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These are excerpts. To read the entire article click the link below.
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http://mmqb.si.com/2015/03/23/roger-goodell-unplugged-peter-king-nfl/
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated/The MMQB
Roger Goodell, Unplugged
The NFL commissioner sat down with The MMQB for a long discussion about the league’s nightmare year off the field, whether he ever considered resigning, Chris Borland, Los Angeles and more. Plus the NFL veterans combine, Chuck Bednarik’s death and the latest from the annual meeting in Arizona
By Peter King
PHOENIX — Roger Goodell’s season from Hades is over, and don’t expect him to share many memories of the nightmare. I tried the other day, and got nowhere. The 56-year-old Goodell preferred to elaborate on where the league is going, not where it’s been. On the eve of this week’s annual NFL meetings, the commissioner defended the work the league has done to repair the NFL’s broken domestic-violence policies and said he didn’t think the Chris Borland retirement would prompt a line out the door at all levels of football.
In a 75-minute interview with The MMQB in his Park Avenue office in New York, Goodell seemed at ease and not wounded by the raging torrent of criticism that hounded him from the time he made his decision last July to suspend Baltimore running back Ray Rice for two games for knocking his wife unconscious in a New Jersey elevator. If he is wounded—and how can he not be—he’s not saying.
Asked what his hopes are for 2015, Goodell said: “To some extent it’s that the things that we’re doing are working. The changes that we’re making to the game are making it better and safer. The changes that we’re making to our policies to keep our stadiums full are working. We need to continue down those paths. You can’t get complacent. It’s working. The changes that we’re making to our personal conduct policy are working. Let’s keep down that path … We’re seeing the quality of the game continue to improve to be safer. So it’s working. That’s the optimism that the owners feel, that I feel, that we all feel about the game going forward.”
But Goodell is savvy enough to know there’s been damage to the league office, and a lot of it, and he’s going to have to have a damn good 2015 to restore faith in the league—and in him. “We have to meet the expectation of our fans,’’ he said. “They deserve it. We have to show them that their faith and trust in us is well placed.”
As the league meetings open this morning, owners and top club officials and coaches will gather at the posh Arizona Biltmore to discuss weighty matters such as the future of football in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and St. Louis—and in London. But the league still has some 2014 remnants to deal with. I’m going to run an edited transcript of Goodell’s remarks to me on Page 2 of the column. But first, a Cliff’s Notes version of the notable things from our conversation:
• On whether he ever considered resigning last year: “No. N-O. No.”
• He said teams not only will be required to report violations of the personal conduct policy, but also have a “continuing obligation” to report what they’ve learned from the team’s own investigation of the incident to the league office. “So it’s not just the initial incident,” Goodell said, “but if new information is something that they become aware of, they need to share that with our investigators.”
• Goodell is “leaning toward” splitting the job of his new discipline czar, possibly with responsibility of one person lording over investigations, and another responsible for discipline. (In a related note, the New York Post reported Saturday that the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Todd Jones, is stepping down and that sources said he would be joining the NFL. The NFL declined comment on that on Sunday evening, but word at the Biltmore on Sunday was that Jones would be joining the league in the coming weeks.)
• Goodell didn’t comment on any possible candidates for a split job. But I’ve heard reliably that if he does hire two people, Jones would run discipline, and former New York district attorney’s office investigator and prosecutor Lisa Friel—who has been a league consultant on domestic violence since September—is likely to run the investigative side.
• Goodell said he thinks league-hired investigator Ted Wells “is getting near the end” of his probe into the inflation levels of footballs in the AFC Championship Game, a story that’s hung over the Patriots and the league for the past nine weeks.
• One storyline during the deflated-balls saga was that the league was trying to catch the Patriots in the act of using the balls, and suspected prior to the AFC title game that the team was taking air out of the footballs before using them in games. Countered Goodell: “I was not personally aware of it until after the game.”
• He said he thinks “there’s a chance” there will be a rules change this week involving the extra point—either moving the PAT attempt from the two-yard line to the one-yard line, or perhaps back to the 15- to make the extra point less of a sure thing, or possibly changing the width of the uprights.
• Playoff expansion from a four-game wild-card weekend to six games (with an extra playoff team per conference) is probably at least a year away. Interesting note: If the playoff field expands from 12 to 14 teams, the league could move the final wild-card game to Monday night—but not at the expense of a conflict with college football’s national title game.
• The NFL is “looking at more games” in 2016 in Europe than the three scheduled in 2015, he said.
• Goodell said he’s “not concerned” with Jameis Winston, the possible first pick in the draft, staying home in Alabama with his family on draft night instead of being at the draft.
Here’s the edited Q&A with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
The MMQB: What’s the lesson you take from easily your most trying year as commissioner?
Goodell: I don’t know if you could put one or two … One of the things we always focus on is, What do we learn and how do we get better? I think in this case there were several factors. One is, Do we have the right expertise around us on specifically difficult issues that are complicated and complex? Two, in this case, at least in the personal conduct area, we were too reliant on law enforcement. We were completely reliant on law enforcement.
We can’t be in this circumstance, because our criminal justice system has to make different types of decisions on different standards. We have to have personal conduct that represents the standards in the NFL. That’s the third point, that we always have to make sure that our standards and our policies are advanced, well thought-out and represent the highest standards that people expect of us. That wasn’t our learning from last year, but it was clear that people expect the NFL to do the right thing and when we don’t, they’re disappointed. We’re disappointed.
The MMQB: What would you say in 2014 was your low point?
Goodell: I don’t know. I wouldn’t. I haven’t even thought about that.
The MMQB: You had a few of them.
Goodell: I just said, I haven’t thought about that. I think when you’re doing this job, you’ve got to do this job and you take highs and lows and you work to address them as quickly as possible and as thoroughly as possible.
The MMQB: Was there any time in 2014 that you considered, even for a moment, resigning?
Goodell: No. N-O. No.
The MMQB: How difficult was it personally on you?
Goodell: You know, when you’re trying to fix the things you need to fix, it’s not as difficult as it is on the people around you. Fellow employees. Our fans. I’d start with my family, the people who know you. Those are the people you worry about. But for me it was, we had a job to do and we had to get it done. I’m proud of what we did. I think what we did in developing a new personal conduct policy and making the changes that we made in education and making sure that people understand this issue, the things that we did more publicly about bringing to light this issue I think will be beneficial long-term to society—those things are things that we’ll look back and be proud of those accomplishments.
We’re sorry we got to the place we got to [and] the way we got to it, but that is something that we now can look back at and build on. … We’re actually starting to see it. People are saying, “People should adopt the personal conduct policy of the NFL in other institutions and other industries.” That’s rewarding to some extent.
The MMQB: Did you use anybody in 2014 as what you would call a sounding board, an advisor, to help you through the tough times?
