PFT article implies that Goodell has pushed out potential replacements

[RoscoeParrish]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I am saying if the guys being "pushed out" were guys the owners genuinely saw as the heir apparent they wouldn't be getting pushed out.

It depends on how many owners.

 

What if Terry LOVED the idea of Dean Blandino as deputy commissioner. But Jerry Jones and a couple others did not?

 

Ultimately, we know how that goes. There are 31 billionaires all politicking and forming voting blocs and rivalries etc etc.

 

The NFL ownership is not a monolith. That’s the whole point of the commissioner. He has 31 bosses and they may not all agree. Heck, maybe only one of them is the one who cares about this succession plan and the other 30 are happy to ride the gravy train.

You are oversimplifying.

Edited Saturday at 01:23 PM by RoscoeParrish

[GunnerBill]

18 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

It depends on how many owners.

 

What if Terry LOVED the idea of Dean Blandino as deputy commissioner. But Jerry Jones and a couple others did not?

 

Ultimately, we know how that goes. There are 31 billionaires all politicking and forming voting blocs and rivalries etc etc.

 

The NFL ownership is not a monolith. That’s the whole point of the commissioner. He has 31 bosses and they may not all agree. Heck, maybe only one of them is the one who cares about this succession plan and the other 30 are happy to ride the gravy train.

You are oversimplifying.

 

But that's my point. You need a consesnus for someone to be the heir apparent. And if there was Roger wouldn't be able to get them out. 

 

Roger is there until the owners don't want him to be. And if they had idenfitied who was next, that person would be in the organisation.

[US Egg]

20 hours ago, klos63 said:

Can I ask why? There seems to me so much to enjoy about sports. It's not like booing the commish is a new thing.  No matter who it is they get booed.  

Senseless booing is a trait of the buffoon usually in camaraderie with those of their ilk.

 

It’s punctuated by the all uniting high-five and screams of yaaahhhh!!! It is quite in vogue nowadays.

[Mr. WEO]

21 hours ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

 

66 is old for a CEO type position like this. Tagliabue was younger than Goodell is now when he retired. 

 

How many team owners older than Goodell don't have a succession plan in place? 

 

The NFL was no anything like the money maker it has become under Goodell. The TV contracts he helped negotiate were astronomical and keep getting bigger.  Teams are typically sold or handed down to children, so comparison to NFL Commissioner succession makes no sense at all.

 

 

 

21 hours ago, RobbRiddick said:

Is it really that difficult these days? 

 

1. change rules to allow more points

2. send games to be played in foreign countries

3. Sell to streaming services

4. Get booed at NFL draft

5. Attend a few NFL games and kiss the a$s of whichever celebrity or politician is there

 

 

 

 

 

Goodell only does #4 and 5.  the rest is the owners exclusively.

 

20 hours ago, RoscoeParrish said:

His bosses are the owners, they can do whatever they want. Their age is irrelevant.

 

He works for them. They want some younger version waiting in the wings.

 

Are you trying to argue that a new commissioner would make as much as Goodell? Do you think Silver made as much as Stern did when he took over in the NBA?

More importantly, do you think Deputy Commissioners make even close to a 10th that the commissioners make? They would take less because it would still be a considerable pay raise from their current offer. Goodells successor isn’t holding out because they are only gonna pay them $30M

 

Waiting in the wings for what?  Goodell could stay another 15 years. Why would the next guy accept less than Goodell makes now?  Same job.

 

 

20 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

66. Father time is undefeated.

 

It is for this job. And his bosses arent working real jobs. The best owners are the least involved. Theyre more investors than anything. They want someone younger and able to keep innovating into the future to be doing all the work.

 

How did you conclude that 66 is "too old" to be Commissioner.  There is only overwhelming evidence that this is completely untrue.  What you got?

 

And Who has done this better than Goodell--and why would youth be more innovative?  Goodell is printing money for these owners for decades.  Why would they be looking to someone else right now?  These owners should  know any  of the NFL Corp staff and who might be a good fit next without Goodell telling them who it is.

 

19 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Because he, and all of us, are just one lightning bolt or heart attack away from not being here any more. Not having a solid plan for succession would be stupid. Period. 

 

So is every next Commissioner, FO person, player or owner.  So what?

 

Does anyone think these owners are going to put the league in the hands of a chump like Dean Blandino (a replay ref)??  Goodell knows everybody there is to know in the NFL universe--most importantly the broadcasters and advertisers.  Imagine these people seeing Dean Blandino across the bargaining table instead of Goodell?  They would be licking their chops as the owners watched billions fall off the table.  

[Orlando Buffalo]

If I am the owners I am probably not overly concerned about his successor, so long as the people he has around him can continue if something were to happen to him. Goddell has done right by the owners and has not screwed the fans as much as  baseball, hockey and NBA has so I doubt they are punching him out soon. 

