The debate over player protests during the national anthem has "delayed the completion" of Commissioner Roger Goodell's contract extension, according to sources cited by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Sources said that Goodell's deal is "still expected to be completed and has been papered," but the process has been "slowed while the overwhelming majority of the NFL's attention has been diverted to handling the anthem issue." Sources added that had the issue not existed, Goodell's contract "might have been completed at last week's owners meeting" in N.Y. However, because the anthem issue has become "so critical to the league, the NFL's compensation committee spent about only 20 minutes Wednesday discussing Goodell's extension." The committee still "insists Goodell's deal will be completed, but there is other business that currently is more pressing" (ESPN.com, 10/22). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio noted Goodell's deal "likely would have been signed and sealed during the committee meetings from nearly four weeks ago, which instead became an impromptu full-blown ownership meeting regarding the anthem controversy." It is "hard not to wonder whether, at some point, Goodell's efforts to fix the problem (and his past failure to do so) will impact either the terms being offered or the desire to execute the deal" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 10/22).
