Roger Goodell - Pro Football Rumors

NFL Notes: Los Angeles, Goodell, Rice

October 12th, 2014 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Parks

There are a number of notes pertaining to the league as a whole this afternoon. Let’s have a look:

Adding to the increasing buzz surrounding the potential return of the NFL to Los Angeles, Albert Breer of the NFL Network writes that owners at the annual Fall meetings last week were presented with six potential sites for a stadium in LA. Per Breer, those sites are: “the AEG site in downtown Los Angeles, the Dodger Stadium site, a site at Hollywood Park with multiple parcels, a site that the NFL has been looking at for years in nearby Carson, a second Carson site on land that is currently home to a golf course and Ed Roski’s site in Industry.”
Breer adds (via Twitter) that it is unlikely that the Raiders would be the first team on the list of clubs that could end up making the move to LA. He writes that many of the scenarios regarding a possible relocation involve the Raiders but also include the Rams and Chargers.
Citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that the NFL wants to shield commissioner Roger Goodell from testifying at the Ray Rice appeal hearing. Judge Barbara S. Jones, who will hear and decide Rice’s appeal, could compel Goodell to testify, but that is the last thing the NFL wants.
Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole tweets that Jermichael Finley‘s disability insurance case has been an “eye-opener” for other players, as it is much more difficult to collect on such a policy than one would think.
Mike Garafalo of FOX Sports writes that one of the issues discussed at last week’s Fall meetings was the possibility of a team being stripped of draft picks for player conduct policy violations.
Robert Salonga and Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News discuss how the circumstances surrounding 49ers‘ defensive lineman Ray McDonald demonstrate the conflicts of interest created when NFL teams hire sworn police officers as security.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported earlier today that many NFL owners want someone other than Roger Goodell to handle disciplinary matters, and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen expounds on the issue. As Mortensen writes, one proposed modification would make it so that “the commissioner would not decide on the initial player punishment but rather yield to a neutral arbitration panel chosen by the union and league.” However, “Goodell would be the appellate officer or appoint a designated hearing officer if a player appeals his disciplinary action administered by the panel.” Nonetheless, union sources are skeptical of that proposal and indicate that any modification to the personal conduct policy would require collective bargaining.

La Canfora’s Latest: Newton, Houston, Hoyer

October 12th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Rory Parks

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has a number of interesting notes this morning, including several pieces on possible contract extensions for big name stars. Let’s jump right in:

Although the Panthers have not talked with quarterback Cam Newton about a possible extension since this summer, and no such talks are imminent, La Canfora writes that Newton is not interested in a “pay as you go” contract like those signed by Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton. Joel Corry tweets that Newton’s agent, Bus Cook, will certainly not accept that type of deal for Newton given that he was able to procure $38MM in (virtually) guaranteed money for Jay Cutler.
La Canfora writes that the Chiefs would like to extend outside linebacker Justin Houston during the season, but unnamed sources indicate that is unlikely. After locking up quarterback Alex Smith long term, Kansas City wants to revisit negotiations with Houston, which went nowhere in the preseason. However, the two sides do not currently appear likely to bridge that preseason gap, and Houston could be slapped with the franchise tag next year, which would be worth about $13MM. Even with Kansas City’s ample cap room, Joel Corry tweets that the mega-deals signed by J.J. Watt and Robert Quinn did not make it any easier for the Chiefs to extend Houston.
La Canfora writes that the Browns have not yet begun contract talks with Brian Hoyer, but after his performance against the Titans last week, the time for locking him up at a reasonable rate may be running out. Joel Corry adds (via Twitter) that Cleveland may even consider an $18MM franchise tag for Hoyer for 2015, since the club has plenty of cap room to work with.
Although new Bills owner Terry Pegula is not planning any immediate changes to his front office, La Canfora writes that Pegula ultimately wants to “bring in an experienced football man” to oversee the team’s transition. Ernie Accorsi, Mike Holmgren, and Ron Wolf have all been named as possibilities. Pegula would also like to see an organizational restructure to separate the football side and business side of the club.
Many NFL owners, despite lauding commissioner Roger Goodell for his overall efforts, would like for him to allow others to handle disciplinary matters.
La Canfora has the the value of 2015 franchise tags for each position.

