We would have thought Roger Goodell was going to be safe in his position as commissioner for the next couple of years after getting a contract extension over the summer. But now there are new questions surrounding Goodell going into the weekend that might put him in hot water with many owners around the NFL.
ESPN is reporting that in a Thursday conference call among NFL owners, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was the prominent owner in that call that discussed a possibility of halting the NFL giving the contract extension to Goodell. He’s among 17 other NFL owners that are raising questions about the commissioner’s performance over the last few years.
It was expected that the owners would give a contract extension to Goodell without even lifting a finger to object. Now the latest suggests that he may be in more trouble than initially thought.
Why Are Some Owners Worried About Goodell Now?
Sources that have told ESPN said that the owners raised several questions about Goodall’s performance as the commissioner, particularly over a bunch of issues, from the player protests of the national anthem, the issues regarding relocations of teams to Los Angeles, in particular the Chargers, and the handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence issues. That apparently has spooked enough owners to reconsider the contract extension.
The thing with this is the contract was supposed to be finalized last month and that he would be safe for another couple of years and he was in good graces with the owners. But the fact that the contract has not been finalized yet and that we are approaching November leads me to believe that these owners are questioning Goodell’s ability to lead as a commissioner, and the issues that were raised in that conference call are legitimate concerns the owners have.
Another concern that may be raised is what happened before the weekend when Texans owner Bob McNair was quoted in a story saying that, “We can’t have inmates running the prison.” Many have believed that he was referring to players being the inmates and the NFL owners being the warden of the prison, which led to Texans players rebelling against it by taking a knee during the anthem, perhaps further fueling the distrust between players and owners and maybe now questioning, even more, the commissioner’s ability to handle this situation and contain the further divisions that may erupt from it.
It’s A Legitimate Concern Long-Term
The fact that 17 NFL owners are questioning his abilities at this point is enough of a credibility for me to say that it could be a long-term problem for the owners. The divide is only growing between the players and the owners and the recent comments made by both Jones and McNair only fuel that divide further. Keep in mind that Jones is by far the most outspoken and his voice seems to carry the most weight among all of the owners. The fact that 16 other owners have been lured by his use of tongue sways this issue of Roger Goodell towards a long-term concern.
Keep in mind that Jones is by far the most outspoken among all the owners, and his voice seems to carry the most weight. The fact that 16 other owners have been lured by his use of tongue sways this issue of Roger Goodell towards a long-term concern.
The NFL Now Has Another Problem
The NFL just continues to rack up problems this season and the last thing they need is to add another one to the list. This most likely will not be of big concern for the rest of the season, though, because I think the dialogue between players and owners is more important now than this story.
It’s possible they solve something in the short-term and make a long-term change during the offseason, whether it be a change of commissioner or other issues that they need to address.
It would not be a surprise if those 17 NFL owners decide that they’ve had enough of Goodell and want a new voice to speak for them. What Goodell has done is basically drive a wedge between both sides and I would not be surprised if that’s the wedge that gives him the ax from the league.