Roger Goodell To Hear Tom Brady’s Appeal
9:32pm: The NFL has released a statement confirming that Goodell will hear the appeal, as Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. The statement indicates that NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent was the one who determined the punishment with Goodell being the one to “authorize” it.
9:15pm: Commissioner Roger Goodell will hear Tom Brady‘s appeal, according to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). Earlier today, the NFLPA formally filed its appeal on behalf of Brady and asked for a neutral arbitrator to preside over the case. Needless to say, this isn’t exactly what they had in mind.
The collective bargaining agreement, signed in 2011, allows the league’s commissioner to oversee appeals. Goodell could have vacated that position, but he will invoke his right to rule on the appeal.
Brady has armed himself with a top notch legal team that includes labor attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who recently represented Adrian Peterson in his suspension appeal. The Patriots, meanwhile, also seem ready to go to war with the league office. The franchise’s legal counsel published a rebuttal to the Wells report earlier today that is nearly 20,000 words long.
Patriots Notes: DeflateGate, Goodell, Kraft
Two NFL owners tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) that they strongly support the punishments handed down by Roger Goodell to the Patriots, stating that he acted to uphold the integrity of the game. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has also come out in support of Goodell. All in all, Cole estimates that Goodell’s support has increased in the aftermath of DeflateGate, not down as many predicted. More on the Patriots..
- As Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com talks with more people in the game about how much a mildly deflated football really matters, he’s getting the sense that DeflateGate will go down as one of the more overblown scandals in NFL history. The lengths that the investigation has gone to, in terms of time, money, and resources, are staggering to many. People are also questioning the level of scientific proof presented in the report.
- Patriots owner Robert Kraft is taking his DeflateGate battle against the NFL to absurd new levels, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News opines. Kraft is loudly defiant that his organization isn’t guilty of what they’re accused of, but the Pats have already admitted to cheating once before. Vacchiano also pokes fun at the notion that Jim McNally, the Pats employee that supposedly deflated footballs for Tom Brady, called himself “The Deflator” because he was trying to lose weight.
- The few passages of believability were overshadowed by mountains of nonsense, including the McNally excuse, Manish Mehta of the Daily News writes. Mehta also found it strange that the Pats went to great lengths to defend John Jastremski and McNally one week after indefinitely suspending them.
Tom Brady Suspension Coming Next Week?
Roger Goodell is expected to suspend Tom Brady next week, sources informed Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
Sources close to Goodell have little doubt the commissioner is viewing DeflateGate as a “serious violation,” which will prompt, in Myers’ view, the highest-profile player suspended in the NFL’s 96 years. The Patriots are bracing for a suspension of Brady that could last as long as eight games, according to CSNNE.com’s Mike Girardi.
After the 37-year-old Brady landed as the notable figure in this week’s DeflateGate report, the Pats are preparing for what would be a startling suspension for a player of Brady’s caliber and one that could define defending Super Bowl champions’ season. Pundits and sources around the league have the potential Brady-less portion of the Pats season hovering between two and 16 games.
Myers does think the commissioner will be more lenient that Girardi’s report would lead you to believe, with a two-game suspension expected after possibly an appeal-induced reduction from four. But the Daily News reporter adds that the sources believe there is enough, between Brady’s alleged ordering of footballs to be deflated and lack of cooperation with Wells’ investigation by not turning over his cell phone, to warrant a suspension.
Myers’ sources said previous reports of a 16-game suspension are “way off,” however.
In the time span that appears to be the floor of a potential Brady suspension, the Patriots open the season with a home tilt against the Steelers before traveling to face the Bills. Jimmy Garoppolo enters his second year after having completed 19-of-27 passes as a rookie exclusively during inconsequential sequences. New England finished 11-5 in 2008, its last season that featured games without Brady’s services.
