Ten ways the NFL has changed under Roger Goodell

[Gas2No99]

Ten ways the NFL has changed under Roger Goodell

 

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  Kevin SeifertNFL Nation
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NFL owners promoted Roger Goodell to the commissioner's job 10 years ago today, a move that recognized Goodell's lifelong devotion to the league and was meant as a signal of approval for the status quo.

His tenure, however, has not simply carried on the legacies of his predecessors. Goodell's NFL is far different from the one Paul Tagliabue and Pete Rozelle presided over. His vision is unique and his methods distinctive, even if they represent simply an educated approximation of what his bosses prefer.

Here, then, are 10 ways the NFL has changed under Goodell's leadership -- one for each year.

1. Gauche obsession with revenues

The NFL was always a for-profit business, but its attempts to grow revenues have intensified noticeably over the past 10 years. During a 2010 owners meeting, Goodell famously set a goal to achieve $25 billion in annual revenues by 2025. At the time, the league was taking in about $8 billion per year. Forbes magazine has projected its current revenues at more than $13 billion. Most significant league decisions in Goodell's tenure can be viewed through this prism, whether it is more London games or choosing the Rams for Los Angeles or adding a Thursday night schedule or advocating for the replacement of 25-year-old stadiums. (The Georgia Dome, opened in 1992, will give way to the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta next year.) To be fair to Goodell, this approach likely matches the aggression of his bosses, whose franchises are valued at many multiples of what they were worth just a decade ago. They expect big returns.

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2. A true corporation

As the NFL's CEO, Roger Goodell has received $142 million in salary since 2011 alone. AP Images/Evan Agostini/Invision

The NFL isn't among the largest companies in America, but its outsized public presence under Goodell has given it many of the same characteristics. It has a highly paid CEO; Goodell has received $142 million since 2011 alone. It has organized a lobbying arm in Washington to advocate for its interests in Congress, led first by Cynthia Hogan and now by Nicole Gustafson, a longtime congressional aide. (The NFL spent $1.2 million in lobbying in 2014, twice as much as MLB, the NBA and the NHL combined, and its Gridiron Political Action Committee raised $900,000.) And under Goodell, the NFL was willing to spend enough in legal fees to outlast a class-action lawsuit brought by thousands of players who held the league responsible for their declining health, specifically as it related to concussions, and crafted what legal analysts say is a favorable settlement. More recently, Goodell reorganized the league's public relations department by hiring powerhouse executive Joe Lockhart -- once the press secretary under President Bill Clinton -- to ramp up its messaging. Goodell's NFL now behaves like a big business in most every way imaginable.

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3. Incremental recognition of concussions

In a relative sense, the NFL has made significant strides in concussion policy since Goodell's 2006 promotion. Even then, treatment of NFL head injuries took place in the wild west, a time when (conscious) players decided whether they should return to a game after a head injury. And to be frank, the issue did not appear to be a high priority until Goodell was grilled at a 2009 congressional hearing about the league's refusal to acknowledge a connection between brain injuries and football. Since then, the league has formalized protocol for diagnosing concussions, treating them and returning players to the field. Independent neurologists now stand on game-day sidelines and work with a medical spotter in the press box. This summer, the league established a discipline schedule for teams that don't follow the policy. Rules designed to minimize hits to, or with, the head have had a positive effect. The approach is far from perfect, and motivated players can still find a way to play with a concussion. But any objective observer would agree the league's attitude toward concussions and head injuries is better now than it was in 2006.

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4. Deep and flawed discipline

Goodell has made player discipline one of his top priorities, elevating fine totals and suspension lengths for violations of the personal conduct policy. He has also drawn criticism for his unwillingness to allow a true third party to arbitrate discipline appeals. But he will struggle to steer his permanent legacy away from Spygate, Deflategate and Bountygate. Two procedural questions and one rumor grew into a trio of scandals, mostly because of Goodell's heavy and blemished investigations. When they were over, we had almost no verified evidence of what was alleged to have happened. Did the New England Patriots deflate game footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship Game? Were the New Orleans Saints really running a system to reward players for injuring opponents? Did the Patriots film opponents' signals? (The NFL destroyed tapes that it said proved the video allegations.) Goodell was right in a sense. Part of his job is to assure the public that teams and players are following the rules and that the outcomes of games aren't fixed. But his expensive investigations never answered those questions to anyone's satisfaction. Instead, he drew the ire of multiple fan bases, players and some owners. In the long run, deep levels of public distrust can't be good for business.