Goodell: … Well, one of the good things about having those is that you don’t tell people who they are, because then they aren’t quite as open … I think that’s how you develop relationships that are valuable.
The MMQB: Do you feel that, in terms of the personal conduct policy—whenever you pick your discipline czar, will you be handing over a clearly defined way to handle personal conduct and discipline to whoever this person is?
Goodell: No. One of the reasons I created a conduct committee is that you constantly have to evaluate your policies. You have to understand what’s going on. Not only what trends might be happening in your own league as far as types of infractions, but also what’s going on in the broader society. That includes the criminal justice system. We have to adapt when we can sense a trend is occurring or when changes are afoot and you have to get ahead of those issues. One of the things we want with a conduct committee is to make changes to the personal conduct policy. In fact, at the league meetings, after the last two conduct committee meetings we already have a change that the committee is going to recommend.
The MMQB: What is it?
Goodell: It’s actually something that came out of the Mueller report (the NFL-sponsored investigation by former FBI czar Robert Mueller on the Ray Rice case), which was that there’s not only an obligation to report an incident, but there’s an obligation on behalf of the clubs to report and keep us informed if new information develops. So it’s not just the initial incident but if new information is something that they become aware of, they need to share that with our investigation.
The MMQB: So if there’s a team that has an incident that’s similar to what happened with Rice …
Goodell: It doesn’t have to be similar. If you have an incident that would be in violation of the personal conduct policy, you not only have to report the incident, but you have to report any information that you have at that time, or that you may get going forward. It’s what we call a “continuing obligation.”
The MMQB: Why do you think this is important?
Goodell: It’s just an example of the fact that you have to constantly look at your policy and improve it—make sure that everyone understands it. Whether it’s the clubs, the individual employees of the league, the media, the fans … You have to be clear and as simple as you can possibly be.
The MMQB: Where are you in hiring someone to run that division?
Goodell: Well, we are at the final stages. We have not only talked about the individuals who could be involved but also the structure. One of the things that we evaluate is whether it’s a single individual or should the responsibility be split in any way, [such as] investigations versus discipline.
The MMQB: What do you think is the smartest way to do it?
Goodell: We’re at the final stages of that. … I’m leaning towards splitting them.
The MMQB: Speaking of investigations, we’re at the two-month anniversary of the AFC Championship Game and the investigation into allegations that the Patriots deflated the football or footballs in that game. How much thought did you give that you needed to get it resolved so it’s not hanging over the league? It seems like it’s been hanging over the league for two months. Was there any thought in your mind to try to get it resolved that week so that it didn’t mar anything associated with the Super Bowl?
Goodell: No. I think the most important thing is to get the right information, to get the facts and to get the truth. And not to make any judgments until you get that. We have been very careful on that. We followed the facts. We took the information. We determined that we should bring Ted Wells to further the investigation. We haven’t given him a timetable except to be thorough, be fair and get to the truth. When he’s completed his report, that will be made public as well as to all of us.
The MMQB: Any indication when that will be?
Goodell: I haven’t spoken to him for several weeks. I think he’s getting near the end, but there’s no requirement when. …
The MMQB: Is two months to investigate that too long?
Goodell: Again, I think that if you’re going to be thorough, it takes time. You’re having to meet with a lot of people. I guess it’s always too long, because you want to get to that issue and deal with it. It’s important not to exert any pressure to short-circuit or do anything other than be fair and transparent.
The MMQB: Can you say that the first time that you heard about this was after the game?
Goodell: Yes.
The MMQB: You know that there’s a storyline out there that you knew about the deflating and wanted to catch them in the act.
Goodell: Let’s just short circuit this a little bit. I’m not going to get into what we knew and when we knew it because that’s part of what he’s investigating. … I can tell you that I was not personally aware of it until after the game.
The MMQB: You had a surprising event last week with a 24-year-old linebacker for the 49ers, Chris Borland, retiring. What was your initial impression when you heard it?
Goodell: You have to respect his decision. It’s his judgment. As you point out, players retire all of the time. They make those determinations. They balance a lot of issues that are sometimes personal to them.
The MMQB: Do you view it as a singular issue? Are you in any way concerned that moms and dads of America will look at this and be concerned about the future of football?
Goodell: This isn’t something that came up yesterday for us. We’ve been working on the safety of our game throughout our history—with an incredible focus on it in my personal time as commissioner … We’ve seen a reduction of concussions by 25 percent just last year. That’s continuing a three-year trend on that issue. We saw a lot of those techniques in the reduction of those penalties, and it hasn’t impacted the quality of the game. You’d have to admit that the quality of the game is outstanding. There was a lot of criticism several years ago that we were changing the game. We are changing the game, for the better. The game has never been better or safer. And I think that the statistics bear that out.
We also are very focused on making sure that we provide the best medical care. I think you’ve seen recently that we hired Betsy Nabel. For the first time ever, we have a chief medical advisor, and she’s someone who I think will bring a great deal of experience, independence and thought to all the work that we’re doing to make sure that our players get the absolute best medical care …
I go back to something else that I think is very important—NFL players are living longer than the average American male. And quite a bit—two to three years on average, according to the Niosh study. … And we’re also seeing very positive results in youth football and high school football. High school football went up this year in terms of participation, despite all of the coverage.
What we want are facts to be out there. … When they hear the facts, they’ll realize that the game has an awful lot to offer. While there’s risk of injury, there’s risk in any physical activity. The way the game is being taught is making it a safer game and a better game.
The MMQB: But you obviously see the stories of the broken-down old players …
Goodell: I’m hearing about the changes we made in the collective bargaining agreement four years ago. I can’t tell you how many retired players came to me, including players that I was the intern for [Goodell was a PR intern for the Jets in the early ’80s], and said, “I wish those rules had been in place when I was playing, because I’d still be playing.” I’ve heard players talk about the quality of the fields as an example. “Had the fields been at the quality that they are now, I’d still be playing the game.” So I think you’re overlooking a lot of the improvements that have taken place—not just in medical, but in the fields and the rules and the training.
The MMQB: Do you think Borland is an outlier?
Goodell: Again, players are making the decisions whether to play or not play every day. They’ll be making it for a variety of reasons—injury, career … If they have all the facts and are making a personal judgment, you have to respect that. People are going to make those decisions based on, we hope, facts and whatever their personal judgment is.
The MMQB: Let me ask you about the rules. It strikes me that if you tangibly change the rule on what is a catch, it could lead to a reversal of some of the progress that the numbers say has been made on concussions—just because there will be an increased emphasis on trying to knock the ball out.
Goodell: … You’re talking a little bit about a hypothetical. That’s why the competition committee reviews this for weeks and looks at what we call the unintended consequences. So I think you’re somewhat referencing that. … I think that’s true. We had that when we initiated the defenseless player hits. Everyone thought, Well, that’s going to increase knee injuries, and they’re going to start going lower and that’s going to cause a different type of injury. So that’s the unintended consequences we look at. That hasn’t proven to be true by statistics. So I think you can make the game safer and better, but those issues of what could happen if you change a rule are exactly what the competition committee really balances.
