Commissioner Goodell: “We need to be talking to reach an agreement”

Commissioner Roger Goodell last night reiterated the need to get back to the negotiating table to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. The Commissioner made the comments in response to a question posed by a fan on a conference call with Indianapolis Colts season-ticket holders.

“The owners made a proposal back on March 11 after the 17 days of mediation 1) in hopes of getting an agreement, and 2) in hopes of at least continuing the bargaining process,” Commissioner Goodell said. “At that point in time, unfortunately the union decided to end the negotiations and pursue this litigation strategy. I think all that has done is delayed serious negotiations. There are a number of important issues that have to be addressed. Obviously, the amount of money that goes towards player compensation. The ownership put a proposal together that would be a slight increase in 2011 over the 2010 numbers, and then grow by 14 percent through 2014. We need to get back and start talking about that and try to see if we can reach an agreement. We talked about improvements to retired players. There’s a 60 percent increase in pension that was proposed; we need to get back to that.

“We talked about many changes in player health and safety that would happen in the offseason, training camp and even during the regular season to make the game safer for the men that play this game,” Commissioner Goodell continued. “I think we made a lot of progress with that, we have to get back to that and make improvements. The rookie pool was raised earlier as being another issue and I think we’ve got to find a better rookie pool system. So there are a number of issues that I think separate us but they are going to get resolved at the negotiating table. And the sooner we can get back to that, the better.”

Following is a transcript of the Commissioner’s conference call with Colts fans:

COMMISSIONER ROGER GOODELL FAN FORUM

with INDIANAPOLIS COLTS SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

 

Commissioner Roger Goodell opening statement:

“I’m glad to be with you and all of the Colts fans. I look forward to the questions, and hope that it will be productive for the fans and for us.”

On the latest in the labor situation:

“Unfortunately we’re not at the negotiating table or the bargaining table, we’re in the midst of litigation. I think that’s unfortunate and I think it’s delaying ultimately what’s going to solve this issue [which] is negotiations. But we are expecting to have a hearing in front of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on June 3. In the meantime, we do have a mediation session scheduled for May 16-17 in Minneapolis. I hope we can get back and start talking.”

On how much fun it was for him to be involved in the NFL Draft:

“It was great to get back to football. The draft is always a highlight for me, not just because I think it’s a great thing for the fans – they see their teams improving that day and it’s exciting for them – but it’s also a great privilege to be with those young men as they start their careers. Both the young men and their families coming to New York and it’s an extraordinary day. I’m really honored to be a part of that and we have a terrific group of young men who are going to be starting in the league.”

On the growth of the league:

“I am [proud] but it’s because I think we’ve been responsive to our fans. We’ve made the game better, we’ve always looked to see how we can improve. We believe in better. We believe that the league has an ability to continue to grow in its popularity, and that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s what’s frustrating right now is that we’re not negotiating an agreement here that will allow us to continue that growth. It will be good for everybody. It will be good for the fans, most of all, but it will be good for the clubs and the players.”

On the issue with tickets should games be missed:

“Every ticket situation is established by the club in the sense of pricing and various policies with one exception. We have a league-wide policy that if we do miss any games due to a work stoppage that we’re going to have a league-wide commitment to having a refund. Each club will be handling those, but we think it’s important for our fans to understand that we’re preparing for the 2011 season. We’ve released our schedule, we’ve had our draft. I know teams are busy trying to sell tickets and prepare, and hopefully we’ll get back to football quick. So, I hope that answers your question.”

On lowering the price of tickets to preseason games:

“You raise a point that I hear from fans all the time about the quality of the preseason and there are various ways to approach that. One is ticket pricing which you talked about, and in fact we’re looking at additional comp tickets that we could provide to get more people the opportunity to come into our stadiums that may not be able to afford it. And you also mentioned another issue which is how do we improve the quality of what we do, which is one of the aspects behind changing [to] two preseason games and 18 regular-season games. So there are a variety of things that we are talking about and looking at. I know from hearing from our fans that this is an area that we need to improve on. It’s not up to the standards that people expect from the NFL and we’re going to look at every alternative, including the one you proposed.”

On going back to previous rules to get free agency and trades started:

“I understand that alternative. Our CBA was up in early March. It’s obviously one way of proceeding, but we have been dealing with this for the last couple of years and not been able to successfully get to a negotiation that leads to an agreement that addresses some of the very important issues that we need to address as a league. We want to make sure we do that in a responsible fashion. I believe that we should address those issues sooner rather than later. They’re important to the health of the game, to the health of the players and to the health of the clubs. And we’re in a position now where we have that opportunity to negotiate it and we should do that. The pressure is on us and we should take advantage of that and get this done, and get this agreement in a place where we can continue to provide great football that I know you want to see.”