Extra Points: Collins, Fletcher, Jets
How busy is commissioner Roger Goodell? So busy that LSU coach Les Miles couldn’t get through when he tried to call and vouch for La’el Collins, as Jim Kleinpeter of The Times-Picayune writes. “Why wouldn’t that (supplemental draft) be what it’s for. Explain to me why that’s not perfect for this (situation). Some guys would have passed and some said yeah. He (Collins) would have gotten his spot,” Miles said. “This is a guy who is still going to make money, long term. I’d like to see an adjustment made now.” Ultimately, Collins did not get into the supplemental draft, but he has found a home with the Cowboys. Here’s more from around the NFL..
- There’s nothing official yet, but there’s a “good chance” that Patriots will sign linebacker Dane Fletcher, Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com tweets. The Pats have been seeking guys with experience to give depth to the linebacker position.
- Some wondered aloud if the Colts were taking T.Y. Hilton‘s eventual replacement when they selected Phillip Dorsett out of Miami. The choice came as a surprise to some, but not to Hilton himself, Zak Keefer of the Indy Star writes. “There’s nothing I can do about that. That’s who they picked. That’s cool with me…Nothing in this league should surprise anybody,” said Hilton, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. “(It was) a pick that they thought we needed, so I guess that’s what we needed to help this team.”
- Dom Green, who was recently let go as the Chiefs’ assistant college scouting director, is up for a job with the Jets‘ personnel department, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Extra Points: RFAs, Goodell, Bush, Taylor, Colts
As Mike Wilkering of Pro Football Talk observes, while most of 2015’s top unrestricted free agents are off the board, there are still plenty of intriguing restricted free agents available. 20 of this year’s RFAs remain unsigned and received the low-end tender from their respective clubs, meaning a rival suitor wouldn’t have to give up a draft pick to sign them away.
Often, restricted free agents won’t draw a ton of interest and will simply return to their previous teams, but that’s not always the case. A year ago, RFAs like Andrew Hawkins and Rafael Bush signed offer sheets with other teams — Bush’s sheet was matched by the Saints, but the Bengals didn’t match Hawkins’ offer from the Browns.
This year, low-end RFAs like Ravens safety Will Hill, Eagles running back Chris Polk, Raiders wideout Andre Holmes, and Washington kicker Kai Forbath remain on the market. A handful of players – such as Browns safety Tashaun Gipson and Ravens kicker Justin Tucker – also received second-round tenders, but rival teams aren’t likely to give those players big contracts and surrender a second-round pick for them.
As we wait to see whether any restricted free agents change teams, let’s check in on a few more notes from around the NFL….
- Roger Goodell didn’t reveal much to Peter King of TheMMQB.com during his sitdown with him, but the commissioner did strongly suggest the extra point will undergo some changes before next season, and added that the DeflateGate investigation is nearing an end.
- As King hinted at in his column, Goodell informed owners at this week’s league meetings in Phoenix that Todd Jones, former Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, is joining the NFL as as special counsel for conduct, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Jones will pair with Lisa Friel as the league’s new personal conduct czars.
- After running the 40-yard dash in 4.91 seconds at this weekend’s veteran combine in Arizona, Michael Bush admitted that his NFL career is probably over, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk details.
- Free agent cornerback Ike Taylor isn’t seeking out offers from teams to continue his playing career, and while he hasn’t made the decision to retire quite yet, the longtime Steeler is exploring potential television opportunities, writes Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Michael Silver of NFL.com takes a look at the roster-building approach employed by Colts GM Ryan Grigson, as Indianapolis enters win-now mode by signing several veteran free agents like Andre Johnson, Frank Gore, Trent Cole, and Todd Herremans.
King’s Latest: Peterson, Cowboys, Forsett
Following a wild Tuesday in the NFL, Peter King of TheMMQB.com introduced a one-time-only Wednesday Morning Quarterback column to reflect on yesterday’s highlights from around the NFL. The piece included a handful of interesting tidbits worth passing along, so let’s dive in….
- King hears that running back Adrian Peterson hasn’t changed his mind about wanting out of Minnesota, and notes that if a team like the Jaguars or Raiders ends up landing DeMarco Murray, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could be willing to move a draft pick for the Vikings star.