King On NFL Owners Meetings

October 9th, 2014 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The major news item to come out of this fall’s NFL owners meetings in New York was the approval of Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula as the new owners of the Bills. However, that order of business was out of the way early on Wednesday, since it took about “15 seconds” for the league’s other owners to officially sign off on the Pegulas’ bid. As Peter King of TheMMQB.com writes, a handful of other topics were addressed at the meetings as well. Here are some of the highlights:

Domestic violence was an area of focus during the meetings, with the NFL’s owners recognizing that it’s an issue that resonates with football fans and NFL consumers. While there’s an understanding that the league needs to respond aggressively to the issue, there was no consensus on when a player involved in a domestic violence case should come off the field. As King writes, several hours of discussion, education, and debate made it clear that there’s “no obvious answer” on whether it should take a conviction to remove a player from his team, or merely an accusation, charge, or indictment.
Owners believe that commissioner Roger Goodell should cede authority when it comes to disciplining domestic abuse violators and other similar cases. There’s a sense that Goodell can be relied upon for issues related to integrity to the game, such as bounties or cheating, but that a neutral panel or single czar should handle other discipline cases, especially related to legal issues.
Unsurprisingly, the owners continue to support Goodell, and feel as if he didn’t seem intimidated by the criticism he’s endured in recent weeks. One NFC executive told King that the commissioners “showed contrition without being meek.”
The future of football in Los Angeles is “percolating,” writes King. There’s nothing imminent at this point, but fans in Oakland, St. Louis, and San Diego “should be wary.”
Owners were impressed by one of the league’s newest hires, Lisa Friel, who has been tasked with helping to establish a policy on domestic violence. “I liked what I heard,” said Giants president and CEO John Mara. “She was tough and very thorough.”

NFL Notes: Los Angeles, FXFL, Rice, Goodell

October 5th, 2014 at 7:28pm CST by Rob DiRe

The NFL is planning on bringing at least one, but possibly two franchises to Los Angeles within the next 12-24 months, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. If true, either the Rams, Raiders, or Chargers, or some combination of the teams, will be playing home games in Los Angeles by 2016.

Here are some more notes from around the NFL front office:

The FXFL, a new football league that hopes to serves as a developmental league for the NFL, has implemented a number of experimental rules that the NFL has considered in recent years. However, Florio reports that the NFL has not asked the new league to implement any rules on their behalf.
Ray Rice is at the crux of two concurrent investigations, one from the NFLPA and another from Robert Mueller’s investigation of the NFL’s handling of the case. He is doing so to provide full and equal access to both parties, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Twitter).
Commissioner Roger Goodell updated all 32 franchises on the ongoing changes to the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy heading into the weekend, reports Jarrett Bell of USA Today. Goodell expanded his panel of experts on the subject, and took meetings with organizations and individuals at the forefront of the issue.
Ben Violin of the Boston Globe writes that NFL coaches are frustrated by the lack of practice time allowed under the most recent collective-bargaining agreement. He notes that teams are underprepared due to minimal practice and a cutting down of offseason workouts.

Freeman’s Latest: Pats, Suh, Raiders, Goodell

October 1st, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

While Tom Brady has been taking his share of criticism for the Patriots‘ shaky start to the 2014 season, one NFC scout tells Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that he believes head coach and de facto GM Bill Belichick should shoulder a good portion of the blame.

“The larger problem isn’t Brady. The problem is what’s around Brady,” the scout said. “Belichick has done a horrible job of putting talent around him. [Rob Gronkowski], to me, isn’t half the player he was. Their best player right now is Julian Edelman.”

