Roger Goodell

Latest From Jerry Jones on Roger Goodell Contract

It’s already well known that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has his problems with the commissioner Roger Goodell‘s potential contract extension. Jones has already said that most of the NFL’s owners are being “misled” because of a bonus agreement among other things that have been included in the prospective new deal.

Jerry Jones (Vertical)

There’s been speculation that Jones’ recent attempts to block Goodell’s new extension stems somewhat from the ongoing legal battle regarding Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott and the league. However, the Cowboys owner went on record today to dispute that notion, citing other less specific issues, relays Jon Machota of SportsDay.

“This is simply about making sure that all clubs have input into not only the commissioner’s [contract] extension, but also in future years his decisions, Jones said. “We all see how impactful a commissioner’s decision can be in many areas. We’ve given him a lot of power and I think we need the checks and balances of ownership having to actually be in a position to not just suggest but approve of his decisions. That’s what this is about.”

Jones notes that he’s been working with Goodell for a long time and that he’s able to separate his disappointment with the league’s handling of Elliott’s suspension and what’s good for the NFL long-term.

“I’ve been dealing with this commissioner for almost 28 years as an employee of the NFL,” Jones said. “Zeke’s been involved here a year, year and a half. Those are really separate issues as to Zeke. The policy we have that has impacted Zeke is more of my issue with the commissioner.”

The Cowboys owner and general manager noted to Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star Telegram, that his problems with Goodell’s contract extension as currently constructed has less to do with the commissioner and more with the power of the position he holds.

“To a large degree, it’s not about Roger Goodell. It’s about the power of the commissioner as it relates to ownership. To the extent that the ownership hires him, extends him, pays him on an ongoing basis, the ownership should have first-hand approval, each owner, should approve that.”

It would seem that Jones’ problems at least on the surface have more to do with the owners keeping a strong hold on their league rather than not having his start running back for six games at some point this season. However, it is undeniable that Goodell has asserted his power throughout this Elliott suspension process and Jones has said publicly that he’ll support his superstar player all the way. There’s no way to know exactly what the tipping point in negotiations will be, but the NFL and Jerry Jones will certainly have a lot of talking to do over the next months.

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Points: Bennett, Kaepernick, Goodell

Did Martellus Bennett quit on the Packers after Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone? That was the feeling in Green Bay, according to one source who spoke with Ryan Wood of USA Today. Wood also indicates that the Packers took Bennett’s decision to retire after the season as a sign that he was already checked out and that may have led the team to release him here in November.

Bennett, one of the most sought-after free agents of the offseason, is now available for any team to claim off of waivers. It is expected that he will go unclaimed, but teams may consider signing him once he is available as a free agent.

While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s from around the NFL:

  • NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart says contract negotiations with commissioner Roger Goodell have been “productive [and] amicable” and he expects “that they’ll be wrapped up soon,” (Twitter link via Lindsay Jones of USA Today). Lockhart also noted that owners voted, 32-0, to authorize the compensation committee to negotiate a five-year contract extension with Goodell (Twitter link via Mark Maske of The Washington Post). Of course, that unanimous vote includes Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who is reportedly threatening to sue the NFL over the pending Goodell deal. Goodell is said to be “furious” about Jones’ actions, but Lockhart tells reporters that is not the case.
  • Colin Kaepernick attorney Mark Geragos will have the leeway to ask NFL owners about a great deal in the collusion case, as detailed by Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. His line of questioning could include past high-profile disciplinary cases including the Ezekiel Elliott investigation, Deflategate, and Ray Rice. Meanwhile, those in the know like retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman (now one of the top arbitrators in California) say that Geragos is a force to be reckoned with.
  • The NFL says that Kaepernick recently declined an invite to meet one-on-one with Goodell, but Geragos says that’s not the case (link via Robinson). “We responded immediately [to the Oct. 31 invite] that Colin would be happy to attend,” Geragos said of a personal meeting with Goodell. “Because of the grievance we asked that a mediator be present. A mediator would ensure that the discussions were productive and confidential and not used as a public relations stunt or prop by the league. Colin’s proposal was rejected.” Lockhart, meanwhile, says the lawyer’s claim is “disingenuous.”