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5. Union acrimony

The relationship between Roger Goodell and the NFL Players Association, represented here by executive director DeMaurice Smith, has been tenuous at best. AP Photo/Brian Blanco

To say Goodell has sown a damaging relationship with players is to miss the larger story. He and the owners he serves are downright union busters compared to their predecessors. Goodell inherited a 19-year run of labor peace, but it now has become routine for the league and the NFL Players Association to litigate their differences. Recent NFLPA victories in court, along with the revelation that the league held back $100 million in revenues it was supposed to share with players, have heightened the distrust. Can players trust that Goodell and the owners will abide by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) both sides signed in 2011? Not many do. But the hardline approach hasn't just impacted players. Remember the 2012 lockout of NFL referees? In an attempt to strike a more favorable deal, Goodell risked the credibility of the league by using unqualified replacement officials for three weeks. The lockout ended only after the disputed "Fail Mary" touchdown played out on national television, and the entire episode remains a deep stain on Goodell's résumé.

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6. Lighter player workload

Not all of Goodell's edicts toward players have been negative, of course. During the 2011 CBA negotiations, he signed off on a new training structure that has dramatically lessened the mandatory obligations on players. Offseason conditioning now begins in the third week of April rather than early March (for teams with returning head coaches). Teams are allowed a maximum of 10 organized team activities (OTAs) over a three-week period and no more than six hours of work on those days. Training camp restrictions have all but eliminated traditional two-a-day practices, and teams are limited to 14 full-pads workouts during the regular season. Coaches hate it, of course, and bemoan the reduction in opportunities to drill fundamentals. But it has been a huge win for players, who gladly took on the additional responsibility for making up the missed training on their own.

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7. Offseason tent poles erected

The NFL became a true year-round sport in the Goodell era. It had already begun moving that way by 2004, when the NFL Network began airing the scouting combine in February as well as a schedule release show in late April. Goodell pushed that effort into a higher gear by expanding the draft from a Saturday/Sunday affair to a three-day extravaganza, two of them in prime time. The start of free agency was pushed back from midnight to 4 p.m. ET, a time when far more people can watch televised specials, and the schedule release -- once distributed via fax -- has become a frenzied event. Another former news release, the Associated Press' annual player awards, are now announced during the prime-time NFL Honors show on the night before the Super Bowl. The NFL brand is so popular that no event is too minor to blow out.

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8. International shift

During the 2016 season, the NFL will stage three games in London at two different stadiums. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Goodell shuttered the money-losing NFL Europe in 2007 and replaced it with a plan to increase promotion of the stateside NFL through marketing and an increased number of overseas games. This year, the NFL will stage three games in London at two different stadiums and a fourth in Mexico City. All are sold out. There have been discussions about future games in Brazil, Germany and China. While the league has not given up on the possibility of a franchise in London, logistics could morph such a scenario into a "virtual franchise," whereby a rotation of teams plays a total of eight regular-season games there. One way or the other, though, Goodell has followed through on his pledge to prioritize international growth.

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9. Savagery decreased

The NFL remains a violent, savage and, for many players, debilitating game. But under Goodell, it has become a little less so. Via nearly 50 rule changes in his tenure, Goodell has restricted contact to quarterbacks, instituted stiff penalties for most instances of contact to the head and pushed teams to teach safer shoulder-tackling techniques. Periodic emphasis on contact by pass defenders has opened up lanes for free-running receivers, increasing passing efficiency and growing fantasy football from a sideshow to a massive audience boost. Even Sunday night's fiasco at the Hall of Fame game could be viewed with an eye toward player safety. Would anyone have cared about the condition of the turf 10 years ago? The game is undeniably different than it was in 2006. I talked to a coach recently who acknowledged many players are frustrated with the changes. "But they have a choice," the coach said. "They can play it the old way, and football will be gone in five years, or they can play it the way it needs to be played for it to survive."

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10. Los Angeles' penance

During its 21-year absence from Los Angeles, the NFL convinced 24 American municipalities to build new stadiums or perform near-full renovations on existing ones. The threat of relocation provided effective leverage and Goodell held out as long as possible. By the time he orchestrated the league's return earlier this year, only three stadium-needy teams remained. The Rams got the go-ahead to move for 2016. The Chargers have the option to join them for 2017 if they cannot secure a new stadium in San Diego. And if they do get a stadium there, the Oakland Raiders will have the next option in Los Angeles. Goodell and the owners used the Los Angeles market to its fullest capacity before finally returning.

