Commissioner Goodell: 10-year foundation to make game better is great for fans

Prior to the kickoff of Thursday night’s season opener in Green Bay, Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke with Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio and discussed several topics, including his email to fans earlier that day.

“We are glad we are back,” Commissioner Goodell said about the point of his message to the fans. “We are glad that we have a great and exciting season ahead of us and that the fans can enjoy football.  That is what they want to do.  You know that better than anybody.  We are thrilled about the prospects of this season.  We want the fans to know how important they are.  We know that it has been a difficult offseason, but that is behind us now and great football is ahead.  We have 10 years of a great foundation to make the game better, and that is great for fans.”

The commissioner added that the NFL and its clubs would continue innovating to improve the game-day experience in stadiums, at home or wherever fans are.

“Whether you are watching in the stadiums where we are trying to improve the environment or watching at home where technology is making that experience even better – we are working to bring that technology into the stadiums,” he said. “However you want to interface with football, we want to encourage that and we want to make it a better experience.  That is what we are going to continue to do.”

Following is the complete SiriusXM Radio transcript:
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Commissioner Goodell: “We can teach kids the importance of healthy lifestyles”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today helped build a playground at Lincoln Elementary School in Green Bay with former players Larry Brown, John Randle, Andre Reed and Aeneas Williams as part of the community events leading up to tonight’s Kickoff game.

“It is a great opportunity to give back to the communities that make the NFL special,” Commissioner Goodell said later in a media briefing. “I know I grew up on a playground and how important it was to me.  To give these kids that same opportunity is a good thing.

“Physical fitness means so much to all of us in the NFL,” the Commissioner continued. “Our great players, they all grew up on playgrounds.  I grew up on a playground.  We all had some great experiences as kids.  It is part of a healthy lifestyle.  We can give back in that way.  We can teach kids the importance of healthy lifestyles and proper nutrition.  While you may not get to the NFL, it is the way to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Following is a transcript of the Commissioner’s media briefing in Green Bay:
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Commissioner emails fans: “Thank you for your support. Let’s get it started”

With the 2011 NFL season kicking off tonight in Green Bay, Commissioner Roger Goodell thanked fans for their support and pledged to continue to improve the game and league in all ways possible. Below is the email the Commissioner sent to fans:

To NFL Fans:

This may be the first week of the regular season, but it has the feel of a Super Bowl week for the NFL. One of the reasons is that we will unite with the rest of the nation on Sunday to reflect on the anniversary of 9/11 and honor the spirit of America.

All of us in the NFL appreciate your patience and understanding through what was a most unusual and challenging off-season. Now we are ready to enjoy what the NFL is all about — great players, great fans, intense competition, the performance and passion surrounding America’s most popular game.

Thanks to the hard work of our players, club owners, teams, and staff, the NFL’s pledge to deliver great football to our fans has been strengthened and is more secure than ever. We start the regular season and the race to Super Bowl XLVI with tremendous anticipation and momentum.

We want you most of all to sit back and enjoy it – in our stadiums, on television, and wherever else you connect with the NFL. Football fans enjoying football is what we love.

Be assured, however, that we believe in better. Players, owners, coaches, team and league staff – working together — will be putting our collective foot on the accelerator. We have more work to do to improve our league and game on a variety of fronts. We will do that by continuing to focus on the quality of the game and innovation. And we will do it relentlessly.

On behalf of everyone in the NFL, thank you for your incredible support, and thank you especially for sharing your views with us. Please keep it coming. We value your opinion because it helps make us better. The passion of our fans and communities is what makes the NFL so special.

Thank you again. Let’s get it started.

Roger Goodell

Commissioner Goodell: “We have to do everything we can to remove HGH from the game”

Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the importance of HGH testing in a wide-ranging interview this morning on the Mike and Mike Show on ESPN Radio.

“When you talk about player health and safety, clearly, removing HGH and all performance-enhancing drugs from our game or performance enhancing drugs has to be high on the list,” Commissioner Goodell said. “It sends the wrong message to other players not only in the NFL but down throughout the game of football and beyond football into other sports.  They are shooting themselves up with things that they don’t know where it came from; they don’t know what it is and we don’t know the health consequences of it long term.  We have to do everything we can to remove that from the game for player health and safety and second of all for the integrity of the game.