Roger Goodell “Furious” Over Contract Delay

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is reportedly “furious” over the league’s insistence that he accept a contract that includes performance-based incentives that could still allow him to reach his prior salaries, according to Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com.Roger Goodell (vertical)

A potential Goodell extension has been in the works for months, but has been consistently delayed — the latest hurdle, of course, is Cowboys owner Jerry Jonesthreat to sue the NFL over Goodell’s contract. At least one source tells the ESPN scribes that Jones’ lawsuit is simply a “scare tactic,” although Jones could hope to change rules that currently require only two-thirds of NFL owners to approve a Goodell extension. Jones reportedly wants a new deal to be signed off on by three-fourths of the league’s owners.

Jones had essentially been acting as an “ad hoc” member of the NFL’s compensation committee, but that group has since removed his access. Still, Jones believes four to five owners agree that Goodell should be replaced as commissioner, while another 12-15 owners are “on the fence.” Jones, though, reportedly has his own candidate in mind to serve as the league’s next commissioner, a fact that may have lessened his support.

Goodell, meanwhile, has earned in excess of $200MM since taking over as NFL commissioner in 2006, and isn’t interested in accepting a pay reduction. “He feels as if the owners have made a lot of money and he should be compensated accordingly,” a source tells Van Natta and Wickersham. “The incentives thing really angers him.”

While Goodell is seemingly under fire, other reports have indicated his situation isn’t quite as dire — Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter link) Goodell’s extension is still a “certainty,” adding Jones has “maybe three” owners on his side.

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones To Sue NFL?

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has a bone to pick with Roger Goodell and he’s not letting up anytime soon. Jones is threatening to sue the NFL and some of his fellow owners over talks to extend Goodell’s contract, two people with direct knowledge of the situation tell Ken Belson of the New York TimesJerry Jones (Vertical)

Last week, Jones informed the owners on the league’s compensation committee that he has hired famed lawyer David Boies to represent him. The majority owners of the Chiefs, Falcons, Giants, Patriots, Steelers, and Texans all serve on the committee. Jones has effectively shoehorned his way into the group, though he does not carry a vote since he is not an official member.

Goodell’s extension was reported to be near completion months ago. It has been greatly delayed, however, and Jones appears to be the driving force behind the roadblock. The Cowboys owner is livid at Goodell over the pending six-game ban of Ezekiel Elliott and he is determined to make him pay.

Players Coalition Requests Meeting With Roger Goodell, Colin Kaepernick, Bob McNair

The Players Coalition, a group of roughly 40 players that was formed this year to help with criminal justice reform in various communities, have requested a face-to-face meeting with Roger Goodell, Texans owner Bob McNair, and Colin Kaepernick, as ESPN’s Jim Trotter tweets. The Coalition has requested that the meeting take place tomorrow in Philadelphia.

Bob McNair (Vertical)

The full request is available in Trotter’s tweet above and was seemingly triggered by a recent ESPN The Magazine story wherein McNair was quoted as saying, “we can’t have the inmates running the prison.” Although that is a common idiom, and although McNair clarified the comment by saying that he was referring to how the league has been making significant strategic decisions without adequate input from ownership, anything that could be construed as a social comment probably will be in today’s racially-charged NFL, and the Coalition certainly appeared to take it as such. The request stated that the “events” that have unfolded the last several days — it is unclear what events the request is referring to outside of McNair’s quote — demonstrate the “lack of seriousness that some league officials are approaching our discussions [sic].”

The Coalition goes on to say that it believes the only way towards progress is open dialogue, which is why it wants to meet with the Commissioner, McNair, and the player who is at the epicenter of the league’s social reform discussions. As ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweets, the Coalition believed it was important for Kaepernick to make his voice heard at the meeting.

However, Cam Inman of the Mercury News tweets that the NFL has no update as to whether the Coalition’s requested meeting would take place tomorrow. Per Anderson, the Coalition is not taking the league’s silence very well (Twitter link), but it seems likely that some response will be forthcoming. There is already a social activism-based meeting scheduled for players and owners this week, a meeting that Kaepernick has agreed to attend, so the league could feel that the Coalition’s request is largely redundant.

Latest On Roger Goodell Extension

It’s been a week since we’ve discussed Roger Goodell‘s anticipated contract extension, so it’s high time we talk about it again, lest anyone forget. Last Sunday, we heard that the extension had been papered and was ready to be finalized but that discussions concerning the national anthem issue were holding things up (though multiple reports disputed the notion that the anthem issue was the cause of the delay). However, it still sounded as if the extension would get done in short order.

