Roger Goodell agrees to contract extension with NFL
Why it matters: Under Goodell, things have grown tremendously for the NFL
Mr. Goodell is the most powerful executive in American sports, and the NFL is the largest and most powerful league in the country. Replacing him won’t be easy. He has spent his entire professional career (over 40 years) in the NFL and has unparalleled control over the league’s vast and growing operations.
Over the years, Mr. Goodell has become a confidant of many of the owners. He listened to their concerns and helped them build new stadiums and implement other projects. He has also helped secure labor peace through successive 10-year collective bargaining agreements, and helped negotiate media deals worth more than $100 billion running through the end of the decade.
Teams are also still being sold for record amounts. The Denver Broncos were purchased last year for $4.65 billion, twice what the Carolina Panthers were sold for in 2018. Earlier this year, Daniel Snyder sold the Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris for a record $6 billion.
Background: It pays to be a commissioner.
Mr. Goodell has been handsomely compensated for helping turn the NFL into a financial juggernaut. His current deal is worth as much as $200 million and is largely based on bonuses and incentives.
The owners paid Mr Goodell almost $64 million in 2019-20 and 2020-21 after he helped secure a new employment contract and lucrative broadcast rights contracts. He also guided the league through the pandemic without any games being canceled.
For ten years, the compensation committee recommended a pay package that was sent to the entire owner for approval. But in 2017, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, threatened to sue a half-dozen team owners on the committee who were negotiating a new contract for Mr. Goodell. In response, Mr. Goodell’s contract was restructured to rely more heavily on performance-based bonuses rather than guaranteed salaries.
That showdown included a $2 million fine for Mr. Jones for threatening the other owners. Since then, the owners of three influential committees, which have a total of about twenty members, decide annually whether the commissioner has achieved the objectives.
What’s next: The league has more time to search for a successor.
The contract extension gives the owners time to find potential candidates to fill Mr. Goodell’s shoes.
Within NFL headquarters, Brian Rolapp, the chief media officer, is considered a contender. Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren, who previously worked for the Minnesota Vikings and the Big Ten, is another potential candidate.
Mr. Goodell will be older when his new deal expires than two predecessors were when they retired. Pete Rozelle resigned in 1989 at the age of 63 and Paul Tagliabue retired in 2006 at the age of 65.
“We’ll see what the future holds,” Mr. Goodell said of his plans beyond this current extension. “I have no other commitments for the next three years. I’m going to bust my ass.”
Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, said after the owners met in May in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis, that the league had become so large and complex that the owners should consider dividing the commissioner’s duties, with one person focused on business matters and another handling issues on the ground.
“It’s a healthy discussion,” Mr. Goodell said. “The work changes over the years. Things have changed since I became commissioner. I know we will have the conversations at the right time.”
The new contract also allows the league to look outside the NFL for a potential replacement.