatic look at the long-time medical issues for professional football players. You can understand the reluctance perhaps for NFL’s own network. But what about other networks that have paid billions in rights fees to air the NFL games: Fox, CBS, NBC, or ESPN?

The movie’s targeted audience, in part is young and older male viewers who watch NFL football, as well as other demographics groups. That’s right up the alley of movie studios, who typically pay premium dollars to access key TV time slots for their movie messaging.

The movie, which stars Will Smith, is expected to open on Christmas day, near the end of a football season building interest towards the playoffs.

Already there have been  leaked emails showing how Sony has been looking to tamp down the not-so-nice sides of the NFL, including an i dramatic, unflattering scene featuring NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

For its part, Sony producers attempted to meet with the NFL, but the league wanted to see the script first. The result was that no meeting took place. Either way, it’s probably not a movie the NFL wants to see promoted.

And then things could get worse for the NFL. What if “Concussion” turns out to be big hit, or be up for a number of Academy Awards early next year?

And that brings up what Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN will do concerning the movie’s TV commercials. The NFL typically doesn’t get to approve that TV advertising, we are told.

But remember Toyota’s ad snafu with the NFL?  In January 2011, Toyota ran a commercial on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” talking about concussions, the NFL and what the company has learned about auto collisions -- and how it might help.

The NFL wasn’t please with that association. Toyota said it had received a phone call from the NFL.  The end result?  The spot had a very limited run.

Sony Pictures is hoping that isn’t the case when it comes to the big theatrical showing of “Concussion.”