[Beerfish]

[ljr]

Guy in charge is an *$$hole covering for cheaters now as well

[Bleedin Green]

I thought this article was going to say "for the worse" ten times.

[drdetroit]

Goodell is an assclown.  He covered up for the pats for years until  deflategate made it impossible 

[drdetroit]

42 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

The dog would be a better commissioner 

[FidelioJet]

When discussing Goodall, #1 is the only thing that matters.   For better or worse, everything he's done has been for the sole purpose of increasing revenue.  

He's done what his bosses have asked him to do, so as far as that goes he's done a great job.

[whodeawhodat]

1 hour ago, ljr said:

Guy in charge is an *$$hole covering for cheaters now as well

 

1 hour ago, drdetroit said:

Goodell is an assclown.  He covered up for the pats for years until  deflategate made it impossible 

Funny, Pats fans insist he is a Jet fanboi.  He interned with the jets back in the day.

[JoJoTownsell1]

The people that bash Goodell are clueless. His job is not to make you knuckleheads happy, it's to grow the NFL. Mission accomplished. Sorry if you don't like the way he handles NFL punishments but it's a job the players union gave him and none of you would do a better job because no matter what the suspension there will always be people who think the punishment was too harsh or too soft. 

Maybe I'm a little biased, since i am Jets fan and I'm happy a commissioner has finally stepped in and punished them for their cheating ways. 

[ljr]

34 minutes ago, whodeawhodat said:

 

Funny, Pats fans insist he is a Jet fanboi.  He interned with the jets back in the day.

Pats fans also insist that they've never really cheated ... And even if they did cheat that wasn't the reason why they won

[ljr]

19 minutes ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

The people that bash Goodell are clueless. His job is not to make you knuckleheads happy, it's to grow the NFL. Mission accomplished. Sorry if you don't like the way he handles NFL punishments but it's a job the players union gave him and none of you would do a better job because no matter what the suspension there will always be people who think the punishment was too harsh or too soft. 

Maybe I'm a little biased, since i am Jets fan and I'm happy a commissioner has finally stepped in and punished them for their cheating ways. 

Maybe the people that bash Goodell just don't feel as much of a closeness to an *$$hole as you do

[Larz]

More money.  Less fun

[JoJoTownsell1]

3 minutes ago, ljr said:

Maybe the people that bash Goodell just don't feel as much of a closeness to an *$$hole as you do

Ok, you don't like him, what does that have to do with his job as commish? He wasn't employed to make people like you feel warm and fuzzy. I don't like or dislike Goodell, but I know a few billionaires that are smarter than me and you that think he is doing a good job.

Commissioners routinely get booed by fans because fans are stupid.

[Blackout]

hes the reason the league is so soft now

[MaxAF]

His job is to make money and put a good face on the NFL. Some of the rule changes take away from the game IMO but the players have a short time career to make their money. And many have life long disabilities. But that's the risk and that's the game. Cancelling that HOF game because of paint was ridiculous if that's why they really cancelled it. If it rains out are they going to start cancelling games because it is slippery.

[RutgersJetFan]

The way the NFL changed under Goodell is pretty simple, it became a max-out, short-sighted league. The game has become watered down and centralized around the one position that allows for the league to market superstars, while at the same time they have completely over saturated the fans with too much football throughout the week. All of this is happening at the same time that the league is becoming absurdly top heavy and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon with parents and the concussion stuff. So less teams have a shot, there's more football on than ever before, and youth participation is decreasing. No Bueno. 

Cuban called this years ago, the league got greedy and they are in the process of cashing out on everything. No long-game in mind whatsoever and it shows. 20 or so years from now we are going to be wondering what the hell happened to this sport and we'll be talking about how the Taglaibue era was the genesis mostly of everything and Goodell just accelerated the sh*t out of it all when he clearly had an opportunity to go the other way.