“We are going to continue to work to try to get this implemented,” Commissioner Goodell continued. “We have a commitment from both sides as part of the collective bargaining agreement to get this done.  I am disappointed it is not being done for the start of the regular season, but I am going to continue to work at it.”

Commissioner Goodell also said there is no disputing the validity of the test.

“There is a proper test,” he said.  “WADA is implementing it in the Olympics.  It is being used in Minor League Baseball.  It is being used in sports throughout the world, obviously cycling where it has gotten a lot of attention.  The test is developed to such a point where the technology is such that the window of detection has expanded to a point where it is more reasonable to detect the use of HGH.  As that technology evolves, we have to evolve and so does the policy.  It is appropriate and I think the Players Association agrees that it is appropriate to implement that.  I hope we can get that done quickly.”

Following is the complete interview transcript:
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Commissioner Goodell & DeMaurice Smith interview transcript

Following is a transcript of that interview:

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell & NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith interview with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen

August 5, 2011

Rich Eisen: Look what I have here: I have here a signed Collective Bargaining Agreement in my hands. And I have the head of the NFL Players’ Association DeMaurice Smith, good to see you. Commissioner, good to see you. How about us? All of us together with this signed agreement. The fans are all here in Canton, Ohio. What emotion do you have right now, De?”

DeMaurice Smith: “It’s a great day for our fans. Anytime you can be in a place like Canton and be surrounded by the men who made our game great, and to do it on a day where we’re celebrating the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement is special. For the players and for the NFL, it was a certainly a very long, sometimes arduous, process to say the least. But today I think that we can celebrate something that’s great for the fans and great for the game of football.”

Eisen: “How about you, Commissioner?”

Commissioner Roger Goodell: “Relief, because we know how much the game means to our fans. People want football, and football is back. We think the agreement that we reached is going to be great for the game, it’s going to be great for the fans and we are going to be able to grow the sport. I think this is a true partnership in trying to get that done.”
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NFL-NFLPA press conference transcript

NFL-NFLPA PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING 10-YEAR AGREEMENT 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

July 25, 2011

DeMaurice Smith: Good afternoon. I’m pleased to have Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League, with several of the owners who have joined us today. Mr. Richardson, the chairman of the CEC, Mr. Kraft, Mr. Mara who have come by today. We’re happy that we got an agreement that we have reached. I’ll turn it over to Roger to say a few words and we’ll finish it up.

Commissioner Goodell: It’s been a long time coming. Football is back and that’s the great news for everybody. I want to thank De and all of the players for their leadership and for securing the long term future of the game.  Having a 10-year agreement is extraordinarily great for our game but most importantly our fans. Everybody worked hard, everybody had a passion and everybody believes in this game of football and what we can do to make our game better.  And I think this agreement is going to make our game better. We’re grateful for all the work that both parties did to make sure that we came to this day today and to make sure for the fans that we can stand here and say “Football’s Back.”

Jerry Richardson: This is a long time coming. I would like to say what a pleasure it has been for us to work with the players on negotiations. As a former player myself, the relationship and conversations we’ve developed will serve us well for a long time. We’re delighted we have an agreement that’s going to serve the NFL, our players, our teams and our fans for many years to come.

Robert Kraft:  First of all, I would like to — on behalf of both sides — apologize to the fans that for the last 5-6 months we’ve been talking about the business of football, and not what goes on on the field and building the teams in each market. But the end result is we’ve been able to have an agreement that I think is going to allow this sport to flourish over the next decade and we’ve done that in a way that’s unique among the major sports that every team in our league, all 32, will be competitive. We’ve improved player safety and we’ve remembered the players that have played in the past. I want to give a special compliment to Commissioner Goodell and De Smith. The Commissioner has to deal with 32 tough and demanding owners and he’s been able to keep that balance. But DeMaurice Smith has come in and he’s managing 1,900 players, a bunch of different professionals. It’s a new CBA with tricky language and he was able to keep all those things going and he was able to come up with an agreement that he and Roger did together with their two teams.  Lastly, what kept me at the table the last four-and-a-half months was seeing the player representatives that represented the league’s players. They didn’t just look at the short-term interests of their own playing careers, but they looked long term. Especially Jeff Saturday and Domonique Foxworth. I was so impressed with them that they acted as principals at the table looking out for what was good for the game. I believe you’re going to see a great NFL over the next decade. And I hope we gave a little lesson to the people in Washington, because the debt crisis is a lot easier to fix than this deal was.

