Falcons Owner and NFL Compensation Committee Chair Arthur Blank said that he told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that a report suggesting Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has "slowed down the process of finalizing his new contract was 'mischaracterized,'" according to Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY. Blank said, "The committee, including Jerry, is really in a good place. I told that to the Commissioner tonight and I sent a note to the committee earlier. We’re working within the structure of what the ownership wanted us to do." Blank added, "It takes time to work through some issues, questions and things of that nature. But we’re in a good place." Bell notes Jones "didn’t muscle his way onto the compensation committee." Blank said that he "invited him to join the group as an ad-hoc member for the specific purpose of addressing Goodell’s contract." Blank: "He has a perspective and a voice that’s important to be heard, and I think he’s been very helpful in that regard. He’s not overstepping anything" (USA TODAY, 9/19). ESPN's Chris Mortensen said Jones "started voicing concerns many months ago about the formula in which they pay the commissioner," and that he "makes too much money." He also said there are "some issues with the NFL structure and how much money they make." Mortensen: "Jerry's pretty good with dollars." Mortensen cited sources as saying that Jones "feels he represents the owners whose voices are not within the committee, but there is general optimism this is going to get done" and Goodell will be re-signed ("OTL," ESPN, 9/18).
LOOKING AHEAD: SI.com's Andrew Brandt writes the NFL "will likely" have Goodell for '19 and beyond, with a "lucrative compensation package, much to the chagrin of some fans, media and certainly union leadership." Goodell would "certainly help his image by showing some more humanity and vulnerability." Brandt: "It is there, I have seen it -- but my sense is the constituency mentioned above don’t want that side on display." Rather they want the corporate face of the league "unflinching in the face of criticism, staying on task with bland, unrevealing party lines about the game, its safety and its players." It is the Goodell that owners want; "taking the bullets so they don’t have to" (SI.com, 9/19).