As the scout points out, the Broncos have taken the opposite approach with Peyton Manning, surrounding him with an “armada” of weapons, while Brady once again works with an underwhelming group of receivers in New England. Freeman touches on several other topics of note within his latest column, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

After speaking to sources with the Giants and Jets, Freeman suggests both teams have only “marginal” interest in Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. A report on Sunday indicated that the standout defender would be interested in playing in New York when his contract is up in Detroit, but Freeman’s sources think Suh‘s agent Jimmy Sexton may simply be trying to scare the Lions.
While Freeman can say “with certainty” that the Raiders have interest in Jon Gruden and Jim Harbaugh as head coaching candidates, Gruden isn’t interested (at least for now) and Oakland likely wouldn’t be able to afford the sort of salary Harbaugh would command.
According to Freeman, the outlook for Roger Goodell remains “solid,” with owners around the league still supporting the embattled commissioner. However, much of that support hinges on what Robert Mueller‘s investigation uncovers about the Ray Rice situation.

Latest On Roger Goodell

September 29th, 2014 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

Within this week’s installment of his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King notes that he spoke to eight high-ranking team officials – either an owner or someone with knowledge of the owner’s thinking – about the current status of commissioner Roger Goodell. As King writes, a number of points were conveyed frequently in those discussions, so we’ll round up the highlights right here:

While there is currently no movement to remove Goodell from his position, owners are curious to see the results of Robert Mueller‘s investigation into how the league handled the Ray Rice situation. If Goodell lied about the Rice video, he’ll be in “serious trouble,” and even if Mueller finds that the commissioner wasn’t as an top of the investigation as he should have been, he may be in hot water as well.
Most owners are confident that Mueller’s report will be “far-reaching and legitimate,” though one owner acknowledged that it was probably a mistake to appoint an investigator whose firm has ties to the NFL.
One owner can envision a scenario in which Goodell survives this season, but may be in trouble in the long-term if the NFL brand has taken a significant hit.
Many owners that spoke to King want Goodell to give up some authority in discipline cases — they’d rather see him focusing more on league matters and growing and improving the game.
Owners also expressed concern that Goodell occasionally plays favorites, and that he spends too much time “going down a rabbit hole of unending controversy on an issue the league should have had buttoned up years ago,” as King writes.

Latest On Domestic Violence

September 26th, 2014 at 7:26pm CST by Rob DiRe

Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL sent a memo to all 32 franchises earlier today, regarding the recent advances the league has made in its reactions to domestic violence among NFL players. Earlier, we passed along the highlights via the Twitter posts of Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman. For those interested in reading the full memo, they can access it here, courtesy of Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

Here are some other updates about ongoing domestic violence issues:

49ers‘ defensive tackle Ray McDonald will not be charged with domestic violence this Monday, as the hearing has been cancelled by the prosecution, reports Tracey Kaplan of the Mercury News (via Twitter). She writes that no new court date will be set “unless or until charges are filed.”
The district attorney reportedly had no case to evaluate on Monday, according to Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today Sports. She writes that the police has declined to release any reports on McDonald other than the brief synopsis that originally surfaced.
Every NFL game this weekend will feature a public service announcement on domestic violence from the NO MORE anti-domestic violence and sexual assault campaign, reports Jones. The total value of the ads in terms of commercial time is approximately $3MM.

Latest On Ray Rice Situation

September 25th, 2014 at 8:07pm CST by Zachary Links

A law enforcement official says that he sent the Ray Rice video to the attention of NFL security chief Jeffrey Miller, according to Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press. The official says Miller was sent the tape in April, though he doesn’t know if Miller ever saw the DVD or opened the package.

The law enforcement official’s only communication with the league was a 12-second voicemail on April 9th from league offices confirming receipt of the package, in which a woman says, “You’re right. It’s terrible.”

“Since the NFLPA and NFL have launched separate investigations into the league and the Ravens’ handling of Ray Rice’s case, I want to make a few things clear. No one from the NFL ever asked me for the inside-elevator video,” the official told the AP. “I mailed it anonymously to Jeff Miller because he’s their head of security. I attached a note saying: `Ray Rice elevator video. You have to see it. It’s terrible.’ I provided a number for a disposable cellphone and asked for confirmation that it was received. I knew there was a possibility Mr. Miller may not get the video, but I hoped it would land in the right hands.”

