Not clear yet whether the former 49ers owner will be at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. It may depend on whether he’s voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If he is (and the vote will be announced the day before the game) he’ll be at the Superdome with the rest of the 2013 class, a spokeswoman tells the Chronicle.If it happens, it could make for interesting subtext: DeBartolo and disgraced former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards could be under the same roof for the first time in years. DeBartolo paid Edwards a $400,000 bribe for help acquiring a riverboat gambling license in Louisiana in the 1990s, then ratted him out as part of a plea deal.
The feds, at the time, were hot on the governor. Edwards went to prison. DeBartolo, who pleaded guilty to an obscure felony, paid a $1 million fine but perhaps more painfully, he lost control of the Niners to his sister, Denise DeBartolo York.
Those who think it odd that a convicted felon is up for entry into the Hall of Fame may enjoy this: Edwards, who got out of jail in 2011, and new wife, Trina, will star in their own reality TV show, premiering next month.
