Roger Goodell

Jerry Jones Blocking Roger Goodell Extension?

September 17th, 2017 at 12:42pm CST by Rory Parks

Commissioner Roger Goodell‘s current contract expires in 2019, though an extension was expected to be reached prior to the regular season getting underway. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the six-man compensation committee is expected to have a conference call on Wednesday to produce a specific term proposal for Goodell.

Also included on the call will be Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has made himself the unofficial seventh member of the compensation committee, which also includes fellow owners Arthur Blank (Falcons), Clark Hunt (Chiefs), Robert Kraft (Patriots), John Mara (Giants), Bob McNair (Texans) and Art Rooney II (Steelers). And, according to ESPN’s sources, Jones considers himself a representative of the remaining 26 owners who are not on the compensation committee, and he is impeding a new deal for Goodell. One person familiar with the contract negotiations said, “If not for Jerry, this deal would be done.”

Interestingly, but perhaps not coincidentally, Goodell was informed that Jones would take part in the process within the same time frame as the commissioner was deciding the eventual six-game suspension of Cowboys’ star running back Ezekiel Elliott for violation of the league’s domestic violence policy.

Jones has told the compensation committee that the other 26 owners believe Goodell is significant;y overpaid. As Schefter and Mortensen write, “Goodell’s earnings of more than $200 million since he was elected commissioner in 2006 — including a $44 million salary in 2015 — is at the core of Jones’ aggressive strategy in communicating with fellow owners.”

Some owners believe an extension is imminent all the same, while others believe there is no way a new deal gets reached anytime soon. Even if an extension is offered, it is unclear whether Goodell would be happy with it, as he would have to meet certain incentives to realize the same salary he has enjoyed in the past.

Jones was unavailable for comment and the league declined comment.

Latest On Ezekiel Elliott’s Appeal Effort

August 28th, 2017 at 6:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ezekiel Elliott will be away from the Cowboys on Tuesday in order to face off with the NFL at his appeal hearing. But it sounds like the running back’s side knows it’s up against a fight it might not win in this setting.

However, Elliott’s camp and the NFLPA are prepared to fight this further. If the second-year back’s suspension is upheld, Elliott’s defense team and the union are likely going to file a lawsuit against the NFL, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports.

The parties battling the NFL in this latest case are looking to challenge the league in court on a procedural violation they believe occurred, Robinson reports. The exact violation these groups believe the NFL committed is not known, but Robinson reports they are related to the NFL’s arranging of this appeal.

Elliott’s defense team wanted Roger Goodell to select an arbiter other than Harold Henderson, a former league exec whom the union does not view as independent, and wanted to make the running back’s accuser available for cross examination. Henderson denied each of these requests while also dismissing Elliott’s camp’s push to make Tiffany Thompson’s notes and six interviews with investigators available during this process.

The union and the armada of attorneys representing Elliott — one that now includes longtime NFL legal adversary Jeffrey Kessler — believe they have enough working against them here to make the case a procedural violation occurred, Robinson notes. A procedural violation helped Tom Brady and the union sue the NFL in 2015, and it ended up delaying his four-game Deflategate ban until 2016. This would allow a federal court challenge and delay this process, and ultimately, the suspension while the matter is being sorted out.

NFL To Extend Roger Goodell Through 2024

August 21st, 2017 at 8:12am CST by Zachary Links

Roger Goodell isn’t going anywhere. The NFL is set to extend its commissioner through the 2024 season, according to Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that there are still some issues for the two sides to iron out before a deal formally gets signed.

Goodell’s current contract runs through 2019, which put the league in an awkward spot since the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in early 2021. Recently, NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith characterized a strike or lockout as a “virtual certainty” after the 2020 season, so it’s imperative for the league to have stability in leadership. If Goodell serves through 2029, that will mark 19 years in power.

It hasn’t always been a smooth ride for Goodell and the Ray Rice scandal of 2014 nearly cost him his job. Still, the league has grown tremendously since he came to power in 2006 and Goodell has been well compensated for his time.

For the 2012 season, Goodell raked in $44.2MM. He took some pay cuts after that, earning $35MM in 2013, $34.1MM in 2014, and $32MM in 2015. We don’t know how much Goodell earned in 2016 or how much he’ll earn in the coming season, since the NFL dropped its tax-exempt status in 2015. However, it’s possible that Goodell could make a little less per year on his extension.

Even in the ~$30MM range, Goodell is still compensated better than any player in the NFL.

Is The NFLPA Preparing For A Lockout?

May 13th, 2017 at 9:03am CST by Ben Levine

The NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in early 2021, and it looks like the NFL Player’s Association is already preparing for a potential work stoppage. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, the NFLPA’s board of representatives have approved a plan that would set aside millions of dollars into a “work-stoppage fund.”