[jetscrazey]

Here's my list:

1) Made tackling receivers illegal unless you try to break their knees

2) Made playing coverage almost illegal

3) Made touching QBs illegal

4) Allowed the refs to become even more blind

5) Made these horrific short-turnaround Thursday Night games where the quality of play is just awful

6) Eliminated kickoffs and reduced the ability for special teams to be an equalizer

7) Let the Patriots make a mockery of the integrity of the game

8) Pushed an 18 game season while paying lip service to "player safety" and concussions

9) Completely ignored the usefulness of medical marijuana to the point where the league's policy has become a farce, punished users more harshly than wife beaters

10) Made the owners richer (the only one that matters)

[PFSIKH]

4 hours ago, ljr said:

Guy in charge is an *$$hole covering for cheaters now as well

What?

6 minutes ago, RutgersJetFan said:

The way the NFL changed under Goodell is pretty simple, it became a max-out, short-sighted league. The game has become watered down and centralized around the one position that allows for the league to market superstars, while at the same time they have completely over saturated the fans with too much football throughout the week. All of this is happening at the same time that the league is becoming absurdly top heavy and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon with parents and the concussion stuff. So less teams have a shot, there's more football on than ever before, and youth participation is decreasing. No Bueno. 

Cuban called this years ago, the league got greedy and they are in the process of cashing out on everything. No long-game in mind whatsoever and it shows. 20 or so years from now we are going to be wondering what the hell happened to this sport and we'll be talking about how the Taglaibue era was the genesis mostly of everything and Goodell just accelerated the sh*t out of it all when he clearly had an opportunity to go the other way.

Wait until we go to 18 games.

Next CBA, NFLPA comes hard after article 46 and the NFL Management says, okay, but here is what we want...18 games.

[jetscrazey]

6 minutes ago, PFSIKH said:

What?

Wait until we go to 18 games.

Next CBA, NFLPA comes hard after article 46 and the NFL Management says, okay, but here is what we want...18 games.

I think the NFLPA will trade 18 games for no marijuana testing too

[ljr]

19 minutes ago, PFSIKH said:

What?

 

Guy in charge is an *$$hole covering for cheaters now as well

[Bugg]

Demaurice Smith is an overmatched a-hole, embarrassingly so. In fairness, the union has not made post-career pensions nor health care a priority,not for retired players nor current ones. It hasn't made vesting sooner(i.e. fewer games on the active roster) a priority, nor made practice squad time eligible for post career pensions and health care. Instead the union has concentrated their efforts on free agency, which is shiny trinkets for a very limited few players who would get paid very well anyway. If you allow the NFL to cap players' salaries, the least the union should do is fight for health care and pensions for a collision sport, and they haven't. If the union ever did the media would back them up and make Goodell look rightly awful. And the assclown union chief hasn't done that at all. 

[RutgersJetFan]

1 hour ago, PFSIKH said:

What?

Wait until we go to 18 games.

Next CBA, NFLPA comes hard after article 46 and the NFL Management says, okay, but here is what we want...18 games.

Yup. And they're definitely throwing an extra day in for football too. 

[NYJCAP2]

1 hour ago, PFSIKH said:

What?

Wait until we go to 18 games.

Next CBA, NFLPA comes hard after article 46 and the NFL Management says, okay, but here is what we want...18 games.

And wouldn't that mean 2 less pre-season games, beacuse isn't the logical presentation to reduce the pre-season and extend the regular? We would all win.

[Gas2No99]

SO the consensus around here that I'm sensing is El Sr. Goodell es No bueno? 

[Obrien2Toon]

Don't mind the safety issues, anyone who stepped into the job would've had to deal with that.

But the other stuff concerns me, the overseas stuff, etc

I mean how big do you need to get.  Isn't it Cuban who said it was going to get so big it was going to implode.

Kind of hoping for that, I've been watching way more college FB the last 5 years anyway. 

[jetscrazey]

5 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Yup. And they're definitely throwing an extra day in for football too. 

It's high time they revised whatever agreement they had with the NCAA (or lobbyed Congress to revise the anti-trust law) and start having Friday games instead of Thursday games.  An extra day of preparation would do everyone good, plus Friday Night NFL with no work the next day would be cool.  The NCAA shows nothing worthwhile on Fridays anyway.  As for competing with high school football, who really cares?

[Jet9]

6 hours ago, jetscrazey said:

It's high time they revised whatever agreement they had with the NCAA (or lobbyed Congress to revise the anti-trust law) and start having Friday games instead of Thursday games.  An extra day of preparation would do everyone good, plus Friday Night NFL with no work the next day would be cool.  The NCAA shows nothing worthwhile on Fridays anyway.  As for competing with high school football, who really cares?

