The long-rumored Roger Goodell contract extension is now official. The NFL announced the longtime commissioner is now signed through 2027, a development that has been in the works for a while.
Goodell, who has been in the commissioner role since succeeding Paul Tagliabue in 2006, is set to pass his predecessor and become the NFL’s second-longest-tenured leader. Pete Rozelle‘s 29-year run may be out of reach for Goodell, who is 64, but this latest extension will allow for the polarizing leader to pass the two-decade mark.
The deal will officially run through March 2027, according to the league’s compensation committee. Goodell took over in August 2006. The league has become a more popular entity during Goodell’s tenure, and two lengthy CBAs have been ratified under his watch. While the current commissioner has taken persistent heat — largely for his handling of off-field punishment — the NFL remains the country’s most popular sport by a substantial margin.
This contract may well be Goodell’s last, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicating some believe the commissioner will walk away following its completion. For what it’s worth, Goodell did not confirm he would retire after this contract. Tagliabue retired at 65; Rozelle stepped down at 63. Owners had been discussing Goodell’s extension for several months. It loomed on the agenda during league meetings in March and May, but with December the next window to complete the deal, this week’s owners meetings provided the setting for Goodell’s latest re-up.
Goodell’s current contract was set to expire after the 2023 season, with that deal being signed in 2017. After another round of monster TV agreements came to pass during Goodell’s previous contract, owners obviously saw no reason to rock the boat now. Over the course of this new deal, Goodell appears prepared to groom a potential successor. Jim Irsay said in May that Goodell will have the opportunity to help the owners form a candidate list and have input as to whom the league should choose. Goodell also said splitting the commissioner role into two parts, one a CEO-type role and the other dealing more closely with the on-field component, has emerged as a talking point among owners and NFL officials.
Ahead of Goodell’s December 2017 extension, Jerry Jones waged an extensive battle to impede that deal from coming to pass. This came amid a messy back-and-forth that resulted in then-reigning rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott being suspended after a lengthy legal fight. Jones has come back around on Goodell; the Cowboys owner announced Wednesday this latest extension is done.
Goodell’s tenure has seen player safety measures expand exponentially and the NFL begin playing games annually — save for the 2020 and ’21 seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic — in Europe. During his previous extension, Goodell oversaw the completion of a CBA that is in place through the 2030 season. This marked the second decade-long CBA to be ratified during Goodell’s tenure, though the 2020 agreement passed by a slim margin. The latest round of TV deals also have the salary cap back on the rise. The pandemic led to only the second cap reduction in league history, dropping in 2021 as a result of the fanless or fan-limited (depending on the city) 2020 season. Last year, however, restored cap growth.
The NFL managed to complete a full 2020 season, which the other major American sports leagues did not. Granted, the NFL’s slate did not start until the pandemic was several months in, but the league made major changes to its schedule — moving games to Tuesdays and Wednesdays at points — to ensure its completion. The reserve/COVID-19 list became a regular designation, with expanded practice squads and IR flexibility — league components that remain in place — coming about largely because of the pandemic. The 2020 CBA also ushered in a seventh playoff team per conference and a 17th regular-season game, highlighting a run of changes to the game in recent years. Goodell will attempt to further solidify his legacy on what could be his final contract.
Uuuuuuuugh
Roger is like Jerry for me. I don’t care for either man; pompous, arrogant, jerks. But they are good at running businesses!
Panthers were sold in 2018 for $2.27B
Denver sale went through 2022 $4.65B
DC this year for $6.05B
All three are similar in market size, but to have almost a $4B difference in 5 years is astounding. What’s Seattle going for $7B, another similar sized market? They should be for sale in a year or 2 right?
The 3 are not similar in financial/media market size. The DC area is the 3rd largest media market in the US behind only NY and LA respectively, and DC has only one team where the others have 2.
One of the things that Goodell did successfully is getting 2 teams in that LA market during his tenure to pull in more TV money.
Actually I think DC is 4th or 5th now, but still way bigger than Denver or Carolina.
Are they yelling boooooo or boooo urnss?
Lol
The owners love him and the fans hate him.
whew, i can start watching games again.
The NFL’s Teflon Don. Hope Gruden’s lawsuit shows us the slime underneath that smirk.
People will complain but the man has been great for the owners and the bottom line of the league and that’s all his job is about.
He represents the owners best interest the players have their own representation. My only problem with the guy is he has at times been a little quick to use that ultimate suspension power before getting enough facts. Image is important and players are paid accordingly but everyone in any job deserves some kind of due process or thorough investigation at least. Even if it’s a paid leave that hurts a players image and value it’s impossible to completely retract
So aside from proving that he can reinstate a player like Josh Gordon 6 or 7 times from a suspension, what else has he accomplished that any other bozo in a suit couldn’t have?
Owners lap dog