Instead of immediately handing out the licensing royalties to players, the NFLPA is seemingly setting this money aside in case of a strike. Pelissero suggests the players will ultimately accumulate more than $90MM over the next four years, “on top of union dues that already are saved for that purpose.” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has already done an admirable job of collecting money since taking over the role in 2008, as the union has over $314 million in net assets.

2016 royalty money will still be handed out to players this fall, with the “equal share” starting to see an impact for the 2017 campaign. Pelissero reports that the “equal share” earnings for NFL players in 2015 was around $13,200, which ends up equaling out to more than $22MM. This number will surely be reduced as the NFLPA looks to save some money for a potential work stoppage. Any applicable royalties will also be placed into the fund until a player retires, unless there’s a strike before then. In that case, the collected royalty money will be allocated to the players immediately (as determined by the NFLPA board).

On the flip side, the NFL itself reportedly doesn’t have these financial contingencies in place. As the the writer notes, a matter of contention during the 2011 strike was the NFLPA’s assertion that the league had saved up more than $4 billion in TV revenue for a potential lockout.

The NFL has reportedly approached the NFLPA regarding a renegotiation multiple times, but to no avail. Pelissero suggests that “stadium credits” will surely be atop the list of sticking points, along with how money is allocated via the lucrative television deal. Offseason practice rules and Roger Goodell‘s “authority over discipline” will also surely be discussed.

Roger Goodell Addresses Raiders Relocation

March 26th, 2017 at 9:04am CST by Dallas Robinson

With the hope retaining the Raiders, city of Oakland and mayor Libby Schaaf submitted an updated stadium proposal last week, but commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t particularly impressed with the specifics of the plan, as he detailed in a letter to Schaaf, per David Debolt of the East Bay Times.

“The material that we reviewed earlier today confirms certain information that had previously been communicated orally, such as a willingness to bring bank financing to a stadium project, and a proposed valuation of the land at the Coliseum site,” Goodell wrote to Schaaf. “It also confirms that key issues that we have identified as threshold considerations are simply not resolvable in a reasonable time. In that respect, the information sent today does not present a proposal that is clear and specific, actionable in a reasonable timeframe, and free of major contingencies.”

In other words, Schaaf’s “updated” strategy was not updated at all, but rather a rehashing of the same plan the city had been presenting for some time. Indeed, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News reported Friday that Oakland’s new plan “did not move the chains forward,” while Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets neither the NFL nor the Raiders have a different view of the situation as a result of Schaaf’s letter.

“Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution,” Goodell wrote. “It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion.”

Instead, the Raiders’ intention to relocate to Las Vegas appears all but finalized, and NFL owners are expected to vote Monday on the club’s plan. The Raiders and owner Mark Davis will need to garner 24 votes (out of 32) in order to move to Sin City, at which point they’ll pay a cheaper relocation fee than did the Rams and Chargers to move to Los Angeles. Additionally, the Raiders have secured a record $750MM in public money for a $1.9 billion stadium in Vegas.

NFLPA Not Looking To Extend Current CBA

February 4th, 2017 at 12:00pm CST by Ben Levine

The NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement isn’t set to expire until 2020, but reports from October indicated that the league’s owners were hoping to extend the deal. Well, USA Today’s Tom Pelissero passes along quotes (via Twitter) from Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association DeMaurice Smith, who says the current CBA will not be extended.

“There’s not gonna be an extension of the CBA,” Smith said in late January (via Mark Maske of The Washington Post). “I don’t know what [Roger Goodell is] thinking when he says extension. But there’s not gonna be an extension of the CBA. If the owners are interested in talking about issues that are currently covered by the CBA or issues that aren’t currently covered by the CBA and they want to have a renegotiation on some of those issues, we’ll have a renegotiation of those issues. But there’s not going to be a 2025 [or] 2027 addendum to the CBA that says, ‘We’re good with this.’

“I don’t think that’s what he meant when he said extension. But I don’t spend a whole heck of a lot of time trying to unpack what other people are thinking when they say stuff.”

Of course, Smith acknowledged that the current deal could be renegotiated as the two sides work out some differences regarding the current CBA. Television revenue and stadium credits are among the “issues” that the two sides continue to chat about, according to Pelissero (via Twitter). Jason Cole of Bleacher Reports adds (via Twitter) that the player’s union is also planning on taking a look at the “use of marijuana in pain management.” ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano notes that one course of action could allow NFL players to receive a “therapeutic use exemption” when it comes to marijuana.

When the owners were pushing for an extension in October, they were concerned with funding for potential stadiums in Las Vegas and San Diego. While the Raiders are still eyeing a potential move to Sin City, the Chargers have already announced that they’ll be moving to Los Angeles in 2017.