John Mara: We are obviously very pleased to be standing here today. It’s been a long and pretty difficult negotiation. But I think at the end of the day, neither side got everything they wanted. But what we did achieve was a fair deal that will stand the test of time and will be in the best interests of our league, our players, our clubs and our fans. I have a lot of respect for the players that we’ve been negotiating with. They were tough negotiators. They represented their fellow players very well as did De Smith.  I think at the end of the day we have something here that is going to serve the best interests of the National Football League for many years to come.

Kevin Mawae: On behalf of the players in the National Football League, it’s a great day. We’re standing on the eve of the day when football gets back to business. And our players can’t be more excited than going back and doing the thing they love the most. We always said throughout this process that we would do a deal when it’s the right deal and our players did that. We’ve stuck it out til the end. We fought for our ground and we worked with the owners to get a deal that we feel is fair for everybody.  We’re excited about today. We’re thankful for De and for Roger and for their leadership of our groups.  I’m thankful that our players have stood together. We stood strong at a time of uncertainty. But more importantly, I want to thank the fans. Through the rollercoaster rides, from two years out until today, you guys have stuck with us, and we’re here to tell you that football is back and it’s back for the long term and we’re excited about this season starting. And we couldn’t’ have done this without a strong Executive Committee, and our board of players. But I have to give a tip of the hat to Jeff Saturday and Domonique Foxworth who since June 28 have not missed a meeting. A lot of credit goes to those guys for pounding it out and doing the dirty work for us.

Jeff Saturday: Just to echo what most of these men up here have said, I think the part that was most impressive to me was when players and owners began to sit across the table from each other and dialogue, things began to happen. To Kevin’s point and to Commissioner Goodell’s point, this is a fair deal that we’re excited to present to our players. We’re excited about the opportunity to get back on the field instead of being in these meeting rooms and be in football meeting rooms, which I’m a big fan of. I would be remiss if I didn’t say a special thanks, and I know Fox feels exactly the same way, to my wife and to every man’s wife who stood beside, and a special thanks to Myra Kraft who even in her weakest moment allowed Mr. Kraft to come and fight this out and without him this deal does not get done. I don’t want to be climactic in any way, but he is a man who helped us save football and we are so gracious for that. We’re gracious for his family and for the opportunity he presented to get this deal done. Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

Domonique Foxworth: I think it’s all pretty much been said. I feel the same way as Jeff. I have a tremendous amount of love for Jeff. The biggest thing that I needed to say is a great deal of appreciation for my wife who is taking care of our eight-month-old daughter and studying for the bar at the same time allowing me to be here.  Other than that, I think they just put me up here for eye candy because obviously I’m more attractive than anyone else who has been up here. I just like pissing De off as much as possible. I’m done guys. Thanks a lot.

DeMaurice Smith: Thank you. We have a little bit of time for questions between the two of us but before we do that, I want to say thanks to everybody who’s been involved with this. It’s been a very long process. Like I said, there’s a next step for us to reconstitute as a union. There are issues we need to address very quickly — issues of health, safety, benefits, other collectively-bargained issues that we have addressed back in March but really haven’t addressed thus far. I know and I have a great deal of confidence that both sides are going to engage and take that process with the sobriety and the good faith that we have shown over the past few months to get this deal done.

Last two things to echo what Jeff said about Mr. Kraft, we couldn’t have done it without you. We took a day off on Friday to remember a great woman and her great family. I’m thankful for what she meant to the city of Boston. I’m especially thankful for what you mean to the game of football. And to my wife, there’s going to come a time when I’m not going to be on the road. I don’t know whether she thinks that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but there’s going to be a time when daddy is going to be home.
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NFL meeting press conference transcript

Below is a transcript of the press conference following today’s NFL meeting in Atlanta.  At the meeting, NFL clubs approved the terms of a comprehensive settlement of litigation and a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.

