Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…August 8, 2006:
Roger Goodell is chosen as the NFL’s next commissioner, succeeding Paul Tagliabue. Goodell was unanimously elected by the league’s 32 owners on the fifth ballot. He has been a polarizing figure, but most commissioners are. Goodell has navigated the NFL through Spygate, Bountygate and Deflategate, as well as high-profile player suspensions (Dshaun Watson, among others), player safety concerns, and one lockout.
Goodell, considered the most powerful man in sports, began his NFL administrative career as an intern in 1982 under then-commissioner Pete Rozelle. He served in a number of roles as he worked his way up through the league’s front office, rising to Vice President and Chief Executive Officer in 2001 under Tagliabue. September 1 will mark Goodell’s 19th anniversary as commissioner.
He has taken his share of criticism from all corners, but not as much as commissioners in other major sports (with the possible exception of Adam Silver in the NBA). Under Goodell, the NFL’s status as the wealthiest and most potent entity in sports has grown exponentially. It has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world, as well as the most lucrative media contracts and the largest single event, the Super Bowl.
On Goodell’s plate right now is the merger of sorts between the NFL and ESPN, with the latter buying the NFL Network and its popular “RedZone platform,” and the league getting a 10 percent stake in the network and all its offshoots. Everyone’s concern is how ESPN is going to monetize all its toys. Will it price a lot of fans out of the market and lose a large chunk of its base? Many will tell you that will never happen to the NFL. But, out of sight and out of mind?
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