[US Egg]

19 minutes ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

Goddell has done right by the owners and has not screwed the fans as much as  baseball, hockey and NBA has so I doubt they are punching him out soon.

How have Commissioners of the NBA, NHL and MLB screwed the fans in a way Goodell hasn’t? You can’t be talking higher prices for fans to enjoy the product, or moving their sport to pay services. I’d say it’s pretty much an even front along the lines.

[Beck Water]

On 5/30/2025 at 11:36 AM, Einstein said:

When making more than $60 million per year, it’s hard for anyone to have a bad week. Still, last week was not ideal for Commissioner Roger Goodell.

"In a conversation with John Ourand of Puck, ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham said that an extension will happen — but that owners want Goodell to focus on a succession plan.

'Owners would like to have a better sense of the bench,' Wickersham told Ourand.

The problem is that there isn’t much of a bench. And, frankly, there’s been a trend in recent years that, once an in-house name emerges as a potentially viable candidate to become the next commissioner, the person ends up not sticking around much longer.
 

From Dean Blandino to Chris Halpin to Tod Leiweke to Maryann Turcke, they came, they saw, and they were gone long before they could conquer."

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/succession-plan-hovers-over-roger-goodells-contract-situation

 

 

 

 

 

[RoscoeParrish]

5 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

Why would the next guy accept less than Goodell makes now?  Same job

I don’t know. Why does a junior partner make less than a senior partner, even when they “do the same job?”

[Big Turk]

WNY boys don't play that stuff

[Big Turk]

8 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

Waiting in the wings for what?  Goodell could stay another 15 years. Why would the next guy accept less than Goodell makes now?  Same job.

 

Because he the next person will have a track record of doing exactly jack sh!t for the NFL.

 

Goodell essentially turned the NFL into an unstoppable juggernaut that has taken over America 365 days a year and is responsible for at least 75 of the 100 most watched TV shows of the year in any given year.

 

The only thing the new commissioner could do is take a step backwards, the NFL already is far and away the richest sports league in the world and generates almost double the amount of revenue of the next highest one(MLB or NBA depending on the year as they seem to go back and forth).

 

When Goodell took over the NFL generated 7.8 billion in revenue. Now it does almost triple that.

 

Why would he take less? Because no NFL owner in their right mind is paying some random dude that hasn't proven anything the same as the most successful commissioner in the history of sports.

 

[GunnerBill]

6 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Because he the next person will have a track record of doing exactly jack sh!t for the NFL.

 

Goodell essentially turned the NFL into an unstoppable juggernaut that has taken over America 365 days a year and is responsible for at least 75 of the 100 most watched TV shows of the year in any given year.

 

The only thing the new commissioner could do is take a step backwards, the NFL already is far and away the richest sports league in the world and generates almost double the amount of revenue of the next highest one(MLB or NBA depending on the year as they seem to go back and forth).

 

When Goodell took over the NFL generated 7.8 billion in revenue. Now it does almost triple that.

 

Why would he take less? Because no NFL owner in their right mind is paying some random dude that hasn't proven anything the same as the most successful commissioner in the history of sports.

 

 

This. 

16 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Goodell only does #4 and 5.  the rest is the owners exclusively.

 

 

He is the brain child and the driving factor behind the international games. Obviously you are right the decision to do it is the owners' decsion. But basically it was Goodell's idea and he sees it as a big part of his legacy. And it makes the owners money so they give him the green light.

[CoudyBills]

12 hours ago, RoscoeParrish said:

I don’t know. Why does a junior partner make less than a senior partner, even when they “do the same job?”

Ummmm, commissioner of the NFL = commissioner of the NFL.  Your example doesn't work.

[BobbyC81]

On 5/30/2025 at 11:27 AM, Mr. WEO said:

 

by whom?

 

 

66 isn't old fellas.  More of his bosses are over 80 than are under 65.

 

Why would a younger guy take less money?  Didn't Goodell "set the market"?

Hey, there’s 2 teams in New Jersey and one in Vegas.

 

Just sayin’.  Ya know what I mean!

[Mr. WEO]

20 hours ago, RoscoeParrish said:

I don’t know. Why does a junior partner make less than a senior partner, even when they “do the same job?”

 

Well none of this is applicable for obvious reasons.

 

There is only 1 NFL Commissioner. Why would the next guy take less than the current guy gets paid?

[Mr. WEO]

On 5/31/2025 at 1:00 PM, US Egg said:

How have Commissioners of the NBA, NHL and MLB screwed the fans in a way Goodell hasn’t? You can’t be talking higher prices for fans to enjoy the product, or moving their sport to pay services. I’d say it’s pretty much an even front along the lines.

