Report: NFL Close To A Contract Extension With Roger Goodell

The NFL is nearing an agreement on a five-year extension to keep Roger Goodell as commissioner, a move that would extend Goodell’s tenure through 2024, per Sports Business Journal’s Dan Kaplan. This should come as no surprise.

Interestingly, as Kaplan also reported (and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk emphasized), Goodell’s contract only needs final approval from the six owners who comprise its compensation committee. All of the owners gave the compensation committee that authority in May, just two months after word got out that Cowboys owner/shadow commissioner Jerry Jones wanted every owner to be involved in Goodell’s contract talks. And Jones, according to Kaplan, is not on the compensation committee.

Yes, Goodell is a low-rent potentate whose tenure has been marked by blunders and PR headaches. The latest is his decision to suspend Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games, a case that seems destined for a drawn-out appeal that will put Goodell directly at odds with Jones. But Goodell has proven adept at the one thing all owners care about more than anything else: making gobs of money.

The NFL is expected to hoover up $14 billion in revenue this year, a 75 percent increase from just seven years ago. That kind of cash will spit-shine a lot of turds.