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

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

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

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

After more than a week of silence, commissioner Roger Goodell will speak at a New York press conference at 3:00pm eastern time today, according to a press release. Goodell will address the league’s recent domestic violence issues, as well as the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and will field questions from reporters at the presser.

The announcement of today’s press conference comes on the heels of a memo being sent to all 32 teams by the league office this morning regarding the NFL’s efforts to further educate teams and players on domestic violence and sexual assault. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com has the full statement, which reads, in part:

“We are proceeding to implement broad educational programs within our league. Starting within the next 30 days, all league and team personnel – including executives, coaches, players and staff – will participate in education sessions on domestic violence and sexual assault. These initial sessions will begin to provide the men and women of the NFL with information and tools to understand and recognize domestic violence and sexual assault.”

The memo goes on to note that the league intends to “dedicate significant resources to raise awareness on the
subjects of domestic violence and sexual assault, including support for victims.”

Despite the recent troubles surrounding the league, there continues to be no consideration given to the possibility of replacing Goodell as commissioner, according to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. Graham has spoken off the record to several NFL team executives over the last few days, and has repeatedly been told that the league is “undivided” in its support of Goodell. Graham points to the recent sale of the Bills for $1.4 billion as proof that the league’s owners are still making plenty of money with Goodell at the helm, adding that “status quo is highly profitable.”