On the chances the preseason games being set aside so that no regular season games are missed:

“If your question is along the lines of eliminating the preseason altogether every preseason, I think there’s some important value, particularly to the clubs, on preseason games. They need to evaluate the players and they need to prepare their teams. We believe that you can do that with two preseason games rather than the current four. If you’re talking about just in the context of this year based on where we are in the labor negotiations, I don’t want to miss any games. I think it’s wrong for the game of football, it’s wrong for our fans and I think it’s wrong for all of the clubs and the players. I’m hoping that that won’t be a result and we get this negotiation done now and get back to football. If we decide to reformat the season and reduce the preseason from four to two, it’s something we want to do working with the players and trying to make the best decision for the game of football going forward.”

On if there is a drop-dead date for getting a deal done without missing any games:

“Our intention and certainly our objective is to play every game as scheduled, including the preseason for the 2011 season. That’s what we’re working to do and I am hopeful that that is where we’re going to be. If unfortunately we’re not successful in getting a collective bargaining agreement in advance, the first games that unfortunately will be missed just because of the calendar and the way it works are the preseason games. We would make those decisions as we go and unfortunately time is drawing near [and] we need to get to those issues. But I don’t think that we would reschedule a preseason game instead of a regular-season game, I don’t see that as a scenario. We haven’t talked about that at all.”

On the perception that fans are asking for an 18-game regular season schedule:

“We’ve talked to a lot of fans, I’ve talked to a lot of fans directly and I think people would like to see 18 regular-season games and less preseason games in a majority. But I also know that there are other people who probably have a difference of opinion. The most important thing is that if you do it, you need to do it responsibly. You need to do it in a way that 1) the first priority should be making sure we do it in a way that protects the health and safety of our players, and 2) make sure that we improve the quality of the game. We want to make sure that everything we do creates greater quality. But the one thing I definitely hear is really on how do we increase the value for our season-ticket holders and our ticket holders, and that is something that I have heard very strongly from our fans.”

On what happens should there not be a Super Bowl this season, and if there is not one will Indianapolis get the Super Bowl in 2013:

“Well we made commitments for 2013, but I do feel strongly that we made a commitment to the city of Indianapolis. We look forward to being there. We look forward to playing in Indianapolis, and we’ll stand behind that commitment. We would certainly in the unfortunate case that happens, and I certainly hope that is not going to be the case and we haven’t thought through that process. But I believe we made a commitment to the city of Indianapolis, we look forward to being there for the Super Bowl and we’ll stand behind that.”

On the amount of money rookies get:

“You raised a very important point, and one of the things that we think needs to be addressed in the collective bargaining agreement and that’s how rookies are compensated. As I mentioned earlier, we have some great young men that are coming into the league, but I really firmly believe that the compensation should go to the men who have proven it on the NFL field. That’s where you should be rewarded for your performance on the NFL field. I hope that every young man that’s drafted ends up being a great player in the NFL and they should be rewarded for that when they’ve achieved that. So, we are looking to get a new system in place. The ownership proposed what is called a rookie wage scale during discussions. We had some modifications to that that the players asked for. That’s all part of bargaining and I think we want to bargain to a system that makes better sense for everybody, most importantly the veteran players.”

On when the season will be jeopardy, and what will happen to the city of Indianapolis if the Super Bowl is lost:

“We have a great relationship with and great cooperation from the city of Indianapolis – the hotels, the host committee. Everybody has been terrific as we try to work through the process with the union. So we will continue to do that in a responsible fashion. On the first part of your question, there is no drop-dead date. We need to get a new system in place so that all 32 clubs know what system they’re operating under. Do that as soon as possible, continue to prepare for the season and get our players ready to play and put the best product on the field. The sooner that we can remove that uncertainty, I think the better for everybody. But there is not a specific drop-dead date.”

