Roger Goodell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[RELATED: DeMaurice Smith Expects 2021 Work Stoppage]

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

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

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

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