As far as defenseless players, that was one of the big things defensive backs coaches said—part of the job is to dislodge the ball. Well, what we’re seeing is that with the proper techniques you can still dislodge the ball. And it’s safer not only for the player being struck, but the player who is striking the individual. We’re still seeing that. So I think has been culture change, and frankly the change in techniques that you see with coaches and players is that they’re seeing the proper techniques, the safer techniques, actually can lead to the same outcome of breaking up the play. It doesn’t have to be the hit to the head where you’re launching.
The MMQB: Do you get involved much with things like that with the competition committee?
Goodell: I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with [competition committee co-chair] Jeff Fisher last night. I talk with Rich McKay or other committee members, John Mara. … I’m meeting with them in advance of Sunday.
The MMQB: The ‘what is a catch’ question was huge in this country in the playoffs. What’s your opinion—should the rule be changed?
[Editor’s note: At the Arizona meetings, it’s not going to be proposed as a rules change and will only be advanced if teams bring it up.]
Goodell: Well, this was also huge with Calvin Johnson [in a game in 2009]. The stage was bigger [this time], right? That’s why it’s so important for the competition committee to take the time away from that and to evaluate all of the consequences, including the officiating side of it, which is very important. One of the reasons they moved to the rule the way they did is so that it could be officiated consistently. That’s a big part of the decisions that they make. They bring officials in and also get input from the officials. You would want to try to develop that consistency so that a catch is a catch for everybody and it’s clear and you can see it.
The MMQB: What about giving each team a guaranteed possession in overtime?
Goodell: I think our overtime rule is really working well. I think it’s got the right balance. It keeps the sudden death nature of the game but … you have the opportunity to win the game and not give the other team the ball if you score a touchdown. … I think that maintaining the sudden death nature of the game is very important. … I think the extra point will be something that gets a fair amount of discussion—whether we move it back to the 15, as we experimented last year. Could you combine that potentially with putting the ball at the one [-yard line] so that you incentivize them to go for 2?
The MMQB: Is there a chance that you do something this year with the extra point?
Goodell: Yes … I think there’s a chance. I think that we’re going to have some pretty healthy discussions about it.
The MMQB: What do you think is the most logical thing? Moving it back to the 15 or moving it up to the one?
Goodell: Well, there’s another alternative that’s been discussed a lot which goes well beyond the extra point, which is would you change the uprights? We had some pretty healthy debate about that in Indianapolis [when Goodell met with the Competition Committee]. The accuracy of the kickers is so good right now. And on the extra point, it’s virtually an automatic play. Should there be some excitement or some consequence whether they can really make the extra point? … I think the ownership feels pretty strongly that we need to create excitement in all of our plays. It could be some combination. I think the other thing that I would add that is related both competitively and medically is the medical timeout. If we see a player in either distress or disoriented in some fashion, should we stop the game and how do you stop the game and make sure that the individual gets evaluated properly?
The MMQB: Who calls the medical timeout?
Goodell: That’s what we’re going through the debate on. We have this eye in the sky—the ATC spotter—that would likely be the best position, because they’re all former trainers and they have the ability to identify somebody.
[Editor’s Note: Independent certified athletic trainers have been positioned in the press boxes for every game since 2011. They have the ability to communicate with the sidelines and mandate that an injured player be taken off the field if they see signs of distress that medical people on the sidelines have not seen, or have ignored.]
They’re looking at the entire field. If you’re relying on someone on the sideline, the medical professional might not see it. The coaches might not see it, because they could be talking to other players. So that’s why we brought in the ATC spotter. … You can go to the video on the sideline, which has been what a lot of our medical professionals tell you is one of the great advancements. … As a matter of fact, last year I think it was in Pittsburgh—[LeVeon] Bell’s injury—they were actually showing him the injury on the sideline [with the video unit on the bench]. That’s our core—making sure that the medical professionals make the decision and have the opportunity to make it.
The MMQB: Other topics of business at the league meetings …
Goodell: The expansion of the playoffs will be discussed.
The MMQB: Why has that cooled?
Goodell: I don’t think it’s cooled at all. There are a lot of factors that go into it. One, we want to be right when we do it … It’s something that we think has got a lot of merit from a competitive side, because it would actually add more teams to the race as you get toward the end of the season. There’s the broadcasting side of it. When would you play that extra game? [A seventh playoff team in each conference would leave] one bye for the first seed in each conference.
The MMQB: What about playing a wild-card game on a Monday night?
Goodell: You could. Potential conflict that comes in there is the national championship game, because that would interfere in some years with that. We’re respectful of college football.
The MMQB: Theoretically doesn’t it make a lot of sense, if you don’t have to worry about college football, to have six games on wild-card weekend? You play two Saturday, three Sunday, and one Monday. Is that the most logical?
Goodell: Sure. But again, you have to consider college football, which is important to us.
The MMQB: What are the odds this year that you change playoffs from 12 to 14?
Goodell: You know we don’t deal in odds around here. [Laughing.] Here’s the other thing from the television partners—with the addition of [full-season] Thursday Night Football last year, we put a lot more of additional advertising inventory in the marketplace. Usually it takes a couple of years to absorb that. Then if you add in the fact that the college football playoff came in, it gave us a lot more inventory that time of year. And ticket sales, I think that’s another big issue. We want to advance this postseason policy a little more effectively so that we have confidence. You know, you could have a situation where a team ends up with two home games at the end of the season and you could end up winning your division and then play three home playoff games. You could have five home games in five weeks at the end of the season and into January. If you have a northern climate, that’s a lot to ask of your fans. So we have a lot to balance.
The MMQB: Is it logical to think that you would propose an 18-game schedule at any point in the near future?
Goodell: I think it’s one of those things that we’ll continue to evaluate the season structure. … The real short-term focus is on the quality of the preseason. Do we need four preseason games anymore—for competitive reasons or any other reason? And I think that there’s a growing sentiment that you don’t. That’s including football people. If you have four games to evaluate players and develop your team, that’s a plus. I think most coaches would say that. But can you get this done and can you do it in two or three games? I think that people are more comfortable with three. So do we need that? Okay, that’s one part of the schedule. The rest is the regular season and the rest is the postseason. So I think all of these are interrelated. You have to evaluate all of them. We haven’t spent a lot of time on 18 games in the last couple of years.
The MMQB: Let’s get to the obligatory London and Los Angeles issues.
Goodell: I can see your enthusiasm.
The MMQB: I mean, L.A. is going to happen … As you look at the landscape, what has changed to make it logical and likely that there will be football in Los Angeles?