- Speaking of Murray and the Cowboys, LeSean McCoy‘s lucrative new contract with the Bills is having a “chilling effect” on Dallas’ efforts to re-sign the NFL’s leading rusher, says King.
- The Ravens would very much like to re-sign Justin Forsett, but are expected to bow out if the bidding gets too high.
- Seahawks GM John Schneider only had first-round grades on 16 players in this year’s draft class, so when he parted with the No. 31 overall pick in yesterday’s Jimmy Graham trade, he essentially viewed that pick as a second-rounder.
- The league appears to be concerned, but “not fuming,” over all the contract agreements that were leaked before the start of the free agent period. We heard yesterday that the league had asked teams to hang onto their phone records, but King doesn’t believe we’ll see much more than “an angry finger-wag” at teams and their general managers.
- Jameis Winston met with commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL officials last Thursday, in a meeting that was instigated by the young quarterback and his camp, writes King. The purpose of the sit-down was to allow Winston to tell his own story about his history of off-field incidents, and to get the lay of the land for his future in the NFL. “He went out of his way to make a good impression, and to show that he understood what was going to be expected of him in the NFL,” one league official told King.
Roger Goodell Earned $35MM+ For 2013/14
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earned a salary of $35,017,000 for the 2013/14 league year, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. The figure was revealed on the NFL’s tax return, which Rovell and ESPN got their hands on in advance of this Tuesday’s deadline for the league to file it to the IRS.
It’s been a miserable, controversy-filled season for Goodell, but this $35MM+ figure reflects his salary for the year ending on March 31, 2014, so we don’t yet know what sort of salary he earned for his work these past few months, as he dealt with scandals involving Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and underinflated footballs.
What we do know is that 2013/14’s figure is roughly in line with the commissioner’s 2012/13 salary — as we wrote last February, he received $44MM+ that year, but about $9MM of that total was made up of deferred pay, putting his actual salary for the year in the $35MM neighborhood.
“The Commissioner’s total compensation in 2013 is a fair reflection of his leadership and contributions during the year,” said Falcons owner and chairman of the compensation committee Arthur Blank in a statement. “Compensation packages for Roger and other senior executives are reviewed annually; accordingly, the compensation committee will conduct a thoughtful review and make a determination of 2014 compensation in March.”
While Goodell’s annual salary had been steadily on the rise since his first year on the job, from $4.5MM in 2006 to $35MM+ in each of the last two seasons, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that figure decline a little for 2014, after all the negative publicity the league received.
Latest On Adrian Peterson Hearing
Adrian Peterson’s hearing began today, with NFL and NFLPA attorneys arguing to U.S. District Jude David Doty over whether the ruling to suspend Peterson – and to extend that suspension through to April – was just.
Union representative Jeffrey Kessler argued that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acted outside of his power in suspending Peterson under the personal conduct policy put in place in late August. The NFLPA also believes that arbitrator Harold Henderson was biased in his decision to uphold the suspension, according to Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.
NFL attorney Daniel Nash was present to counter the NFLPA’s testimony, and reiterated that the NFL believes that the suspension was warranted.
Peterson was upbeat after the first day of the hearing. “Felt good. Felt like I got a fair hearing,” said Peterson, according to Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter).
The 30-year old running back was asked if he would like to return to the Vikings in 2015, replying simply, “Of course,” writes Murphy (via Twitter). However, Peterson did not address whether he would consider taking a pay cut to remain with the team.
In a video on Bleacher Report, lead NFL writer Jason Cole explains that while Peterson is looking to resolve this matter quickly, the NFL would prefer to drag this along. With free agency beginning on March 10, Peterson would like to be reinstated by that date in order for him to return to the Vikings, be traded, or be released and allowed to sign freely with another franchise.
The NFL wants to have this last past that date, to ensure Peterson does not get the full advantages of free agency, and in part helping the Vikings retain leverage over their face-of-the-franchise running back.
