Last week, the NFL announced an agreement to extend Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract for three more years, until March 2027. The extension positions the long-serving commish to go beyond 20 years in the role.
Despite the fact that the new deal will push him past two decades of leading the most lucrative sports league in North America, the NFL’s head man says that he isn’t really concerned with that number. Or any other statistic when it comes to his tenure as commissioner. He’s just focused on doing the job going forward.
“If I was focusing on my legacy, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you,” Roger Goodell said Wednesday at The League’s annual October meetings in New York. “I wouldn’t be signing an extension. My job is to be commissioner of the National Football League as best I can.
“I’m focused on what we’ve got to accomplish.”
Part of Goodell’s plan in these upcoming years will be the push for further expansion of the NFL, including potentially placing a team in Mexico, Europe, or both. Further, there have even been rumblings of hosting a future Super Bowl overseas, in London.
And of course, he will continue his drive for more diversity in The League, focusing on minority hires for executive roles. Both projects have been a work-in-progress for Goodell since he took the reigns from Paul Tagliabue in 2006.
Roger Goodell’s tenure as the NFL Commissioner has certainly been a boon for the owners. Total revenue has grown steadily over the past decade en route to an all-time-high $11.9 billion last season, per Forbes. That revenue, which allowed each of the 32 teams to collect $372 million, rose 7% from 2022. He has also negotiated a labor agreement that guarantees peace between management and the players through the 2030 season.
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