Goodell: I’m not saying it’s likely. I think a couple of things are positive. One is our long-term labor agreement. I would say that when someone is making the kind of investment that you have to make in the Los Angeles market as well as a lot of other markets—you need the long-term stability so that we can invest back in the business. Ultimately that will pay you back. That’s why we’ve seen the salary cap increase by $20 million per team over the past two years. That investment is paying back. I think the long-term labor agreement has given us the ability to evaluate a long-term investment in Los Angeles to make it work successfully—because it’s a challenging market. It’s competitive. The stadium is a critical component of that. They’re not getting cheaper.
The MMQB: Doesn’t it make the most sense to have Oakland and San Diego combining in a stadium in L.A. and the Rams staying in St. Louis?
Goodell: Our first objective will be to make sure that those markets have had the chance to get something done—that they can get a stadium built to secure the long-term future of their franchise. San Diego has been working 14 years on a new stadium. Oakland is not in a new debate either, for the A’s or the Raiders. Same with St. Louis. … These are long debates about what is the right solution for the community and what is best for the team. We’re looking to see if we can create those solutions locally. If we can’t, we obviously have to look at long-term solutions for those teams.
The MMQB: Gut feeling—football in L.A. in 2016?
Goodell: I really don’t know, Peter. I’m not relying on my gut, I guess. I’m relying on if there is a real alternative where we can return to the market successfully for the long-term; that is the biggest priority in Los Angeles. And the other one is obviously making sure that we’re doing whatever necessary in the local markets to keep our teams successful and give them every opportunity to create a solution that works for the team long-term.
The MMQB: One other thing about L.A.—Stan Kroenke and the cross-ownership rules. Several times the league has told Kroenke to divest the ownership of his hockey and basketball teams. What can the league do to make him get rid of those teams?
Goodell: The finance committee has been working on this. They’ve given him periods of time to correct it and different ways in which to correct it. I think progress is being made on that. Stan hasn’t said, “I’m not going to be in compliance with the rules.” He wants to make sure that if we’re going change our rules, he can get consideration for that. If we’re not going to change our rules, how can he do it in the appropriate way?
The MMQB: London. Three games a year there now. Is there any progress toward a more permanent solution—whether it be a team or more games every year to get a more established toehold?
Goodell: Yeah, we’re looking at more games. Again, I think every year we’ve learned something from our experience, which is the objective. First and foremost is the passion of the fans—they want more. … What we’re getting from authorities is that, “We’d love to have a permanent presence here.” Stadiums are another big part of it.
The MMQB: Does it make any sense to branch out from London, to have a game in Dublin, Barcelona, Munich …
Goodell: Well, it depends on what your objective is. Just to play those games? Sure. But we’re not out to just prove whether or not we can play a regular-season game. We’ve proven that. What we’re looking to do is: Can we develop a market? Can we develop a fan base that is long-term and sustainable? What we’re seeing are very positive signs for that. We’re seeing a tremendous interest. We also had to get through a lot of logistics. Playing a regular-season game and not compromising the integrity of the game and the competitiveness of the game is really important. I think we’ve been able to do that. But we still have more work to do if you were going say, Well, now a London-based team is going to play [a full season there]. Those are different factors that you have to consider.
The MMQB: What would you say would be your hope for the league for 2015 overall, in the wake of last season?
Goodell: Well to some extent, it’s that the things that we’re doing are working. The changes that we’re making to the game are making it better and safer. The changes that we’re making to our policies to keep our stadiums full are working. We need to continue down those paths. We need to continue to work at it. You can’t get complacent. It’s working. The changes that we’re making to our personal conduct policy are working. Let’s keep down that path. The changes that are happening in the media world are significant. We have strategies. We have approaches that we think are positioning us very well for that future.
We’re seeing more fans engaged with the game. We’re seeing the quality of the game continue to improve to be safer. So it’s working. That’s the optimism that the owners feel, that I feel, that we all feel about the game going forward. The work that we’re doing in youth football, as I said, the numbers of participation—for the first time in five years, high school football is up. We think the same kind of results are happening on the youth football level.
Those are the kinds of positive changes that are [coming] because of a lot of the efforts that we’ve all made. Whether it’s investment in USA Football or some of the research, we’re pushing the right buttons. None of us can get complacent. The expectations of the NFL continue to rise, whether they’re internal or external. We have to meet that bar. We have to meet the expectation of our fans. They deserve it. We have to show them so they put their faith and trust in us.
The MMQB: Do you think the draft is logically a road show now?
Goodell: We want to make sure that this event is a success for our fans and for our clubs. Obviously it’s an important offseason event for us. I’m confident it will be. The reaction we’re getting and the excitement that is building around the draft is really extraordinary. We’re really thrilled with our plans. We have to execute on that, and then we’ll make that evaluation. There are so many markets that want this … I don’t know if I’d say logical. One of the reasons that we’re doing this is because we couldn’t get into the current facility [Radio City Music Hall in New York] until June. … Now we’ll find out—is it really something that there’s a great deal of interest in other markets? We think the answer is yes. … Will we move it every year? We’re not ready to make that decision.
The MMQB: Is there one city that is really aggressive about having it?
Goodell: Canton, Ohio. It’s awesome!
The MMQB: What was your meeting with Jameis Winston about, and are you concerned that the possible first pick in the draft is likely not going to attend the draft?
Goodell: Well the first answer is that it was a meeting at his request. We certainly welcomed the opportunity to sit with Jameis and his representatives. We had several people affiliated with our office that met with him. It was a good opportunity for us to make sure that he understood the expectations that we have of him as a player in the NFL for him to ask questions of us, and to make sure that there is clarity about the importance of the personal conduct policy and the expectations we have of everyone—whether you’re a player, whether you’re a first-round draft choice, or whether you’re the commissioner. We have a responsibility to live up to them.
The second part is he was clear that he wanted to spend time with his family. We’ve had that occur on several occasions over the years.
The MMQB: But rarely, if ever, with the first pick…
Goodell: I wouldn’t know because I’m not part of those invites, but I’m not concerned with that. I think that it’s something we respect when a player says, “I’d like to be with my family on that day.” It’s an important day for them also.
The MMQB: What leads you to believe that 2015 is going to be a better year for the NFL?
Goodell: Well, I think the first part is that we implemented a personal conduct policy in December which we think is responsive to addressing very complex issues where we acknowledged that our policy didn’t deal with those things [domestic violence issues] effectively. We brought in expertise to help us make those decisions going forward. I think there’s clarity to those issues. We’ve also worked very hard on educating all personnel in the NFL—whether you’re a player, a coach or a front office executive, or someone who works in the NFL offices—to understand the importance of this issue and why we take this so seriously.
So I’m confident from that perspective that there’s great progress that we made. And from an on-field issue, we had an extraordinary season. It was a competitive year that ended with the most-watched show in the history of television. So fans engaged with our game at an incredibly high level last year. We have to continue to focus on the game of football while making sure that we’re doing the right things off the field—and I’m confident that we will.
