Goodell Says NFL Plans To Add Second Int'l Game As Early As 2010

Goodell Says Game Of Football Has Never Been More Popular

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared on PBS' "Charlie Rose" Thursday night and said the "game of football has never been more popular." Goodell: "When you take all measures -- ratings, attendance -- you see the fans are more engaged with football than they've ever been." He noted the NFL is looking at possibly expanding its regular-season game in London to "two games a year as early as next year." Goodell: "If the barometers continue to trend in a positive way, the fans continue to develop, it's possible they could have an NFL franchise some day." Goodell addressed the ongoing negotiations with the NFLPA regarding a new CBA and said the key is "how we continue to have a model that will allow our game to grow." Goodell: "The one thing that's changed since our (CBA) started back in '93 is we're investing more private money into stadiums ... and then you have to operate these stadiums. Then you have to make capital improvements to keep the stadiums up. That's a tremendous expense that we didn't have even 10, 15 years ago." He also said taking care of former players is an issue the league is "really focused on." Goodell: "We can do a better job than we've done. We're focused on pensions, we're focused on medical benefits. One of the things we did with the NFLPA and with a group of NFL alumni ... is to try to determine what we can do in the medical areas" ("Charlie Rose," PBS, 10/8).

MARTIN IS THE MAN: In DC, Mark Maske reported the NFL Alumni BOD elected former NFLer George Martin as the new Exec Dir of the organization, which was formed this year by the merger of NFL retired player advocacy groups Fourth & Goal and the NFL Alumni Association. An NFL Alumni spokesperson said that Martin was elected "after a six-person search committee considered more than 140 candidates." Martin is scheduled to attend an NFL owners meeting next week in Boston (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/8).