For his part, Miller has denied ever getting a copy of the tape.

“I unequivocally deny that I received at any time a copy of the video, and I had not watched it until it was made public on September 8,” he said in a statement issued through an NFL spokesman.

It remains unclear what happened to the video once it arrived at league offices. Maaddi notes that are two NFL executives named Jeffrey Miller, but the law enforcement official insisted the video was addressed to the chief of security. Despite Miller’s denial this evening, this story may turn up the heat on the league office and commissioner Roger Goodell.

NFL Notes: Goodell, Tagliabue, London

September 20th, 2014 at 8:32am CST by Ben Levine

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held a press conference yesterday to discuss the league’s revised personal conduct policy. Of course, plenty of pundits offered their opinions on the commissioner’s statements, including former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi. Speaking on ESPN, Bruschi wasn’t positive in his review of the league’s commish (via ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio)…

“We needed someone to go up there and be a leader,” Bruschi said. “To be a leader and say something substantial. To give all of the public out there, all of the fans, all of the former players, all of the current players. To give them hope that things will be done right, and that wasn’t done because I don’t think Roger Goodell is the guy that can do that anymore.

“Fixing a mistake is one thing, but he can’t escape this. He can’t escape this. Because the NFL, a big thing about them also is image. How the NFL is portrayed. And as long as Roger Goodell is leading the NFL and he’s the face behind the shield, you will have the same emotions you had today, watching that press conference, listening to him speak in circles, wondering, ‘Man, what is this guy talking about?’ So as you continue and move forward and Roger Goodell is the Commissioner, you will continue to feel that way every time you see him.

“In my opinion, in my personal opinion, being a former player that spent 13 years in this league trying to do the right thing, I want a new Commissioner to lead my league. I want a new Commissioner to go out there and say the right things and be that leader, because right now, Roger Goodell is not that. And I don’t think he can ever be that. Roger Goodell needs to step down and move on, and we need new leadership. The big reset button needs to be pressed on the NFL right now, and it starts by Roger Goodell stepping down.”

Let’s check out some more notes pertaining to Goodell and the NFL…

Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole spoke to a pair of league executives about the press conference, and neither was impressed with the way Goodell handled himself. One expressed his belief that Goodell didn’t “measure up” to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who recently had to deal with the Donald Sterling controversy.
Peter King dove into the SI Vault to uncover a 2006 article where he discusses the retirement of former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. In addition to Goodell, King suggests Falcons president Rich McKay and Ravens president Richard Cass as possible replacements.
The NFL “very much” wants a franchise in London and believes that fan support will not be a concern, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

NFL To Make Changes To Personal Conduct Policy

September 19th, 2014 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed reporters and fielded questions at an afternoon press conference in New York today, and vowed that the league will make changes to its personal conduct policy. According to Goodell, “nothing is off the table” when it comes to potential changes, which he expects to discuss with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. The league hopes to have the process completed by the Super Bowl.

Additionally, Goodell indicated that he’ll be establishing a “conduct committee” to review possible changes and implement the best possible practices. The experts hired by the NFL will also review the commissioner’s role in various processes — by suggesting that nothing’s off the table, Goodell hinted that perhaps he may cede some power when it comes to disciplinary decisions.

While Goodell pledged to be transparent as the NFL considers changes to its personal conduct guidelines and other policies, the commissioner didn’t get into many specifics regarding the Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy situations after opening up the floor for questions. Goodell deferred to the appeal and legal process in those cases, declining to comment on issues such as what Rice initially told the league was on the elevator video that became public last Monday, or how TMZ got the footage with “one phone call” when the NFL couldn’t.

Goodell also said that he has not considered stepping down from his job as NFL commissioner. “I am focused on doing my job. We have work to do. That’s my focus,” Goodell said.