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http://mmqb.si.com/2015/03/23/roger-goodell-unplugged-peter-king-nfl/
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated/The MMQB
Roger Goodell, Unplugged
The NFL commissioner sat down with The MMQB for a long discussion about the league’s nightmare year off the field, whether he ever considered resigning, Chris Borland, Los Angeles and more. Plus the NFL veterans combine, Chuck Bednarik’s death and the latest from the annual meeting in Arizona
By Peter King
PHOENIX — Roger Goodell’s season from Hades is over, and don’t expect him to share many memories of the nightmare. I tried the other day, and got nowhere. The 56-year-old Goodell preferred to elaborate on where the league is going, not where it’s been. On the eve of this week’s annual NFL meetings, the commissioner defended the work the league has done to repair the NFL’s broken domestic-violence policies and said he didn’t think the Chris Borland retirement would prompt a line out the door at all levels of football.
In a 75-minute interview with The MMQB in his Park Avenue office in New York, Goodell seemed at ease and not wounded by the raging torrent of criticism that hounded him from the time he made his decision last July to suspend Baltimore running back Ray Rice for two games for knocking his wife unconscious in a New Jersey elevator. If he is wounded—and how can he not be—he’s not saying.
Asked what his hopes are for 2015, Goodell said: “To some extent it’s that the things that we’re doing are working. The changes that we’re making to the game are making it better and safer. The changes that we’re making to our policies to keep our stadiums full are working. We need to continue down those paths. You can’t get complacent. It’s working. The changes that we’re making to our personal conduct policy are working. Let’s keep down that path … We’re seeing the quality of the game continue to improve to be safer. So it’s working. That’s the optimism that the owners feel, that I feel, that we all feel about the game going forward.”
But Goodell is savvy enough to know there’s been damage to the league office, and a lot of it, and he’s going to have to have a damn good 2015 to restore faith in the league—and in him. “We have to meet the expectation of our fans,’’ he said. “They deserve it. We have to show them that their faith and trust in us is well placed.”
As the league meetings open this morning, owners and top club officials and coaches will gather at the posh Arizona Biltmore to discuss weighty matters such as the future of football in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and St. Louis—and in London. But the league still has some 2014 remnants to deal with. I’m going to run an edited transcript of Goodell’s remarks to me on Page 2 of the column. But first, a Cliff’s Notes version of the notable things from our conversation:
• On whether he ever considered resigning last year: “No. N-O. No.”
• He said teams not only will be required to report violations of the personal conduct policy, but also have a “continuing obligation” to report what they’ve learned from the team’s own investigation of the incident to the league office. “So it’s not just the initial incident,” Goodell said, “but if new information is something that they become aware of, they need to share that with our investigators.”
• Goodell is “leaning toward” splitting the job of his new discipline czar, possibly with responsibility of one person lording over investigations, and another responsible for discipline. (In a related note, the New York Post reported Saturday that the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Todd Jones, is stepping down and that sources said he would be joining the NFL. The NFL declined comment on that on Sunday evening, but word at the Biltmore on Sunday was that Jones would be joining the league in the coming weeks.)
• Goodell didn’t comment on any possible candidates for a split job. But I’ve heard reliably that if he does hire two people, Jones would run discipline, and former New York district attorney’s office investigator and prosecutor Lisa Friel—who has been a league consultant on domestic violence since September—is likely to run the investigative side.
• Goodell said he thinks league-hired investigator Ted Wells “is getting near the end” of his probe into the inflation levels of footballs in the AFC Championship Game, a story that’s hung over the Patriots and the league for the past nine weeks.
• One storyline during the deflated-balls saga was that the league was trying to catch the Patriots in the act of using the balls, and suspected prior to the AFC title game that the team was taking air out of the footballs before using them in games. Countered Goodell: “I was not personally aware of it until after the game.”
• He said he thinks “there’s a chance” there will be a rules change this week involving the extra point—either moving the PAT attempt from the two-yard line to the one-yard line, or perhaps back to the 15- to make the extra point less of a sure thing, or possibly changing the width of the uprights.
• Playoff expansion from a four-game wild-card weekend to six games (with an extra playoff team per conference) is probably at least a year away. Interesting note: If the playoff field expands from 12 to 14 teams, the league could move the final wild-card game to Monday night—but not at the expense of a conflict with college football’s national title game.
• The NFL is “looking at more games” in 2016 in Europe than the three scheduled in 2015, he said.
• Goodell said he’s “not concerned” with Jameis Winston, the possible first pick in the draft, staying home in Alabama with his family on draft night instead of being at the draft.
Here’s the edited Q&A with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
The MMQB: What’s the lesson you take from easily your most trying year as commissioner?
Goodell: I don’t know if you could put one or two … One of the things we always focus on is, What do we learn and how do we get better? I think in this case there were several factors. One is, Do we have the right expertise around us on specifically difficult issues that are complicated and complex? Two, in this case, at least in the personal conduct area, we were too reliant on law enforcement. We were completely reliant on law enforcement.
We can’t be in this circumstance, because our criminal justice system has to make different types of decisions on different standards. We have to have personal conduct that represents the standards in the NFL. That’s the third point, that we always have to make sure that our standards and our policies are advanced, well thought-out and represent the highest standards that people expect of us. That wasn’t our learning from last year, but it was clear that people expect the NFL to do the right thing and when we don’t, they’re disappointed. We’re disappointed.
The MMQB: What would you say in 2014 was your low point?
Goodell: I don’t know. I wouldn’t. I haven’t even thought about that.
The MMQB: You had a few of them.
Goodell: I just said, I haven’t thought about that. I think when you’re doing this job, you’ve got to do this job and you take highs and lows and you work to address them as quickly as possible and as thoroughly as possible.
The MMQB: Was there any time in 2014 that you considered, even for a moment, resigning?
Goodell: No. N-O. No.
The MMQB: How difficult was it personally on you?
Goodell: You know, when you’re trying to fix the things you need to fix, it’s not as difficult as it is on the people around you. Fellow employees. Our fans. I’d start with my family, the people who know you. Those are the people you worry about. But for me it was, we had a job to do and we had to get it done. I’m proud of what we did. I think what we did in developing a new personal conduct policy and making the changes that we made in education and making sure that people understand this issue, the things that we did more publicly about bringing to light this issue I think will be beneficial long-term to society—those things are things that we’ll look back and be proud of those accomplishments.
We’re sorry we got to the place we got to [and] the way we got to it, but that is something that we now can look back at and build on. … We’re actually starting to see it. People are saying, “People should adopt the personal conduct policy of the NFL in other institutions and other industries.” That’s rewarding to some extent.
The MMQB: Did you use anybody in 2014 as what you would call a sounding board, an advisor, to help you through the tough times?
Goodell: … Well, one of the good things about having those is that you don’t tell people who they are, because then they aren’t quite as open … I think that’s how you develop relationships that are valuable.