Yahoo’s Charles Robinson writes that the players aren’t inclined to extend or renegotiate the CBA because of the rapidly growing cap. While the cap was only $123MM in 2013, it’s expected to grow to $165MM this offseason, a more than $1.34 billion increase when you account for the entire league. Robinson notes that we’re still not close to any labor issues, but the fact that the NFL is already to looking for changes (while the union is looking to stay put) is certainly telling.

Roger Goodell On Ezekiel Elliott, Josh Brown

February 1st, 2017 at 2:08pm CST by Zachary Links

In Houston on Wednesday afternoon, Roger Goodell fielded questions from reporters on a wide range of topics. Here’s a look at the highlights:

Goodell said there’s no timetable on the league’s investigation into domestic violence allegations against Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). About two weeks ago, Elliott indicated that he is unhappy with the pace of the NFL’s investigation. The league has been investigating Elliott since July, and it reportedly regarded him as “Public Enemy No. 1” as of November.
The NFL is still reviewing the possibility of putting together a developmental league, Goodell said (Twitter link via CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora). review/study. “We have a debate that goes on,” he said. “It’s something we’re actively considering.” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s head of football operations, has been pushing the idea of a D-League or in-season academy to help groom young talent. Meanwhile, there will be a non-NFL affiliated spring league launching this year.
Goodell says Josh Brown‘s domestic violence investigation remains open (Twitter link via La Canfora). Regardless of the outcome, it’s hard to see the former Giants kicker getting another chance in the NFL. If Greg Hardy and Ray Rice can’t get work, then I can’t imagine a team weathering a PR nightmare for a kicker.
Goodell indicated that the league is ready to start discussing an extension to the collective bargaining agreement (Twitter link via Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports). The current CBA goes through the 2020 season.

Goodell May Exert Influence In Las Vegas Vote

October 23rd, 2016 at 8:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Roger Goodell still prefers the Bay Area as the Raiders’ long-term locale to Las Vegas, and the commissioner may wield enough power to swing the Raiders’ upcoming relocation vote, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports.

Ownership sources told La Canfora the commissioner’s ability to rally support behind causes he feels strongly about shouldn’t be underestimated regarding the seminal vote set likely for early 2017. A matter as significant of a team relocating from a top-five market to the No. 40 market could meet Goodell’s standard for exerting influence.

“Even if this came to a vote early next year,” one source told La Canfora, “I wouldn’t at all discount Roger’s ability to garner 9-12 votes against [a move] if he believes firmly that Oakland is in the best interest of the league.”

The Raiders need 23 additional votes to green-light their long-rumored Vegas move. This news comes after a report earlier this week appeared to see owners softening their stances on a team trying to set up shop in the nation’s gambling mecca. Although most owners’ beliefs on this would-be seminal venture aren’t yet known, Goodell feeling the need to play a key role here could be a sign support is growing.

Mark Davis is also seeking to have this vote as early as possible, but the league looks set to delay it. Davis secured the $750MM in public money quicker than owners expected, and the NFL is trying to catch up in this process. Davis still wants the Raiders to play at the Oakland Coliseum in 2017-18 before hopefully relocating to Vegas in ’19.

The owner is no longer interested in discussing a future in Oakland or Los Angeles, La Canfora writes, but Goodell maintains the league needs to look into what can be salvaged in Oakland as well as research what a Las Vegas move would entail for the league.

“I would expect the league to delay any vote for as long as possible,” one ownership source said. “Mark is adamant that they are gone, but the league isn’t in any rush to bring this to a head.”

The vote that sent the Rams to L.A. and kept the Chargers and Raiders in their longtime markets occurred in January, and Davis wants this expected vote to take place in January 2017, when he’s expected to file for relocation. But that doesn’t look to be on course right now.

Goodell and the NFL have been linked to having discussions with Oakland civic leaders, talks in which Davis is not currently participating. The league is exploring “several stadium options” in the Bay Area, per La Canfora, who continues the theme of pointing out how the NFL is more attracted to the Bay Area’s business infrastructure advantages compared to Las Vegas’.

Raiders To File For Relocation In January

October 19th, 2016 at 5:45pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The possibility of the Raiders going from Oakland to Las Vegas in the near future continues to become more realistic. The Raiders’ Mark Davis revealed to his fellow NFL owners Wednesday that he plans to file for franchise relocation in January, reports Jim Trotter of ESPN.com.

A decision from the league on whether to approve a move would likely come in March, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. In an early, 20-team survey Cole conducted, seven are proponents of Davis’ plan, one is against it, and the other 12 are undecided (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was among those Cole asked, but the influential 74-year-old expressed admiration for Las Vegas on Tuesday (via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).