Roger Goodell (vertical)

Now, though, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com says the extension might not be the slam dunk it once appeared to be. Per Schefter (who was the one who reported that the anthem discussions were impeding the extension), 17 NFL owners held a conference call Thursday that discussed the possibility of halting the extension. Unsurprisingly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was a “leading voice on the call,” but outside of the Cowboys, it is unclear which teams were represented. Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the chair of the compensation committee, was not part of the call.

It still seems unlikely that Goodell would be fired, as 24 of the league’s 32 owners would need to sign off on his dismissal, and it does not sound as if Goodell has lost that much support. Plus, as ESPN’s Jim Trotter tweets, owners do not know who would replace Goodell at this point. Nonetheless, there is growing dissatisfaction with Goodell’s performance as commissioner, according to Schefter, and with the league at something of a crossroads in light of player protests, declining ratings, etc., at least some owners do not believe Goodell is a good enough problem-solver. Said one owner, “You don’t get to have this many messes over the years like Roger has had and survive it.” Added another, “Maybe [Blank] and [the compensation committee] think they’re on track [to complete an extension], [b]ut they have a lot more resistance than they counted on — and maybe they don’t know how the resistance is growing as we speak.”

Once again, though, Schefter’s report is being contradicted by another prominent national writer. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says Goodell’s extension is done, it just has not been announced yet. La Canfora says it may not be announced until the the week of the Super Bowl, as the NFL knows it will create a great deal of conversation, much of it negative, and it simply does not want to deal with it right now while there are so many other issues to publicly contend with. The CBS scribe says Jones is indeed trying to hold things up, but it is unlikely he has 16 other owners in his corner, and that while the other owners on the conference call do want change in the league office, they do not want to remove Goodell.

Tune in next week for yet another thrilling installment of the Goodell drama, where conflicting reports and plot twists abound.

Latest On Roger Goodell Extension, League Meetings

It seems inevitable that Roger Goodell is going to receive an extension at some point in the near future. The extension was supposed to be finalized back in August, but since then, it was reported that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — the de facto seventh member of the league’s compensation committee — was holding up the works as a sort of payback for the Ezekiel Elliott saga, and we also learned that part of the hangup was the amount of severance Goodell would receive in the event that he is fired.

Roger Goodell (vertical)

Now, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that completion of the extension has been slowed by debate over NFL player protests during the national anthem. Schefter says the deal is still expected to be completed and has been papered, but the league’s attention to the contract and other league business has been diverted by the anthem issue, according to Schefter’s sources. Schefter adds that no topic received as much attention during last week’s meetings as the anthem.

Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, though, hears just the opposite. Breer says last Tuesday’s meeting between a group of 13 players and 11 owners, plus Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith included very little talk on the anthem, and the meeting among all league owners later in the day was similarly devoid of anthem-related conversation. Instead, the meetings focused on issues like a multifaceted effort to support the social causes important to players, and 49ers CEO Jed York told Breer, “in the long run, I think you’ll see a really, really strong platform and initiative where we have several weeks of the season that are dedicated to socioeconomic and racial causes.”

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says owners and players will meet again next week to discuss social issues, but the anthem will not be part of the conversation. It seems that the players know the anthem protests have helped to shed light on topics they truly want to discuss, and now both the owners and the players are focused on those topics rather than the protests themselves. Indeed, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes, Jones is the only owner who is still criticizing the protests.

So if what Breer and Rapoport say is true, then perhaps Schefter’s report is simply stylized incorrectly. The anthem discussions are not holding up Goodell’s extension, it is discussions about other issues that the anthem protests have raised. In any event, it looks as though Goodell’s new deal will get done soon, and the league will have stability in the commissioner role as it heads into the allegedly inevitable lockout following the 2020 season. Perhaps more importantly, the league and its players are apparently on the same page (mostly) with respect to generating attention for social issues that are important to the players.

Extra Points: IR-DTR, Goodell, Hogan, Pack

This week marks the first time players who were placed on the IR-Designated to Return list can start practicing again. Under league rules, players must sit out at least six weeks on the injured reserve and then practice for another two weeks in order to be placed on the active roster again. That would mean that players who just started to practice on Monday are on track to return to game action in Week 9. Teams have three weeks to decide if certain designated players will return once they get back on the practice field.

Patriots LB Shea McClellin headlines the list of IR-DTD players who started practicing this week, which comes courtesy of Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter Link). McClellin has been recovering from an undisclosed injury he suffered during training camp. It’s an encouraging development for Bill Belichick as the Pats are heavily in need of capable pass rushers. The three other players who returned to practice were Chargers LB Denzel Perryman, Ravens CB Maurice Canady and Falcons LB LaRoy Reynolds.