The MMQB: Do you feel that, in terms of the personal conduct policy—whenever you pick your discipline czar, will you be handing over a clearly defined way to handle personal conduct and discipline to whoever this person is?
Goodell: No. One of the reasons I created a conduct committee is that you constantly have to evaluate your policies. You have to understand what’s going on. Not only what trends might be happening in your own league as far as types of infractions, but also what’s going on in the broader society. That includes the criminal justice system. We have to adapt when we can sense a trend is occurring or when changes are afoot and you have to get ahead of those issues. One of the things we want with a conduct committee is to make changes to the personal conduct policy. In fact, at the league meetings, after the last two conduct committee meetings we already have a change that the committee is going to recommend.
The MMQB: What is it?
Goodell: It’s actually something that came out of the Mueller report (the NFL-sponsored investigation by former FBI czar Robert Mueller on the Ray Rice case), which was that there’s not only an obligation to report an incident, but there’s an obligation on behalf of the clubs to report and keep us informed if new information develops. So it’s not just the initial incident but if new information is something that they become aware of, they need to share that with our investigation.
The MMQB: So if there’s a team that has an incident that’s similar to what happened with Rice …
Goodell: It doesn’t have to be similar. If you have an incident that would be in violation of the personal conduct policy, you not only have to report the incident, but you have to report any information that you have at that time, or that you may get going forward. It’s what we call a “continuing obligation.”
The MMQB: Why do you think this is important?
Goodell: It’s just an example of the fact that you have to constantly look at your policy and improve it—make sure that everyone understands it. Whether it’s the clubs, the individual employees of the league, the media, the fans … You have to be clear and as simple as you can possibly be.
The MMQB: Where are you in hiring someone to run that division?
Goodell: Well, we are at the final stages. We have not only talked about the individuals who could be involved but also the structure. One of the things that we evaluate is whether it’s a single individual or should the responsibility be split in any way, [such as] investigations versus discipline.
The MMQB: What do you think is the smartest way to do it?
Goodell: We’re at the final stages of that. … I’m leaning towards splitting them.
The MMQB: Speaking of investigations, we’re at the two-month anniversary of the AFC Championship Game and the investigation into allegations that the Patriots deflated the football or footballs in that game. How much thought did you give that you needed to get it resolved so it’s not hanging over the league? It seems like it’s been hanging over the league for two months. Was there any thought in your mind to try to get it resolved that week so that it didn’t mar anything associated with the Super Bowl?
Goodell: No. I think the most important thing is to get the right information, to get the facts and to get the truth. And not to make any judgments until you get that. We have been very careful on that. We followed the facts. We took the information. We determined that we should bring Ted Wells to further the investigation. We haven’t given him a timetable except to be thorough, be fair and get to the truth. When he’s completed his report, that will be made public as well as to all of us.
The MMQB: Any indication when that will be?
Goodell: I haven’t spoken to him for several weeks. I think he’s getting near the end, but there’s no requirement when. …
The MMQB: Is two months to investigate that too long?
Goodell: Again, I think that if you’re going to be thorough, it takes time. You’re having to meet with a lot of people. I guess it’s always too long, because you want to get to that issue and deal with it. It’s important not to exert any pressure to short-circuit or do anything other than be fair and transparent.
The MMQB: Can you say that the first time that you heard about this was after the game?
Goodell: Yes.
The MMQB: You know that there’s a storyline out there that you knew about the deflating and wanted to catch them in the act.
Goodell: Let’s just short circuit this a little bit. I’m not going to get into what we knew and when we knew it because that’s part of what he’s investigating. … I can tell you that I was not personally aware of it until after the game.
The MMQB: You had a surprising event last week with a 24-year-old linebacker for the 49ers, Chris Borland, retiring. What was your initial impression when you heard it?
Goodell: You have to respect his decision. It’s his judgment. As you point out, players retire all of the time. They make those determinations. They balance a lot of issues that are sometimes personal to them.
The MMQB: Do you view it as a singular issue? Are you in any way concerned that moms and dads of America will look at this and be concerned about the future of football?
Goodell: This isn’t something that came up yesterday for us. We’ve been working on the safety of our game throughout our history—with an incredible focus on it in my personal time as commissioner … We’ve seen a reduction of concussions by 25 percent just last year. That’s continuing a three-year trend on that issue. We saw a lot of those techniques in the reduction of those penalties, and it hasn’t impacted the quality of the game. You’d have to admit that the quality of the game is outstanding. There was a lot of criticism several years ago that we were changing the game. We are changing the game, for the better. The game has never been better or safer. And I think that the statistics bear that out.
We also are very focused on making sure that we provide the best medical care. I think you’ve seen recently that we hired Betsy Nabel. For the first time ever, we have a chief medical advisor, and she’s someone who I think will bring a great deal of experience, independence and thought to all the work that we’re doing to make sure that our players get the absolute best medical care …
I go back to something else that I think is very important—NFL players are living longer than the average American male. And quite a bit—two to three years on average, according to the Niosh study. … And we’re also seeing very positive results in youth football and high school football. High school football went up this year in terms of participation, despite all of the coverage.
What we want are facts to be out there. … When they hear the facts, they’ll realize that the game has an awful lot to offer. While there’s risk of injury, there’s risk in any physical activity. The way the game is being taught is making it a safer game and a better game.
The MMQB: But you obviously see the stories of the broken-down old players …
Goodell: I’m hearing about the changes we made in the collective bargaining agreement four years ago. I can’t tell you how many retired players came to me, including players that I was the intern for [Goodell was a PR intern for the Jets in the early ’80s], and said, “I wish those rules had been in place when I was playing, because I’d still be playing.” I’ve heard players talk about the quality of the fields as an example. “Had the fields been at the quality that they are now, I’d still be playing the game.” So I think you’re overlooking a lot of the improvements that have taken place—not just in medical, but in the fields and the rules and the training.
The MMQB: Do you think Borland is an outlier?
Goodell: Again, players are making the decisions whether to play or not play every day. They’ll be making it for a variety of reasons—injury, career … If they have all the facts and are making a personal judgment, you have to respect that. People are going to make those decisions based on, we hope, facts and whatever their personal judgment is.
The MMQB: Let me ask you about the rules. It strikes me that if you tangibly change the rule on what is a catch, it could lead to a reversal of some of the progress that the numbers say has been made on concussions—just because there will be an increased emphasis on trying to knock the ball out.
Goodell: … You’re talking a little bit about a hypothetical. That’s why the competition committee reviews this for weeks and looks at what we call the unintended consequences. So I think you’re somewhat referencing that. … I think that’s true. We had that when we initiated the defenseless player hits. Everyone thought, Well, that’s going to increase knee injuries, and they’re going to start going lower and that’s going to cause a different type of injury. So that’s the unintended consequences we look at. That hasn’t proven to be true by statistics. So I think you can make the game safer and better, but those issues of what could happen if you change a rule are exactly what the competition committee really balances.
