NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's contract extension "underscores how little influence" Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones "wields at the moment," according to David Moore of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The NFL compensation committee "worked hard to ensure the deal was in place" before next week's owners' meeting to "negate any obstructionist ploy Jones might spring." This comes "less than two months after a meeting" in N.Y. where the majority of owners "rejected his message and approach on how to handle the national anthem controversy." Moore: "What has happened to that Jerry Jones?" His mandate that players stand for the anthem or sit for the game "scores big points with a significant portion of the fan base but likely leaves him out of step in historical reflection." The failed crusade to block Goodell's extension "comes across as a petty and vindictive response" to RB Ezekiel Elliott's suspension "more than it does a grand vision or philosophical line in the sand for the good of the league." It is "impossible to view his ensuing resistance to Goodell's contract, at one point threatening to sue his partners, as anything other than a spiteful counterpunch" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/8). ESPN's Sarah Spain said Jones "probably wonders what his position within the league and its ownership is" following Goodell's extension being approved. Spain: "He was swinging around his big stick and proving to everyone that he was the strongest and richest and best of all. Guess what, he's not anymore. This might actually affect the way other owners view him going forward" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 12/7). In DC, Cindy Boren writes under the header, "NFL Owners Send Jerry Jones A Message With Roger Goodell's Contract Extension" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/7).
EARNED HIS STRIPES? NBC SPORTS BOSTON's Tom Curran wrote since Goodell became commissioner, the "NFL brand, respect for the league’s decision-making and the public opinion of most NFL owners has taken a massive nosedive." With issues like Spygate, the CBA talks, an NFL officials strike, Bountygate, Bullygate, the concussion settlement, Deflategate and the "abject mismanagement of domestic violence investigations," Goodell has "made it so that whenever he utters his favorite word -- 'integrity' -- gales of laughter ensue." The NFL is "less interesting and its product is less watchable than the NBA’s." It is "hard to consume a game without mental intrusion on myriad fronts." Curran: "You get what you pay for." In the case of NFL owners, they "paid for a patsy instead of a leader." Someone who would "make them money, settle their scores and keep his mouth shut about where the league’s bodies are buried." That is "what they wanted" and "what they’ve gotten" (NBCSPORTS.com, 12/7). In N.Y., Gary Myers wonders how much NFL owners would have "been willing to pay Goodell in his just signed five-year contract extension" that can be worth up to $200M if their league "wasn’t imploding and he wasn’t the most controversial and unpopular commissioner in NFL history?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/8).
