I don't think that any one person or super in-crowd is solely responsible for attempting to fix a game, I think a few things can be true at once:
-NFL execs would like to see certain teams do well, for the star power, encourage ref's to give them all the calls
-NFL execs would like Brees to break the record on Monday night in primetime, and before half time, encourage refs to give Brees all the calls in the 1st half
-an NFL ref needs a little extra money for his kids surgery, is on the take from a lone shark
It's all plausible, and I have certainly heard worse. Also, I believe that animosity in the owners groups may contribute to certain teams getting the shaft in a revenue sharing organization. Once it gets to the level of Billionaires, money is less important and pride becomes involved. Personally I think the Mara's are among the most corrupt people in the organization, and I don't think it was a coincidence that the Skins and the Cowboys both got screwed by penalties during the uncapped year debacle, because there was obvious collusion and Mara, who is head of the competition committee, took it as a personal slight. The degree to which we were penalized as well, even though I see our actions as perfectly legitimate in an uncapped year (hence the need for a cap), reeks of petty vengeance.