East Notes: Kraft, Revis, Cowboys
As the Patriots prepare to represent the AFC East in the Super Bowl tonight, let’s take a look at some notes regarding the Pats, their division rivals, and a few items from the NFC East:
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes that the league’s handling of “Deflategate” has thawed the relationship between Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who has been one of the commissioner’s biggest supporters and who publicly backed Goodell during the Ray Rice fiasco. Reiss notes that, if Goodell were to lose Kraft’s support, his hold on the commissioner’s job could become a bit more tenuous.
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Patriots star corner Darrelle Revis will be courted not only by his current team this offseason–after New England inevitably declines his 2015 option–but he expects the Bills and Jets to be in on Revis as well. Joel Corry tweets that Revis will have a great deal of leverage, as the Patriots cannot put the franchise tag on him if they decline the 2015 option.
- Jets owner Woody Johnson received the Steinberg DeNicola Humanitarian Award on Saturday, and before receiving the award, he provided a few clues to his team’s offseason plans. In response to criticism he received earlier this week, when he announced that the Jets would be aggressive in free agency, Johnson stated that although he was not afraid to spend money on free agents, he would not waste money. He specifically mentioned cornerback and strong safety as positions that could be addressed in the free agent market, and he also touched on a possible extension for Muhammad Wilkerson and the team’s quarterback situation (article via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
- If Washington is to become competitive again in the NFC East, Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com says new GM Scot McCloughan must move away from the team’s historic reliance on big-ticket free agents.
- After hearing that the Seahawks have offered Marshawn Lynch a lucrative extension, Joel Corry tweets that the Cowboys will have to substantially increase their offer to DeMarco Murray if they are serious about keeping him.
- Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News looked at the Cowboys linebacker situation in 2015, both with and without impending free agent Rolando McClain. Fortunately for Dallas, Anthony Hitchens showed that he can play any of the linebacker spots in his rookie season. If McClain comes back, he’ll play in the middle and Sean Lee will be on the weakside. If McClain doesn’t come back, Machota thinks it will be Lee in the middle with Justin Durant/Hitchens on the weakside.
- More from Machota, who writes that he’d be surprised if Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley, a restricted free agent, gets plucked away by another team. Linebacker Bruce Carter, however, is a different story. Carter has freakish athleticism and he was a projected first round choice in 2011. There could be teams out there that believe they can better utilize his abilities than Dallas has, perhaps by making him an inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.
Zach Links contributed to this post
Mueller Releases Report On Rice Investigation
Investigator Robert Mueller released his full report on the NFL’s investigation into the Ray Rice incident today, and concluded that no one from the league possessed or watched the in-elevator footage of Rice hitting his then-fiancée prior to it becoming public.
“We found no evidence that anyone at the NFL had or saw the in-elevator video before it was publicly shown,” reads the press release from Mueller. “We also found no evidence that a woman at the NFL acknowledged receipt of that video in a voicemail message on April 9, 2014.
“We concluded there was substantial information about the incident – even without the in-elevator video – indicating the need for a more thorough investigation,” the statement continues. “The NFL should have done more with the information it had, and should have taken additional steps to obtain all available information about the February 15 incident.”
While Mueller chides the league for not pursuing information and evidence more aggressively, the report clears commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff of any more serious violations, and casts doubt on an Associated Press that suggested a female league employee confirmed receipt of the video in April. In the wake of the report’s release, Giants co-owner John Mara and Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who were overseeing the investigation, issued a statement reiterating their support of Goodell.
“This matter has tarnished the reputation of the NFL due to our failure to hand out proper punishments,” the statement reads. “It has been a wake-up call to all involved and we expect the changes that have been made will lead to improvements in how any similar issues are handled in the future…. It is clear to us that Commissioner Goodell was forthright in the statements he made to the owners about this matter, and we have every confidence that Roger Goodell is the right person to lead the league as we move forward.”
While it may come as no surprise that an NFL-led investigation conducted by a former NFL employee exonerates the league from any serious wrong-doing, it further strengthens Goodell’s position as a commissioner who isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.