  • In other league news, Roger Goodell‘s new contract, which was reportedly hung up over his prospective severance package, is now back on track to being completed sooner than later, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport relays a quote from Falcons owner Arthur Blank that states: “Making good progress. Shouldn’t be too long.” We don’t know exactly why the talks are in a better place, but with this news, it seems that the major hurdles are now in the rearview mirror.
  • The Browns named DeShone Kizer their starter once again today, but the other surprise announcement was that former starter Kevin Hogan had slipped behind Cody Kessler on the depth chart. Despite a poor game in his first start of the year, the move was rather unexpected, but new information sheds more light on the situation. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Hogan is now the third QB because of bruised ribs he suffered last week. Head coach Hue Jackson addressed the injury in a media session today. “They’re pretty bruised in my opinion. … I’m not going to put (an injured) guy out there or let him go through the week,” Jackson said. Jackson went onto say that Hogan would be the backup if healthy, so it looks like this development is more of a non-story at this point.
  • In other QB news, Mike McCarthy expressed some caution about an upcoming roster move regarding the injured Aaron Rodgers, reports Ryan Wood and Michael Cohen of Packers News. The Packers head coach told a number of reporters today: “Our focus clearly is just to get through the surgery, and just see where he is. I’m not personally looking in that direction. My focus is on Aaron’s health right now.” The team already elevated QB Joe Callahan from the practice squad this week, so it looks like there won’t be any further changes in regards to the Packers’ signal-callers until Rodgers’ surgery take place.

Latest On Roger Goodell’s Extension

Back in August, it was reported that the NFL was on the verge of agreeing to a lengthy extension with commissioner Roger Goodell. Six weeks later, Goodell’s deal – which would supposedly take him through the 2024 season – has not been completed. It turns out that part of the hangup in negotiations is the amount of severance Goodell would receive in the event that he is fired, Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal hears (Twitter links). Still, it’s expected that the deal will get done. Roger Goodell (vertical)

Goodell’s current contract runs through 2019, which makes for awkward timing since the league’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in early 2021. NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith has said that a strike or lockout is a “virtual certainty” after the 2020 season, so the league will want to have stability in the role of commissioner heading into that pivotal time. If Goodell serves through 2029, that will mark 19 years in power.

The “compensation committee” has taken the lead on negotiations with Goodell, a group that is made up of owners Arthur Blank (Falcons), Clark Hunt(Chiefs), Robert Kraft (Patriots), John Mara (Giants), Bob McNair (Texans), and Art Rooney II (Steelers). Interestingly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has injected himself as the unofficial seventh member of the committee. Jones, of course, is at odds with Goodell over Ezekiel Elliott‘s pending six-game suspension, a battle which is now being hashed out in the courts.

Goodell’s has earned upwards of $200MM in salary since he was elected commissioner in 2006. The NFL did not disclose Goodell’s pay for 2016 after dropping its tax-exempt status, but we do know that he earned $44.2MM in 2012 and $32MM or more from 2013-2015. Recently, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reported that Goodell earned $44MM in 2015.

NFL Still Expected To Extend Roger Goodell

An extension between the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodelloriginally reported a month ago — is “getting done,” a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. While the deal could take days or weeks to become official, it’s “getting papered right now,” per Schefter.Roger Goodell

While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did indeed attempt to block a new contract for Goodell, his complaints were “shot down” by the league’s other owners, reports Schefter. While Jones wanted to extend the search process and possibly look for other candidates, the NFL’s six-man compensation committee — comprised of Arthur Blank (Falcons), Clark Hunt (Chiefs), Robert Kraft (Patriots), John Mara (Giants), Bob McNair (Texans) and Art Rooney II (Steelers) — had other ideas.

Goodell, who became NFL commissioner in 2006, is reported to have been extended through the 2021 campaign. For the 2012 season, Goodell raked in $44.2MM, but his salary was lowered in the following years, as he earned $35MM in 2013, $34.1MM in 2014, and $32MM in 2015. Goodell’s salary won’t be public any longer, as the NFL dropped its tax-exempt status in 2015.

Goodell’s rival, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, was also extended this week, as Smith landed a new contract through the 2021 campaign. Both men are now signed through the NFL’s current contractual bargaining agreement, ensuring stability for both sides as the parties head towards a possible work stoppage, something Smith referred to as a “virtual certainty.”