 

Goodell has nothing to do with what individual owners charge fans to enter the stadium.  Likewise, he didn't decide to sell the product to streamers.  The demand was there.  The demand isn't there for these other sports--which really become relevant only during the playoffs....

 

Get ready for Oklahoma City vs Indiana AND Edmonton vs Florida in the Finals!   Networks must be dying....

 

16 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Because he the next person will have a track record of doing exactly jack sh!t for the NFL.

 

Goodell essentially turned the NFL into an unstoppable juggernaut that has taken over America 365 days a year and is responsible for at least 75 of the 100 most watched TV shows of the year in any given year.

 

The only thing the new commissioner could do is take a step backwards, the NFL already is far and away the richest sports league in the world and generates almost double the amount of revenue of the next highest one(MLB or NBA depending on the year as they seem to go back and forth).

 

When Goodell took over the NFL generated 7.8 billion in revenue. Now it does almost triple that.

 

Why would he take less? Because no NFL owner in their right mind is paying some random dude that hasn't proven anything the same as the most successful commissioner in the history of sports.

 

 

 

This is why I'm betting the majority of the owners do not care whether Goodell, right now, has a "succession plan".

 

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

This. 

 

He is the brain child and the driving factor behind the international games. Obviously you are right the decision to do it is the owners' decsion. But basically it was Goodell's idea and he sees it as a big part of his legacy. And it makes the owners money so they give him the green light.

 

I have no doubt the owners pushed for international expansion.  Goodell has run with it for sure.  But it never gets birthed without the owners coming to Goodell with the idea...which he made a reality.

[RoscoeParrish]

20 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Well none of this is applicable for obvious reasons.

 

There is only 1 NFL Commissioner. Why would the next guy take less than the current guy gets paid?

Because he otherwise doesn’t get the job and can stay being the assistant to the regional manager for comparative pennies?

 

This isn’t the football side of things. It’s not like the QB market where there’s only 12 guys on the planet worth paying.
 

There are lots of executives and lawyers that would kill to be commissioner. 
 

When Goodell got hired, I don’t think he was saying “pay me what Tags was making or I refuse to accept the job and will instead make 100k as the assistant to the President of the AFC.”

 

You take what they give you.

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

I have no doubt the owners pushed for international expansion.  Goodell has run with it for sure.  But it never gets birthed without the owners coming to Goodell with the idea...which he made a reality.

 

My understanding from someone who works in the NFL's UK office is the initial push was him to the owners and there was some scepticism at first. I don't think that happens (at least not as early as it did) with AN Other commissioner.  I think that is distinct from rule changes and streaming which kinda would happened a pace whoever was Commissioner. 

[Mr. WEO]

5 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

Because he otherwise doesn’t get the job and can stay being the assistant to the regional manager for comparative pennies?

 

This isn’t the football side of things. It’s not like the QB market where there’s only 12 guys on the planet worth paying.
 

There are lots of executives and lawyers that would kill to be commissioner. 
 

When Goodell got hired, I don’t think he was saying “pay me what Tags was making or I refuse to accept the job and will instead make 100k as the assistant to the President of the AFC.”

 

You take what they give you.

 

This has nothing to do with associates and partners--in the NFL there are none.  Probably best to move off that odd comp.

 

Whether there are 2 or 2000 lawyers clamoring to take the job has no meaning---only Goodell has it and he's not going anywhere until he says so.  The owners have to be completely satisfied with his tenure thus far.  His "successor" is a non-issue. 

[RoscoeParrish]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

 

This has nothing to do with associates and partners--in the NFL there are none.  Probably best to move off that odd comp.

 

Whether there are 2 or 2000 lawyers clamoring to take the job has no meaning---only Goodell has it and he's not going anywhere until he says so.  The owners have to be completely satisfied with his tenure thus far.  His "successor" is a non-issue. 

You keep saying the successor is going to “demand” the exact same compensation, now you want to move off it.

 

You can’t defend this position. It’s obvious. You don’t actually think that Goodell in his first year as commissioner made the exact same as Tagliabue did in year 17. Because it’s really silly to think.

[Mr. WEO]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

My understanding from someone who works in the NFL's UK office is the initial push was him to the owners and there was some scepticism at first. I don't think that happens (at least not as early as it did) with AN Other commissioner.  I think that is distinct from rule changes and streaming which kinda would happened a pace whoever was Commissioner. 

 

I'm not sure all of this expansion (on TV and internationally) gets done without the ultimate macher---Goodell.    He knows all the "players" in all forms of broadcasting.   Some new guy would not be viewed in the same way by those paying to broadcast the NFL....

 

Rule changes I agree--nothing to do with Goodell.