Roger Goodell’s contract with the NFL expires in 2019, and a report from a month ago indicated the commissioner is close to tacking five more years onto the deal. Many expected a new agreement to be finalized by now, but is Jerry Jones holding things up?
Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported Sunday that Jones has been leading a group of people who have some opposition to Goodell’s proposed extension.
“Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has slowed down, if not impeded, contract talks regarding a potential extension for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell,” Schefter said. “One person with direct involvement in those talks said that if it weren’t for Jerry’s involvement, Goodell’s extension by now could be done. There are people who are still pushing for that deal, but right now there’s some opposition as well.”
NFL owners selected a compensation committee of six of their peers to negotiate Goodell’s contract, and Jones is not one of the six. However, Mortensen notes that the Dallas Cowboys owner is the “de facto seventh member” of the committee, and Jones was reportedly brought into the process right around the time Goodell was making a decision on Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension.
While Jones has made it no secret that he is furious about Elliott’s suspension, Mortensen and Schefter report that his issue with Goodell’s proposed extension is more about how much money the commissioner is making. There are people in the NFL who are optimistic the new contract will be finalized, while Jones is leading another group that feels Goodell has gotten paid far too much in recent years.
The NFL has enjoyed tremendous growth in Goodell’s time as commissioner, which is the main reason why he is in line for a five-year extension. However, there have been questions about whether he deserves the insane bonus money he has made on top of his base salary of $3 or $4 million a year. Goodell has bungled several investigations of player misconduct, and Jones obviously feels Elliott’s is the latest.