NFL press conference at league meeting in Atlanta

July 21, 2011

Commissioner Goodell:  Good afternoon. The clubs approved an agreement that was negotiated with the players this afternoon. In addition to approving that agreement, we also approved a supplemental revenue sharing system for the next 10 years. With this ratification and with the ratification of the NFLPA board, we will be prepared to open the training facilities beginning on Saturday, this Saturday. We will then be prepared to start the new league year next Wednesday subject to the full membership of the players ratifying the agreement and recertifying as a union. Obviously you know that we’re all under a time constraint. That’s one of the reasons we worked to get this agreement completed tonight.

We are unfortunately going to have to cancel the Hall of Fame Game this year. The time is just too short and we feel that it’s important for all 32 teams to be operating with the same number of preseason games and also starting camp at the same date or near the same date. Unfortunately we will not be there to play the game this year, but of course the (induction) ceremonies will go on. Hopefully we can all work quickly, expeditiously and get this agreement done. It is time to get back to football. That is what everyone here wants to do. We will allow our chairman, Mr. (Jerry) Richardson, who did an outstanding job, to say a few words. Before I do and before we take questions and hear from Mr. Richardson, let me just tell you how hard I think everybody in the NFL, how hard the players, how hard DeMaurice Smith worked. They’ve done an outstanding job. I think we’ve crafted a long-term agreement that can be good for the game of football. It’ll be good for the players, good for the clubs, and most importantly good for our game and for our fans. We really are anxious to get back to football. Hopefully today’s development and the developments of the NFLPA over the next few days will ensure that. I’ll hand it off to Mr. Richardson.

Jerry Richardson:  Thank you, Commissioner. We all know this journey began in May 2008. It’s been long. At times it’s been very, very difficult. We’re happy to say and we feel very good about the fact that we’re confident that the players and the teams have arrived at a good place. We think we have a fair, balanced agreement. It has been a joy for me personally during these negotiations to have close contact with the players. They have been tremendous. We’ve ended up, we feel, in a very good place. Thank you.

On the situation with the NFLPA’s impending recertification as a union:

Goodell:  Those are decisions that ultimately have to be made by the union about what their process is going to be and their timeline. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a sense of urgency to this. We want to have a full 2011 season that includes the four preseason games, and we’re up against the wall. I think that’s indicated by the unfortunate cancellation of the Hall of Fame Game.

On whether or not there were conversations with the NFLPA about the owners’ vote:

Goodell:  Yes. I just spoke to DeMaurice probably 20 minutes ago. He’s going to go take care of his business.

On whether or not he’s “relieved” or in “wait-and-see” mode:

Goodell:  I think maybe the word is exhaustion. We’ve all been working very hard. The members of the CEC, Jeff Pash, who was our lead negotiator for the owners, it’s been an incredible effort. As we indicated earlier, the players have worked equally as hard, and I think have done a fantastic job of coming up with an agreement that’s sensitive to their issues, strikes a balance between what I think are very important issues with player health and safety and the work rules, putting together the right kind of agreement that works for our retired players and also works for the growth of our game going forward and encouraging investment in our game. I think it’s an outstanding agreement from that standpoint.

On the final issues that needed to be resolved today:

Goodell:  Well, you work through it like you do any other issue. You address them. You try to understand the issues, and you try to come up with a resolution. We’ve essentially had the core of an agreement for well over a week, as you all know. What we tried to do is make sure our ownership fully understood that today. They understood all ramifications, put in a supplemental revenue sharing system that I think will be good for all clubs that will continue to have the competitive balance that the league is famous for and make sure we continue the great game of football.

On what his message is to fans who have been waiting for this to be resolved:

Goodell:  I understand their frustration. I hope they understand that we’re working hard to get that agreement that is going to secure the game of football for the future. We have a 10-year agreement, which I think is going to be great for everyone involved in the game, number one our fans. So I guess I’d say to them, we’re getting close to getting football back, and that’s what we want. We want to get started with football.