As far as defenseless players, that was one of the big things defensive backs coaches said—part of the job is to dislodge the ball. Well, what we’re seeing is that with the proper techniques you can still dislodge the ball. And it’s safer not only for the player being struck, but the player who is striking the individual. We’re still seeing that. So I think has been culture change, and frankly the change in techniques that you see with coaches and players is that they’re seeing the proper techniques, the safer techniques, actually can lead to the same outcome of breaking up the play. It doesn’t have to be the hit to the head where you’re launching.
The MMQB: Do you get involved much with things like that with the competition committee?
Goodell: I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with [competition committee co-chair] Jeff Fisher last night. I talk with Rich McKay or other committee members, John Mara. … I’m meeting with them in advance of Sunday.
The MMQB: The ‘what is a catch’ question was huge in this country in the playoffs. What’s your opinion—should the rule be changed?
[Editor’s note: At the Arizona meetings, it’s not going to be proposed as a rules change and will only be advanced if teams bring it up.]
Goodell: Well, this was also huge with Calvin Johnson [in a game in 2009]. The stage was bigger [this time], right? That’s why it’s so important for the competition committee to take the time away from that and to evaluate all of the consequences, including the officiating side of it, which is very important. One of the reasons they moved to the rule the way they did is so that it could be officiated consistently. That’s a big part of the decisions that they make. They bring officials in and also get input from the officials. You would want to try to develop that consistency so that a catch is a catch for everybody and it’s clear and you can see it.
The MMQB: What about giving each team a guaranteed possession in overtime?
Goodell: I think our overtime rule is really working well. I think it’s got the right balance. It keeps the sudden death nature of the game but … you have the opportunity to win the game and not give the other team the ball if you score a touchdown. … I think that maintaining the sudden death nature of the game is very important. … I think the extra point will be something that gets a fair amount of discussion—whether we move it back to the 15, as we experimented last year. Could you combine that potentially with putting the ball at the one [-yard line] so that you incentivize them to go for 2?
The MMQB: Is there a chance that you do something this year with the extra point?
Goodell: Yes … I think there’s a chance. I think that we’re going to have some pretty healthy discussions about it.
The MMQB: What do you think is the most logical thing? Moving it back to the 15 or moving it up to the one?
Goodell: Well, there’s another alternative that’s been discussed a lot which goes well beyond the extra point, which is would you change the uprights? We had some pretty healthy debate about that in Indianapolis [when Goodell met with the Competition Committee]. The accuracy of the kickers is so good right now. And on the extra point, it’s virtually an automatic play. Should there be some excitement or some consequence whether they can really make the extra point? … I think the ownership feels pretty strongly that we need to create excitement in all of our plays. It could be some combination. I think the other thing that I would add that is related both competitively and medically is the medical timeout. If we see a player in either distress or disoriented in some fashion, should we stop the game and how do you stop the game and make sure that the individual gets evaluated properly?
The MMQB: Who calls the medical timeout?
Goodell: That’s what we’re going through the debate on. We have this eye in the sky—the ATC spotter—that would likely be the best position, because they’re all former trainers and they have the ability to identify somebody.
[Editor’s Note: Independent certified athletic trainers have been positioned in the press boxes for every game since 2011. They have the ability to communicate with the sidelines and mandate that an injured player be taken off the field if they see signs of distress that medical people on the sidelines have not seen, or have ignored.]
They’re looking at the entire field. If you’re relying on someone on the sideline, the medical professional might not see it. The coaches might not see it, because they could be talking to other players. So that’s why we brought in the ATC spotter. … You can go to the video on the sideline, which has been what a lot of our medical professionals tell you is one of the great advancements. … As a matter of fact, last year I think it was in Pittsburgh—[LeVeon] Bell’s injury—they were actually showing him the injury on the sideline [with the video unit on the bench]. That’s our core—making sure that the medical professionals make the decision and have the opportunity to make it.
The MMQB: Other topics of business at the league meetings …
Goodell: The expansion of the playoffs will be discussed.
The MMQB: Why has that cooled?
Goodell: I don’t think it’s cooled at all. There are a lot of factors that go into it. One, we want to be right when we do it … It’s something that we think has got a lot of merit from a competitive side, because it would actually add more teams to the race as you get toward the end of the season. There’s the broadcasting side of it. When would you play that extra game? [A seventh playoff team in each conference would leave] one bye for the first seed in each conference.
The MMQB: What about playing a wild-card game on a Monday night?
Goodell: You could. Potential conflict that comes in there is the national championship game, because that would interfere in some years with that. We’re respectful of college football.
The MMQB: Theoretically doesn’t it make a lot of sense, if you don’t have to worry about college football, to have six games on wild-card weekend? You play two Saturday, three Sunday, and one Monday. Is that the most logical?
Goodell: Sure. But again, you have to consider college football, which is important to us.
The MMQB: What are the odds this year that you change playoffs from 12 to 14?
Goodell: You know we don’t deal in odds around here. [Laughing.] Here’s the other thing from the television partners—with the addition of [full-season] Thursday Night Football last year, we put a lot more of additional advertising inventory in the marketplace. Usually it takes a couple of years to absorb that. Then if you add in the fact that the college football playoff came in, it gave us a lot more inventory that time of year. And ticket sales, I think that’s another big issue. We want to advance this postseason policy a little more effectively so that we have confidence. You know, you could have a situation where a team ends up with two home games at the end of the season and you could end up winning your division and then play three home playoff games. You could have five home games in five weeks at the end of the season and into January. If you have a northern climate, that’s a lot to ask of your fans. So we have a lot to balance.
The MMQB: Is it logical to think that you would propose an 18-game schedule at any point in the near future?
Goodell: I think it’s one of those things that we’ll continue to evaluate the season structure. … The real short-term focus is on the quality of the preseason. Do we need four preseason games anymore—for competitive reasons or any other reason? And I think that there’s a growing sentiment that you don’t. That’s including football people. If you have four games to evaluate players and develop your team, that’s a plus. I think most coaches would say that. But can you get this done and can you do it in two or three games? I think that people are more comfortable with three. So do we need that? Okay, that’s one part of the schedule. The rest is the regular season and the rest is the postseason. So I think all of these are interrelated. You have to evaluate all of them. We haven’t spent a lot of time on 18 games in the last couple of years.
The MMQB: Let’s get to the obligatory London and Los Angeles issues.
Goodell: I can see your enthusiasm.
The MMQB: I mean, L.A. is going to happen … As you look at the landscape, what has changed to make it logical and likely that there will be football in Los Angeles?
