Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones was a "leading voice among 17 NFL owners on a conference call" Thursday that "discussed the possibility of halting" Commissioner Roger Goodell's pending contract extension, according to sources. Sources added that despite the unhappiness, this group of owners is "skeptical that it will be able to outright fire Goodell." The NFL would "need 24 owners to approve Goodell's ouster." One owner said, "Maybe [Falcons Owner and Compensation Committee Chair Arthur Blank] and that committee think they're on track. But they have a lot more resistance than they counted on -- and maybe they don't know how the resistance is growing as we speak." The "unhappiness and discontentment with the league office is real" (ESPN.com, 10/29).
ESPN's Chris Mortensen: "It was suggested that this feels like a league that is on the edge of the cliff about to commit suicide. One owner countered and said, 'We're not on the edge of destruction here. This is an opportunity. This creates great energy. It's a great opportunity, and you watch, in the end, we'll be a better league, a more popular league, once this is all done.'" ESPN's Louis Riddick said, "It's an opportunity for accountability, which I think that the league has long needed" ("Sunday NFL Countdown," ESPN, 10/29).
