Goodell extension the ultimate business decision
Roger Goodell has drawn the ire of players and owners alike. During his 11-year reign as NFL commissioner, he's earned criticism from the workforce for his heavy-handed approach and, of late, he's enraged the owners of the league's two most valuable franchises.
His rating with the public isn't much better. Fans blame him for the diluted product, what with the advent of Thursday games, and for the muzzling of their beloved players. The media and the public as a whole find the former public relations assistant an easy target for the league's PR nightmares, including the fumbled suspensions to Ray Rice, Josh Brown, and Greg Hardy, and its concussion crisis.
Yet, these are the same reasons Goodell is beloved by his bosses - the owners of the NFL's 32 teams. And it's why it comes as little surprise that the NFL is nearing a five-year extension with the commissioner, which would keep Goodell in power through 2024.
Goodell acts as the shield for The Shield. As long as he continues to be a good soldier and bear the brunt of the vitriol hurled in the league's direction, he'll continue to earn roughly $35 million annually as commissioner of the NFL.
"It's a job that requires you to take a lot of beatings publicly to kind of shield and cover for the owners," WEEI columnist and former Forbes sports business contributor Alex Reimer told theScore. "That's what Goodell is: He's the bag man. I guess most of the NFL owners realize there's no real reason to replace him."
Not while NFL teams are more valuable than ever. Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys brought in $700 million in revenue in 2016 and was valued at $4.2 billion. He bought the team for $140 million in 1989. The New England Patriots, owned by Robert Kraft, are the second-most valuable team, at $3.4 billion.
The league also remains flush with money from the billion-dollar television contracts signed with NBC, FOX, CBS, and ESPN in 2011.
"Business is still damn good across the league," said Reimer. "Goodell still takes the public beatings, which owners require him to do, he's the perfect bag man still for that, so maybe they figured, all things considered, it would be more trouble to replace him than just keeping him on if he wants to stay on for another four years."
And within the next four years, the league will have to prepare for another standoff with the NFLPA. The union is already preparing for a work stoppage when the collective bargaining agreement expires in 2020. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith launched a warning shot last week, declaring that a players' strike is "almost a virtual certainty."
To this point, however, Goodell's record is spotless when it comes to labor strife. Since he was appointed commissioner in 2006, there hasn't been any missed games due work stoppages.
"That's really the commissioner's most important job, the CBA and negotiating that, hiring lawyers and presiding over the strategy there," Reimer said. "And let's be honest, NFL owners kick ass in every round of CBA negotiations. They did last time under Goodell, so the owners are probably saying, 'We've got another one of these coming up, let's stick with what's been working for us.'"
What's been working for the league is having Goodell as its figurehead. He's accomplished what he was appointed to do, including return a franchise (or two) to Los Angeles, making headway in Las Vegas, and keeping the coffers full.
"I don't know if Goodell necessarily hurts business. I think what the NFL's biggest worry is is everybody's and that's cord cutting and that's declining live television viewership," Reimer said.
Though late to the party, the NFL is making strides in new media as well. The league inked a multi-year deal to share live programming with Twitter and Periscope, has partnered with Amazon to stream its Thursday Night Football package, and announced Monday a digital streaming partnership with Tencent to air live games in China.
"I think the issue down the road for the NFL and all the leagues is kind of the climate in which we live now with cord cutting and DVR and streaming," Reimer said. "Goodell seems to be willing to adapt and evolve on that front, too. Maybe that's another reason why they kept him on."