Goodell: I’m not saying it’s likely. I think a couple of things are positive. One is our long-term labor agreement. I would say that when someone is making the kind of investment that you have to make in the Los Angeles market as well as a lot of other markets—you need the long-term stability so that we can invest back in the business. Ultimately that will pay you back. That’s why we’ve seen the salary cap increase by $20 million per team over the past two years. That investment is paying back. I think the long-term labor agreement has given us the ability to evaluate a long-term investment in Los Angeles to make it work successfully—because it’s a challenging market. It’s competitive. The stadium is a critical component of that. They’re not getting cheaper.
The MMQB: Doesn’t it make the most sense to have Oakland and San Diego combining in a stadium in L.A. and the Rams staying in St. Louis?
Goodell: Our first objective will be to make sure that those markets have had the chance to get something done—that they can get a stadium built to secure the long-term future of their franchise. San Diego has been working 14 years on a new stadium. Oakland is not in a new debate either, for the A’s or the Raiders. Same with St. Louis. … These are long debates about what is the right solution for the community and what is best for the team. We’re looking to see if we can create those solutions locally. If we can’t, we obviously have to look at long-term solutions for those teams.
The MMQB: Gut feeling—football in L.A. in 2016?
Goodell: I really don’t know, Peter. I’m not relying on my gut, I guess. I’m relying on if there is a real alternative where we can return to the market successfully for the long-term; that is the biggest priority in Los Angeles. And the other one is obviously making sure that we’re doing whatever necessary in the local markets to keep our teams successful and give them every opportunity to create a solution that works for the team long-term.
The MMQB: One other thing about L.A.—Stan Kroenke and the cross-ownership rules. Several times the league has told Kroenke to divest the ownership of his hockey and basketball teams. What can the league do to make him get rid of those teams?
Goodell: The finance committee has been working on this. They’ve given him periods of time to correct it and different ways in which to correct it. I think progress is being made on that. Stan hasn’t said, “I’m not going to be in compliance with the rules.” He wants to make sure that if we’re going change our rules, he can get consideration for that. If we’re not going to change our rules, how can he do it in the appropriate way?
The MMQB: London. Three games a year there now. Is there any progress toward a more permanent solution—whether it be a team or more games every year to get a more established toehold?
Goodell: Yeah, we’re looking at more games. Again, I think every year we’ve learned something from our experience, which is the objective. First and foremost is the passion of the fans—they want more. … What we’re getting from authorities is that, “We’d love to have a permanent presence here.” Stadiums are another big part of it.
The MMQB: Does it make any sense to branch out from London, to have a game in Dublin, Barcelona, Munich …
Goodell: Well, it depends on what your objective is. Just to play those games? Sure. But we’re not out to just prove whether or not we can play a regular-season game. We’ve proven that. What we’re looking to do is: Can we develop a market? Can we develop a fan base that is long-term and sustainable? What we’re seeing are very positive signs for that. We’re seeing a tremendous interest. We also had to get through a lot of logistics. Playing a regular-season game and not compromising the integrity of the game and the competitiveness of the game is really important. I think we’ve been able to do that. But we still have more work to do if you were going say, Well, now a London-based team is going to play [a full season there]. Those are different factors that you have to consider.
The MMQB: What would you say would be your hope for the league for 2015 overall, in the wake of last season?
Goodell: Well to some extent, it’s that the things that we’re doing are working. The changes that we’re making to the game are making it better and safer. The changes that we’re making to our policies to keep our stadiums full are working. We need to continue down those paths. We need to continue to work at it. You can’t get complacent. It’s working. The changes that we’re making to our personal conduct policy are working. Let’s keep down that path. The changes that are happening in the media world are significant. We have strategies. We have approaches that we think are positioning us very well for that future.
We’re seeing more fans engaged with the game. We’re seeing the quality of the game continue to improve to be safer. So it’s working. That’s the optimism that the owners feel, that I feel, that we all feel about the game going forward. The work that we’re doing in youth football, as I said, the numbers of participation—for the first time in five years, high school football is up. We think the same kind of results are happening on the youth football level.
Those are the kinds of positive changes that are [coming] because of a lot of the efforts that we’ve all made. Whether it’s investment in USA Football or some of the research, we’re pushing the right buttons. None of us can get complacent. The expectations of the NFL continue to rise, whether they’re internal or external. We have to meet that bar. We have to meet the expectation of our fans. They deserve it. We have to show them so they put their faith and trust in us.
The MMQB: Do you think the draft is logically a road show now?
Goodell: We want to make sure that this event is a success for our fans and for our clubs. Obviously it’s an important offseason event for us. I’m confident it will be. The reaction we’re getting and the excitement that is building around the draft is really extraordinary. We’re really thrilled with our plans. We have to execute on that, and then we’ll make that evaluation. There are so many markets that want this … I don’t know if I’d say logical. One of the reasons that we’re doing this is because we couldn’t get into the current facility [Radio City Music Hall in New York] until June. … Now we’ll find out—is it really something that there’s a great deal of interest in other markets? We think the answer is yes. … Will we move it every year? We’re not ready to make that decision.
The MMQB: Is there one city that is really aggressive about having it?
Goodell: Canton, Ohio. It’s awesome!
The MMQB: What was your meeting with Jameis Winston about, and are you concerned that the possible first pick in the draft is likely not going to attend the draft?
Goodell: Well the first answer is that it was a meeting at his request. We certainly welcomed the opportunity to sit with Jameis and his representatives. We had several people affiliated with our office that met with him. It was a good opportunity for us to make sure that he understood the expectations that we have of him as a player in the NFL for him to ask questions of us, and to make sure that there is clarity about the importance of the personal conduct policy and the expectations we have of everyone—whether you’re a player, whether you’re a first-round draft choice, or whether you’re the commissioner. We have a responsibility to live up to them.
The second part is he was clear that he wanted to spend time with his family. We’ve had that occur on several occasions over the years.
The MMQB: But rarely, if ever, with the first pick…
Goodell: I wouldn’t know because I’m not part of those invites, but I’m not concerned with that. I think that it’s something we respect when a player says, “I’d like to be with my family on that day.” It’s an important day for them also.
The MMQB: What leads you to believe that 2015 is going to be a better year for the NFL?
Goodell: Well, I think the first part is that we implemented a personal conduct policy in December which we think is responsive to addressing very complex issues where we acknowledged that our policy didn’t deal with those things [domestic violence issues] effectively. We brought in expertise to help us make those decisions going forward. I think there’s clarity to those issues. We’ve also worked very hard on educating all personnel in the NFL—whether you’re a player, a coach or a front office executive, or someone who works in the NFL offices—to understand the importance of this issue and why we take this so seriously.
So I’m confident from that perspective that there’s great progress that we made. And from an on-field issue, we had an extraordinary season. It was a competitive year that ended with the most-watched show in the history of television. So fans engaged with our game at an incredibly high level last year. We have to continue to focus on the game of football while making sure that we’re doing the right things off the field—and I’m confident that we will.