On whether or not this agreement will run through the 2020 season:

Goodell:  That is correct.
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Commissioner Goodell & DeMaurice Smith to rookies: “We have to work together”

Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith stressed the importance of working together as they appeared together Wednesday morning at the NFLPA’s rookie orientation in Sarasota, according to a story by ProPlayerInsiders.com.    Smith invited the Commissioner to speak at the event.

“Every now and then you have two sides, the folks who are employees and the folks who are employers. There are issues that unite you and there are issues that divide you. At the end of the day the conclusion is that both sides have to work together,” Smith said.

“De referenced how hard we are all working together. There’s no question that you have a guy that is passionate about what you do and in representing you. I have great respect for this guy and you,” Commissioner Goodell said. “There’s no question we have some fundamental challenges to getting this done. But we do recognize that if we are going to create a business model that meets the challenges for everybody, works for the players, works for the clubs, works for the fans of the game, then we are going to have to address these issues responsibly and we know we are better off working together.”

Both Commissioner Goodell and DeMaurice Smith both stated that they are focused on preserving a full season.

“Our goal is to start the games on time,” Smith said. “Our goal is to have a training camp on time. Our goal is to hopefully get some time were we can have some off-season work. We are both committed to those three fundamental things so if we are able to get something done in time we have the ability to move heaven and earth and make sure that things happen in a way that doesn’t impact the season.”

Said Commissioner Goodell: “Our objective here is to keep pressing on and get this done so we can have a season, a full season, and that includes some off season work. If we are successful in the next couple weeks there is still the opportunity to get some off season work and then into training camps.”

For the complete story, click here.

Commissioner Goodell and DeMaurice Smith speak to rookies

Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith spoke with and answered questions from rookies this morning at the NFLPA’s rookie orientation in Sarasota. Smith invited the Commissioner to speak at the event.

Both will return to Minneapolis today to continue meetings which began earlier this week.

Following are comments Commissioner Goodell and DeMaurice Smith made to media following their talk with rookies:

Commissioner Goodell and DeMaurice Smith

After Speaking at NFLPA Rookie Orientation

June 29, 2011

DeMaurice Smith: “We obviously spoke to the rookie class here at the Business of Football Symposium. We are not going to take questions but both of us wanted to come out and tell you that.  We’re continuing to work hard. Both of us felt that it was important to come down for this event. Obviously, what we are doing on the business of football on a macro scale is about getting a fair deal done and trying to get back to the game and business of football as quickly as possible. This event was important to ensure that our young men appreciated how important we think these few days are. I’m thrilled that Roger could come down with us and talk to the rookies in a very good, direct way.”

Commissioner Goodell: “It was a great opportunity for us to be able to sit with the rookies. They obviously have lots of questions. We answered the questions as best we could. But you all know that we’re under certain restrictions. We’re taking a break because we felt it was important to be down here with the players. We both have great respect, obviously, for the players. This is an important few days. We’re going to get back to work.”

DeMaurice Smith: “So we’re going to go back in, to get back to work on other issues. Thank you all.”

Post-meeting comments from Commissioner Goodell and DeMaurice Smith

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith appeared together today and made the following comments to members of the news media that found the location of this week’s talks between players and owners in suburban Boston. 

Commissioner Goodell: “You obviously know we met over the last couple of days. We are under court order as far as what we can discuss so our comments will be brief. But obviously we’re all working hard. The players and owners were here over the last two days. De and I were here for the entire meetings also. And it’s complicated and it’s complex, but we’re working hard and we understand the fans’ frustration. But I think both of us feel strongly that we’re going to continue to work hard at it.”

DeMaurice Smith: “Someone asked me whether I was optimistic. I think we’re both optimistic when we have the right people in the room. We know we’re talking about the right issues and that we’re working hard to get it done. It is extremely complicated, it requires a lot of hard work by a lot of people, but we’re committed to getting something done and we’re going to keep working at it.  Just to wrap up: we’re working hard, we understand the fans’ frustration, I know our players’ frustration. We’re going to keep working hard and try to make sure we get a deal done.”

Following these comments, Goodell and Smith shook hands and departed along with the other attendees at the meeting.  They included players Domonique Foxworth, Tony Richardson, and Jeff Saturday plus owners Jerry Richardson, Clark Hunt, Robert Kraft, John Mara, and Dean Spanos. The talks will continue.