Jerry Jones may be prepared to go to extreme measures in an attempt to prevent Roger Goodell from getting a contract extension, but the Dallas Cowboys owner is apparently not the only one who has concerns about the commissioner.
It seems like a foregone conclusion that Goodell is going is going to land a new deal, and part of that has to do with there being no obvious successor in place. However, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. report that team owners have considered options outside the league, with one reaching out to NBA commissioner Adam Silver to gauge his interest in throwing his name into the mix.
The owners, though, have considered other successors. A confidant of one owner reached out to gauge whether Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, would be interested in running the NFL, to which Silver immediately said no. Owners have also considered looking to the International Olympic Committee for someone with global experience to grow the game — or even installing the 76-year-old (former NFL commissioner Paul) Tagliabue for a year while a committee searched for the ideal successor. Jones has told confidants that he has his own candidate in mind, which Jones has publicly denied. Few owners are interested in allowing Jones to essentially handpick the next commissioner.
Silver has a great job of his own, and he has done nothing but gain respect since the NBA promoted him to replace David Stern. While Goodell has botched countless scandals with the NFL, Stern was tasked with handling the Donald Sterling situation almost immediately when he took over as NBA commissioner, and he proved he was up to it.
According to ESPN’s report, Goodell is “furious” about the idea of taking a pay cut on his next contract when he has helped consistently grow the NFL’s revenue over the past 10 years. Still, the compensation package he is seeking seems absurd given all the embarrassing mistakes he has made.
Most NFL team owners have sided with Goodell against Jones, but that does not mean Jones is the only one who has concerns about the commissioner going forward.
