NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith yesterday said that NFL officials and the union are "moving closer to a deal that would involve Commissioner Roger Goodell giving up power over off-the-field player discipline," according to Matthew Futterman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Sources said that no deal "has been reached, significant obstacles remain, and any potential deal will not happen soon." However, Smith said that he "remains optimistic." Smith: "We’ve been talking about changes to the personal conduct policy since October and have traded proposals. We looked at the league’s proposal for neutral arbitration. There is a common ground for us to get something done." Futterman notes NFL owners "meet next week in Orlando." Sources said that one concept "that has been discussed is having three neutral arbitrators serving as hearing officers." The arbitrators would "be lawyers or former judges and would have some background in football." It "isn’t yet clear how the arbitrators would be selected." Smith said that if the NFL "asks for an extension" to the current CBA in "exchange for changes in the discipline procedure, players would not likely agree" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/15). Goodell "faced heavy criticism" for his handling of cases involving Vikings RB Adrian Peterson and former Ravens RB Ray Rice before U.S. District Judge Richard Berman overturned Tom Brady's four-game Deflategate suspension, "criticizing Goodell's brand of 'industrial justice'" (ESPN.com, 3/14).
TIME TO START OVER? USA Today's Jarrett Bell said the "conditions are right" for Goodell to relinquish some power, and it is "something that has been discussed for quite some time.” Bell: "Ever since the crisis that the NFL went through in 2014, there have been so many new senior management people brought into the NFL offices. I think there's probably the possibility for a philosophical shift in terms of the people that Goodell is on leaning on for advice and how they try to move forward" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 3/15). Radio host Dan Patrick said “it’s a great idea” if Goodell forfeited some of his disciplinary power, but the owners “want the commissioner to be in charge of their money” ("The Dan Patrick Show," 3/15). In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz noted there are a number of tasks Goodell "has failed miserably at, one being player discipline." Goodell has been a "divisive figure for too long," and if he is stripped of his power, it "could be the beginning of the end for him." Schultz: "If the question is, 'Would the NFL be better off with a new [commissioner]?' the answer seems pretty obvious" (AJC.com, 3/14).
NOT CONVINCED: ESPN’s Skip Bayless said Goodell’s ultimate power "will never be diluted, no matter what DeMaurice Smith says to the Wall Street Journal, no matter how much sword-rattling that we hear from the NFL Players Association." Bayless: "Maybe he will allow, early in the disciplinary process, some arbitration to be instituted into the agreement. But ultimately, any appeals will go through the judge, jury and figurative executioner that is Roger Goodell. It is not going to change” (“First Take,” ESPN2, 3/15).
