SAN JOSE, Calif. — The verbose Roger Goodell saved maybe his three shortest answers Monday for inquiries about Giants co-owner Steve Tisch’s sexually charged correspondence with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Goodell said during his annual Super Bowl week news conference that it is too early to discuss whether Tisch or the Giants would be subject to penalties based on the content of emails from 2013 that surfaced Friday as part of a Justice Department dump of 3.5 million pages of documents authorized by President Donald Trump.

“You may be getting ahead of yourself,” Goodell said. “I would say that absolutely we are going to look at all of the facts. We are going to look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the [Personal Conduct] Policy. But I think we take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”

Less than two hours before Goodell faced reporters, the NFL broke a three-day silence and released a statement that it “would look into the matter.” Whether that means hiring an independent investigator, interviewing other involved parties or pursuing more documents from the Justice Department remains unclear, though it does not sound as if the NFL wants to take a proactive role.

“Listen, we’ll continue to follow any of the facts that come up,” Goodell said, “and we’ll determine whether we open an investigation or not based on those facts.”

The crude conversations between Tisch and Epstein — who committed suicide while imprisoned in 2019 — were about “adult women,” Tisch said in his own statement.

Tisch, now 76, is shown in emails asking Epstein — who at the time already had a conviction for procuring a child for prostitution — if a “Ukrainian Girl” was a “pro or civilian.”

In a separate email, Tisch asked Epstein about a woman the disgraced financier had described as a “Tahitian” named “Emily,” wondering if she was a “working girl?” On another occasion, he inquired whether a particular woman was “fun.”

In one email, Tisch asked Epstein, “Is my present in NYC?” When Epstein replied to the affirmative, Tisch asked, “Can I get my surprise to take me to lunch tomorrow?”

“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments,” Tisch said Friday night through a Giants spokesperson. “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

At least one exchange between Tisch and Epstein occurred during an NFL meeting, the emails show. And Tisch offered Epstein two tickets to his suite for a Giants game while Epstein offered Tisch an invitation to his private Caribbean island.

NFL owners are subject to the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy often applied to suspended players. The policy states that “owner and club or league management have traditionally been held to a higher standard and will be subject to more significant discipline when violations of the Personal Conduct Policy occur.”

Goodell spoke at length about less controversial topics, including the growth of female flag football. It was not lost on those in the room that the NFL’s push for female fandom contrasts with the way women were discussed in those emails.

Is Goodell concerned about the way it reflects on the league? And the possibility that other owners could be mentioned as Epstein discovery continues?

“Sure,” he said. “That’s why we have a personal conduct policy and that’s why we will look into the facts.”

Daniel Snyder sold the Commanders in 2023 under intense pressure from fellow owners after he was found to have sexually harassed an employee and fostered a toxic workplace. Jerry Richardson sold the Panthers in 2018 after he was accused of sexually suggestive comments and actions toward female employees.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft — who could be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this week — was not disciplined by the league after his two solicitation of prostitution charges were dropped in 2020.

One important distinction is that the Tisch family — not Steve alone — owns 40 percent of the Giants. Steve Tisch (executive vice president/chairman of the board) has served as the front-facing partner since his father, Bob Tisch, died in 2005, but siblings Jonathan Tisch (treasurer) and Laurie Tisch (board director) conceivably could fill those shoes if their older brother steps back.