It’s getting to the point where for many of us, it’s hard to remember the NFL before Roger Goodell was commissioner. He’s been in the position since 2006. And, since then, the league has seen massive changes.
First and foremost, the teams in the NFL are worth a lot more than they were when Roger Goodell took over the NFL According to Forbes, the average team was worth $898 million in 2006. In 2022, that number was up over $4.4 billion. So, his bosses, the 32 owners, obviously love the guy. After all, he’s made them incredibly rich. Owning an NFL team has significantly outperformed the Dow Jones in that time span, and that’s impressive considering the DJIA has tripled in that time frame.
Some other significant changes have come into the league as well. The NFL now plays games overseas in places like England and Germany, as well as across the border in Mexico. This has led the NFL to be much more popular internationally, something that Roger Goodell wanted to make a focal point when he became the commissioner of the NFL. And, player safety rules like the concussion protocol and restrictions of certain kinds of contact deemed dangerous to long-term player health have come into the league.
For this hard work, he’s paid quite the salary, reportedly over $60 million dollars. But, Roger Goodell’s contract with the NFL is up in March 2024. The common wisdom is that he will sign another contract, but that may not be the case. Here is Pro Football Talk for more details.
“The good news is I love the job and I love what I’m doing,” Goodell said, via Sports Business Daily. “We have talked about an extension and we’ll work towards that. If that’s possible, then great. If not, I’ve been really fortunate to be in this job. I’ve loved every day of it. I would love every day that I’m in it, but I don’t really think about the tenure. I think about the progress and the important challenges we have ahead.”
Whoa. That is certainly not a sure thing in terms of a deal getting done. It’s hard to imagine that the owners don’t want Roger Goodell back as NFL Commissioner. Whatever the hold up could be is anyone’s guess.