On what is hindering the labor situation from getting resolved, and if the owners are willing to budge on issues:

“The owners made a proposal back on March 11 after the 17 days of mediation 1) in hopes of getting an agreement, and 2) in hopes of at least continuing the bargaining process. At that point in time, unfortunately the union decided to end the negotiations and pursue this litigation strategy. I think all that has done is delayed serious negotiations. There are a number of important issues that have to be addressed. Obviously, the amount of money that goes towards player compensation. The ownership put a proposal together that would be a slight increase in 2011 over the 2010 numbers, and then grow by 14 percent through 2014. We need to get back and start talking about that and try to see if we can reach an agreement. We talked about improvements to retired players. There’s a 60 percent increase in pension that was proposed; we need to get back to that. We talked about many changes in player health and safety that would happen in the offseason, training camp and even during the regular season to make the game safer for the men that play this game,” Commissioner Goodell continued. “I think we made a lot of progress with that, we have to get back to that and make improvements. The rookie pool was raised earlier as being another issue and I think we’ve got to find a better rookie pool system. So there are a number of issues that I think separate us but they are going to get resolved at the negotiating table. And the sooner we can get back to that, the better.”

On the new rules on concussions and penalties:

“I think we can always improve the game and we continue to look for ways to try to improve the game, and particularly the safety. I think we’ve made enormous progress over the last several seasons with rule changes that make the game safer, we’ve made progress in equipment that’s made the game safer. I think we’ve brought a tremendous awareness to head injuries and the types of techniques, and we’ve tried to remove those techniques from the game. Bill Polian who sits on the Competition Committee has been a big driver of this. Those techniques we can identify and take those out of the game, and we need to do that. I think we’ve been effective in doing that. There’s always an adjustment period but we spoke about this with all of our coaches and general managers at the March meeting recently. I think the general view of the coaches and the general managers is that we made real progress, that changes were made to the game that are going to benefit the game and the health and safety of our players. And we’ll continue to do that. So, we’re going to look for every opportunity. In fact, in May we’ll be coming back with another proposal, sharpen our rules even more clearly to make the game safer and take certain techniques out of the game.”

On some of his favorite football players growing up as a kid:

“I grew up a football fan. I’ve been a lifelong football fan. I grew up in the Washington area and was a Colts fan as a kid, the Baltimore Colts. Quite frankly, Johnny Unitas was probably my first football hero. But through the years, obviously you follow a lot of football players and a lot of football teams, and now I’m fortunate enough to have 32 favorite teams and the memories of some great players and some great moments throughout our history.”

On if the NFL would consider looking at the way tickets are distributed for the Super Bowl:

“You make a very good point and one that we’ve spent an awful lot of time trying to address in a responsible way. The unfortunate side of it is – and maybe it’s a good thing – where we have so much interest in the game that we can’t nearly fit everybody into the stadium. But you want to make sure, as you point out, the loyal customers, the people who have supported the team get that opportunity to attend. We have changed our policy to try to make sure that the share of the tickets to our fans continue to go to our fans. We have made policies at the league level to make sure that we price a certain number of tickets that are available for fans to make it affordable. But we clearly just don’t have enough supply to meet the demand, quite honestly, and it’s always a struggle for us. I think the secondary ticketing is creating another dynamic which is different than we’ve had in the past where instead of necessarily scalping tickets, people are offering the tickets on secondary markets. As you can see, those prices rise dramatically on that kind of a market. So, it’s a difficult challenge for us but we’ll continue to try to do better at it and try to make the game as accessible as possible for the fans.”

On any plans in league expansion, and would any teams change divisions/conferences:

“We went through realignment in 2002 and I think we have a very good alignment and we want to create the kind of rivalries that I think everyone is looking for. We think we’ve come up with a very good system, and it also works from a scheduling standpoint. We are trying to keep our teams where they are. We think that that’s in the best interest of the fans. We are not looking for relocations, but unfortunately that might happen. It’s one of the things that we’re trying to address in the collective bargaining process, is to make sure we get the kind of system that will allow our teams to continue to be successful. One of the things that makes our league so popular is the competitive balance we have, the ability of teams to be successful in smaller markets – like Indianapolis, I hate to mention this to you like New Orleans, Green Bay, Pittsburgh. But that’s what makes football unique, is that all of our teams have an opportunity to win. There’s hope of all of our fans to have a competitive team when they enter the season. We want to keep that kind of a system. That’s the kind of thing that is going to continue to make the game more successful going forward. That’s what I’m committed to doing.”

Commissioner Roger Goodell closing statement:

“Thank you and I’m sorry I can’t get to all 4,200 questions, but hopefully some people had the same question. I thank all of the fans of the Colts and the NFL. Nothing better than attending a game in Indianapolis. Thank you all.”

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