“I think it’s a great matchup, and I’m really impressed by the leadership … and I’m impressed by the fact that financially the people that will be supporting Mark Davis’ effort to bring those Raiders there are as excited as they are about it,” Jones said. “That alone makes me want to be very active and very excited about the Raiders and the possibilities.”

Despite Cole’s pro-Las Vegas survey and Jones’ enthusiasm, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported Tuesday that wariness of the city exists within the league’s ownership ranks. Specifically, there are concerns over both trading a bigger market for a smaller one and Las Vegas’ status as America’s gambling capital.

“I think in general we don’t like to leave big markets for small markets,” a high-ranking official with one team told Maske. “That’s as big as anything. I think most people are not crazy about that.”

Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed gambling Wednesday, saying that the league is “still very much opposed to legalized gambling on sports. We think that has an impact on the integrity of our game.”

Interestingly, the official Maske spoke with added that “most” in the league would like the Raiders to remain in Oakland. However, the individual conceded that the league might not have another choice if Las Vegas presents the best option for a new stadium. Further, Goodell admitted that “we have been working to see if there are alternatives and we don’t have one” in the Bay Area.

In a statement Wednesday (Twitter link via Pelissero), Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf declared that the city “will not enter a bidding war with Nevada using public funds.” However, along with ex-Raider Ronnie Lott’s group and Alameda County, Schaaf believes “we can offer a serious plan in the coming weeks that is fair to the Raiders, the league, the fans and the Oakland taxpayers to whom I am most responsible.”

While Oakland hasn’t made progress toward a facility that would replace the 50-year-old Coliseum, it’s full steam ahead in Nevada, where Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill Monday green-lighting $750MM in public money toward a $1.9 billion domed stadium in Las Vegas. Davis would commit another $500MM ($200MM of which would come from an NFL loan, though a collective bargaining agreement extension might be a requirement), and businessman Sheldon Adelson would contribute $650MM of his money.

After Davis’ Wednesday presentation to owners, which Goodell called “informative” and “factual,” Davis criticized Oakland and praised Las Vegas for the cities’ respective stadium efforts.

“Oakland was in the driver’s seat if they could’ve put together anything. They came up with nothing,” he told the Associated Press. “Las Vegas has already done what it is supposed to do and we have to bring it up to the National Football League and get permission to move to Las Vegas.”

In order for the Raiders to end up in Las Vegas, Davis will need 23 approval votes from the league’s other 31 owners. If that happens, the team could still play in Oakland for the next couple seasons as it awaits stadium construction in Las Vegas. A report Saturday indicated that the Raiders could use UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium as a stopgap. Davis shot down that possibility Wednesday, though, saying it’s unfit to host NFL regular-season games.

Moving to Las Vegas would also require the Raiders to pay the league a relocation fee. That figure is set at $550MM, but Cole reports that the Raiders likely wouldn’t have to pay that much (Twitter link).

Latest On Potential London Team

October 1st, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Naturally, the latest London game brought more discussion of where the NFL bringing a team to England on a full-time basis stands. When the subject of a London Super Bowl surfaced, Roger Goodell pumped the brakes on such a maneuver until the NFL has a team stationed in London, via James Palmer of NFL.com (on Twitter).

As far as the seemingly monumental task of relocating a team to London, or installing one there as an expansion outfit, more emerged on that front as well. Jim Irsay is in favor of a London team but notes it can only be a worthwhile venture if a forward-thinking owner runs it with an understanding of both the American and European market.

“That’s my goal as an owner, to find the right owner and the right team to come here,” Irsay told George Bremer of the Herald Bulletin (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “… We look forward to having a permanent NFL team here.”

Smith points out the NFL remains serious about a London team. Several owners believe this is the league’s popularity apex in the states and the only way for the game to grow further would be a move overseas. While the right owner would help, it wouldn’t solve the logistical issues that continue to plague it. This makes Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star doubt this long-rumored London project will happen.

We heard in June the owners discussed this issue in-depth at a meeting, right down to what a playoff bracket would look like if a London trip was involved. But what did not come out of those meetings were how a London team would affect regular seasons and the players who uprooted to Europe to play for this hypothetical franchise.

Doyel doubts a London team could field the same kind of talent due to the life-changing relocation it would require and doesn’t think the NFLPA would back the move, as it would have to. Additionally, Doyel points out the team’s division mates would be at a disadvantage in having to make the trip annually — not to mention the actual London team’s road games occurring between five and eight hours apart from its time zone, with only one bye week to help for restoration purposes.

“That would be tough,” Colts defensive end Kendall Langford told Doyel regarding being on a London-stationed team. “It would be tough for me, especially when you have to go to the West Coast. (But) anything is possible in this league.”

Nevertheless, this will continue to be a key topic in league circles, especially during weeks the league’s London showcase opens its Sunday slate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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