NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took some time to speak with the media after the owner’s meetings in Phoenix, and there’s not much new to report. Here are some of the more relevant excerpts from the press conference, via USA Today:
Opening statement
–“We had a very productive few days and covered a lot of subjects. I think the NFL owners feel very good about the work we did.”
On possibility of being in L.A. by 2016.
— “We’re focused on doing this right. If we go back to the Los Angeles market, we want to succeed for the long-term, and we have a lot to do to get to that place. We’re now focused on ’16. Obviously if it did happen in’16, we’d have to play in a temporary facility. It would not be possible to construct a stadium in that time frame, but right now our focus is on the process and making sure we’re evaluating the opportunities in their existing markets and making sure we understand that and also making sure we understand what it takes to be successful in Los Angeles long term.”
On if April 15 date still relevant for Adrian Peterson situation.
— “Yes it is. We’re going to continue the evaluation. We’ll have our people and I expect to meet with Adrian before we make a final determination on his status, but we expect to keep that time table.”
On timetable for completion of Ted Wells report.
–“We have not put a time frame on Ted Wells. We’ve asked him to be thorough, complete. And when he’s finished with that, he’ll get that to us and to the public in general.”
On if league handled initial investigation properly.
— “I think I made it very clear at the Super Bowl that we were not making any judgments.That we were obligated, as part of our role, to make sure we understand the facts whenever there’s a charge or a violation of our rules and we take it very seriously. That’s our obligation. That’s our obligation to the 31 other clubs. Ted Wells will be going through the report. If there’s anything, that we as a league did incorrectly, we’ll know about it in the report.”
On status of playoff expansion.
— “We had a healthy discussion on that issue. It’s something we have been evaluating over the last couple of years. I think several factors went into the decision to, at least, postpone the expanded playoffs. Some of them would be on the competitive side; in the last two years — interesting enough — it has been inconsistent with our experience in the past in that the last two (years) we actually had five less teams that would’ve qualified under the 14-team format, than the 12. That’s a little bit counterintuitive to the experience that we have had. Whenever we make a change like this, we want to look at what are the positives and the negatives, what are the unintended consequences. We want to make the regular season more important, more exciting, and have more teams in the race. If we’re not doing that, then we want to make sure that we understand why and what else we can do to affect that.”
On if there is a concern with tampering before free agency.
— “We want to protect the integrity of the rules. All teams have to play by the same rules. We want to make sure no teams are gaining an advantage as it relates to free agency and the opportunity to get free agents. There are several teams and several issues that we’re looking at. They’re all being taken seriously, but as soon as we have enough information, we will make a judgment on whether it was a violation or not. Once that happens, we’ll certainly let everyone know publicly.”
On blackout rules
— “It’s important to balance the interest of having our stadiums full with our broadcast policies. By changing our broadcast policies over the last six or 10 years, we’ve given our clubs more flexibility to sell their stadiums out, more flexibility in their manifests, more flexibility in the way they can sell their tickets. This has not really become an issue. We have had zero blackouts in 2014. We had two in ’13. What we have seen is a significant change there. And I think the membership felt that at this point in time, with the work that has been done and the policy changes, that it was appropriate to suspend it for a year. Let’s see what the impact is long term. That’s the analysis being done here. Our clubs have done a great job aggressively marketing themselves and their market. There’s a positive, obviously, of having your games on your games on television. It’s a great marketing vehicle.”
On if player can be disciplined for something that happens in college.
–“The personal conduct policy for the NFL doesn’t apply to someone who’s in college. We don’t have that right. We don’t have that ability. We do have the ability, however, if a player in the NFL has an issue when the personal conduct policy applies to them, to consider that as an aggravating factor, something that could be considered in the overall context of the decision.”
More on Los Angeles
— “I do expect that we will be hearing from all three teams — not only to the league staff, but also to the committee, some time in late April. We will likely be reporting back to the membership again in May when we meet. There will be a lot of dialogue. There’s a tremendous amount of focus on stadium alternatives, looking at those stadium alternatives, marketing studies in all of the markets, including current markets. So there’s a great deal of work being done and I would expect that will continue at a very disciplined pace.”
On Cowboys signing Greg Hardy before discipline determined.
— “Any club was free to sign Greg Hardy. They understood that we were reviewing his case for potential discipline. That continues. We are trying to get as many facts as we possibly can to make the most informed decision we can, so that we can uphold the standards that we put forth in our personal conduct policy. I expect that will conclude sometime in the near future and we’ll make a decision shortly after.”
On his meeting with Jameis Winston.
— “I think we were incredibly clear about our expectations of anybody who enters the NFL, or is in the NFL. What we expect of them as men, and how they represent not only their franchise, but the NFL; and the full insight into our personal conduct and the reasons for it, and our services. He met with several people. The conversation was very candid — extremely candid. This is a young man who understands his responsibility and now it’s up to him to live up to that.”
On Winston possibly not attending the draft.
–“We respect that there are players from time to time that want to be with their families. I understand that he told somebody from our staff that that was the case. I don’t focus on the invitations. We’d love to see the players there, but we also respect when they want to be with their families.”
On Chicago draft.
— “What appeals to me most is that we’re turning the draft to the great Midwest being a great opportunity for us. The response we’re seeing from everyone in Chicago gives us great excitement for this event. … I think it’s going to be a great experience. I think the fans are coming from a broader region. We have a new opportunity this year with an outdoor setting for more fans to engage with.”
Of all of this, I’m guessing that unless you’re a fan of either the Chicago Bears or the Dallas Cowboys; the point that stands out the most is the (hopefully permanent) death of the black out. It was always uber-annoying to be “punished” with no live broadcast of the football game simply because an organization worth billions couldn’t sell it’s last few thousand tickets.
With the immense, year-round domination of the NFL’s brand, perhaps they felt it a bit greedy to black games out.
[h/t USA Today]