Friday is one of, if not the worst, TV ratings days.

Thursday is one of the best. Hence, Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld, etc....all Thursday night.

 

[drdetroit]

14 hours ago, jetscrazey said:

Here's my list:

1) Made tackling receivers illegal unless you try to break their knees

2) Made playing coverage almost illegal

3) Made touching QBs illegal

4) Allowed the refs to become even more blind

5) Made these horrific short-turnaround Thursday Night games where the quality of play is just awful

6) Eliminated kickoffs and reduced the ability for special teams to be an equalizer

7) Let the Patriots make a mockery of the integrity of the game

8) Pushed an 18 game season while paying lip service to "player safety" and concussions

9) Completely ignored the usefulness of medical marijuana to the point where the league's policy has become a farce, punished users more harshly than wife beaters

10) Made the owners richer (the only one that matters)

You should see the new rule that just came out about hitting the qb -- players can't use their helmet, shoulder pad forearm or chest when making contact with a qb

 

Literally you could penalized anytime you sack a Qb.

 

This rule was done to protect Brady no doubt.  Goodell wants Brady around another ten years

 

 

 

[jamesr]

26 minutes ago, drdetroit said:

You should see the new rule that just came out about hitting the qb -- players can't use their helmet, shoulder pad forearm or chest when making contact with a qb

 

Literally you could penalized anytime you sack a Qb.

 

This rule was done to protect Brady no doubt.  Goodell wants Brady around another ten years

 

 

 

To quote Private Frost from Aliens ... "What the hell are we supposed to use, man, harsh language?" 

[drdetroit]

1 hour ago, jamesr said:

To quote Private Frost from Aliens ... "What the hell are we supposed to use, man, harsh language?" 

I thought the platoon sergeant Apone said that

[PFSIKH]

2 hours ago, drdetroit said:

You should see the new rule that just came out about hitting the qb -- players can't use their helmet, shoulder pad forearm or chest when making contact with a qb

Literally you could penalized anytime you sack a Qb.

This rule was done to protect Brady no doubt.  Goodell wants Brady around another ten years

Dude is largely a non-athletic 39yo QB.  It is not easy bouncing back from hits.

9 hours ago, jetscrazey said:

It's high time they revised whatever agreement they had with the NCAA (or lobbyed Congress to revise the anti-trust law) and start having Friday games instead of Thursday games.  An extra day of preparation would do everyone good, plus Friday Night NFL with no work the next day would be cool.  The NCAA shows nothing worthwhile on Fridays anyway.  As for competing with high school football, who really cares?

That is a good point on the benefits of an extra day of rest for a Friday game.  I would rather see the Thursday game, knowing it is impossible as the schedule plays out, to be tied to the bye week.  A team is off and then rather than having a game on Sunday, they play Thursday.  In essence, they play once in three weeks. 

I think there are a few drawbacks to Friday night games.  College does have a few non-meaningful games on Friday.  In some areas, Friday night is all about HS football with shows and broadcasts.  Not that it would complete directly with the NFL or affect the television ratings, but it is a viable option.  Watch son/grand-son play HS football or watch an NFL game.  Plus, Friday is probably the night were more people go out and will be away from TV anyways.  Sunday, Monday and Thursday, people are more probable than not to have their asses glued to their couch.

[The Crusher]

2 hours ago, drdetroit said:

You should see the new rule that just came out about hitting the qb -- players can't use their helmet, shoulder pad forearm or chest when making contact with a qb

 

Literally you could penalized anytime you sack a Qb.

 

This rule was done to protect Brady no doubt.  Goodell wants Brady around another ten years

 

 

 

Honestly the rule is fine for guys like Brady because he crumbles like one of those fainting goats when he is about to be hit.  But for guys like Big Ben and Cam this rule is terrible.  They are harder to tackle than most running backs on the league.  Probably reason it's ill defined so the refs can arbitrarily use it to enhance the games entertainment value. 

[jamesr]

3 hours ago, drdetroit said:

I thought the platoon sergeant Apone said that

Lieutenant Gorman: [to Apone over the radio] Look, uh, Apone.

[Apone snaps his fingers, bringing his troops to a halt]

Lieutenant Gorman: Look, we can't have any firing in there. I, uh... I want you to collect magazines from everybody.

Private Hudson: Is he ****in' crazy?

Private Frost: What the hell are we supposed to use, man, harsh language?

 

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