The NFL this season was "not just marred by scandal but defined by it," leading for the first time to "serious questions" about Commissioner Roger Goodell's job security, according to Gabriel Sherman of GQ. In addition to the "ongoing and seemingly intractable problem of concussions and player safety," there were the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson scandals, as well as a "flurry of other alleged incidents of domestic violence." Even last week, the Patriots' deflated-ball scandal "completely overshadowed what should have been an uncomplicated celebration of one of the most compelling Super Bowl matchups in recent memory." The "nonstop drumbeat of bad news added up to a growing sense that Goodell and his owner bosses are tone-deaf to the issues that plague the NFL -- and on the wrong side of history to a rising generation that increasingly sees football as too violent, too regressive, and too money-driven to enjoy without feeling more than a little bit turned off by the whole decadent spectacle." Sherman noted he spoke to "nearly a hundred people, including current and former NFL executives, front-office types, agents, and players," and Goodell emerged as a "gifted, ambitious man who possessed precisely the right combination of skills and connections to propel him to the pinnacle of America's most powerful sports league." However, it was "far less clear" as to whether he is the "right man to lead the NFL into a future that has never looked scarier."
SUCCESSFUL IN GROWING REVENUE: By one measure -- money -- Goodell "has been the most successful commissioner in the history of the league." Total league revenues have grown about 65%, and the value of franchises "is at an all-time high." Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson said, "He's had a lot of challenges, but I think he's done a good job with a very difficult situation." Still, Sherman noted some owners "have been frustrated by aspects of Goodell's tenure." Texans Owner Bob McNair, a Goodell supporter, indicated that when Saints Owner Tom Benson resigned from three league committees in '13, Goodell's "pay package and his handling of the Saints' Bountygate scandal were two reasons." Sherman wrote it is also "an open secret in league circles that some owners, especially Woody Johnson of the Jets, resent the preferential treatment Goodell is perceived to extend to his inner circle." Many also wonder how his relationship with Patriots Owner Robert Kraft "will affect Goodell's ruling" regarding the deflated-ball incident.
BEGINNING OF THE END? Sherman asked if the "season from hell" could have been avoided. Sherman: "Or at least a lot less bungled?" Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue said that Goodell's "laser focus on profit and his combative stance toward players" are "key parts of the problem." He said, "If they see you making decisions only in economic terms, they start to understand that and question what you're all about. There's a huge intangible value in peace. There's a huge intangible value in having allies." Tagliabue added of his relationship with Goodell, "We haven't talked much since I left. It's been his decision. Bountygate didn't help." Sherman wrote others wonder if Goodell "even recognizes the fullness of the league's crisis." NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith: "The existential issues are, I would argue, issues that Roger just doesn't find interesting." With the NFL's "shrinking youth audience, narrowing fan base, and player-safety issues that just aren't going away, Goodell's goal of growing the league" to $25B by '27 "is starting to feel like a naive dream." Whether he "finds these challenges to be 'interesting' or not, it's entirely possible that the past few seasons will go down as the moment when the National Football League -- the biggest, fastest, richest game in America -- peaked and began to decline" (GQ.com, 1/26).
TWITTER REAX: ESPN's Howard Bryant on his Twitter feed wrote the GQ story is "very compelling" and "unsurprisingly disturbing." Bryant: "The halls of power are always odious." The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami wrote it "paints a vivid picture of the huckster/preener-in-chief." The Boston Globe's Ben Volin: "Goodell supposedly 'thought everyone was overpaid' at the NFL league office. That's rich." ESPN's J.A. Adande: "The Paul Tagliabue quotes are the most interesting part of this GQ story on Roger Goodell." SI's Aaron Nagler: "Reading the GQ article on Goodell, and how Kraft maneuvered Goodell behind the scenes in response to the Rice incident, today is no surprise."
CHERRY ON TOP: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes, "Take a PR nightmare, any PR nightmare, and the NFL will find a way to make it worse." This season alone "could serve as an entire case study for what not to do in a crisis." U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said of the NFL, "If I were them, I would review my whole PR scheme" (USA TODAY, 1/27). In Minneapolis, Chip Scoggins writes the Patriots' deflated-ball episode "serves as a fitting conclusion to an NFL season that veered off the rails in one big ball of controversy." Fans and the media have "flipped out and treated this story as if the Patriots hacked into a top-secret government computer and swiped nuclear launch codes" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/27). In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz writes the U.S. "is obsessed with the NFL." Someone can "take the air out of the football, but you won’t deflate the NFL" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/27). USA TODAY's Rem Rieder writes under the header, "Deflategate Begets Ridiculousgate" (USA TODAY, 1/27).
