Thank you for joining me and goodbye from San Francisco.
Goodell is done.
A league official shouts “OK we’re done.” Apparently that last question didn’t sit too well. Interesting lines of questions today. I did not expect to see Goodell asked so much about marijuana, for instance. He was definitely testy about the impression that the league is not doing enough about domestic violence and player safety.
There was also some new stuff. The Monday night game in Mexico is a big development and his leaving open the idea of a team in London is also big.
In all, not the most exciting of Goodell press conferences but in the most lucrative sports league in the world there is always drama and today provided a little more.
Interesting question that many players like Megatron are walking away early and what does it say about the game now. Goodell objects to the question, saying the questioner is handpicking a couple of random situations and trying to make a blanket judgement. He says he is told players are constantly telling him how much they love playing and want to play forever.
Goodell is asked about the seven high school football deaths last fall. He says he is trying to push cultural changes in how practices occur and how well players are hydrated and the proper techniques for tackling. “These are very positive changes” he says. He cites a 78 percent reduction in injuries though the context of that 78 percent figure is unclear. He says he would not have given up a day of playing tackle football when he was younger.
On whether he will reinstate Tom Brady’s suspension. He dodges this a bit by saying he will let the league’s appeal of last summer’s court ruling vacating Brady’s suspension. “I’m not focused on it now” but he also makes clear this is an issue of collective bargaining agreement which is an important distinction. His suspension of Brady and the appeal was always more about the league’s deal with the union rather than Brady himself.
Goodell says he has a 40 percent reduction in player arrest rate and says it is lower than the national rates for men of that age. He says it speaks to the quality of players in the league and that media focuses too much on each arrest rather than on players who don’t get in trouble.
On the league’s involvement with daily fantasy: “I don’t make that decision.” He adds that he sees this as different than sports gambling because it involves player matchups rather than team results. This is a huge dodge on a tricky question for the league that is tied up heavily in advertising with daily fantasy leagues.
He does add that the NFL might have to react to anything law enforcement does with daily fantasy. So if it becomes illegal in some states...
On Pro Bowl.. “I was not happy with what I saw on Sunday.” He says he wants to talk to players and coaches and figure out where the game is going. He says he wants to have a stage to celebrate players but “We might have to think about that differently.” He adds “If it is not quality if its not up to the standards to NFL we don’t want to do it” Looks like they are going to make major Pro Bowl changes again.
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Goodell is asked about medical marijuana in light of some ex players saying it has helped them. “I don’t distinguish between marijuana and medical marijuana” he adds that the leagues medical people are not recommending the use of medical marijuana. He makes it clear there will be no change in the league’s pot policy anytime soon.
Goodell says he does not see the league changing the marijuana policy given that pot is legal in a handful of NFL markets. He adds that the league’s “medical personnel” do not think the policy should change. I suspect this goes deeper than medical people. The league does not want to upset advertisers by allowing drug use with players.
Goodell says he has talked to Missouri Gov Jay Nixon and would like to consider possibly getting a stadium built in St Louis... he is defending the process Stan Kroenke used to get out of St Louis lease. He says the facilities were not up to par for NFL teams and didn’t see evidence that they would be improved anytime soon.
He says the same is true for San Diego and Oakland.
Someone is asking about investigations like Manning and HGH and why they aren’t as pursued with the same zeal as the Brady investigation. He says the league is pursuing them hard. “We want to make sure we are transparent.” He says they might add an independent investigator on issues like Manning’s if he feels it is necessary.
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DEFLATEGATE alert. Here comes a PSI question. Goodell says the protocol for bringing balls in the stadium has been changed. “We don’t disclose all the specifics because its a deterrent.” It’s the TSA philosophy. Make people fear they might get caught cheating.
On the Wells report: “The intent was not a research project.” I’m sure that will get a few comments.
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Interesting question about the low pay for cheerleaders -- who really get a lousy deal -- Goodell says he is going to encourage teams to pay a good wage. It’s hard to say if this has much teeth. Teams have routinely paid their cheerleaders very little money while marketing them relentlessly. If he forces teams to pay cheerleaders more, this would be a strong move by a league that has generally ignored the issue.
Goodell also says that a team in London “is a real possibility” down the road. This is a bit of a change from the recent message, which has been that the logistics of having a team in the UK might be too complicated for a fulltime NFL team in London to work.
This is a clear indication that now that Los Angeles has been sorted out the league is turning its focus to London.
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On London... “Everytime we give our UK fans to engage on football they want more.” He says the fans “are more sophisticated” and expects a lot of fans to be watching Super Bowl.
He also is considering, and this is big – more games in the UK. “I expect to see more games in the UK.”
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The Texans-Raiders game on 21 Novemver is a Monday so it will be the first Monday night game played internationally. This will be a very interesting development and shows the NFL is pushing hard to sell the game outside the US borders.
Concussions are a topic now: “We have made great progress. We continue to make rule changes to protect player safety” he says a new helmet is coming out this season from a GE, UnderArmour and NFL challenge. Also says there is some technology that will “go under artificial turf” to measure the impact of helmets hitting the turf.
“We will not wait for science.”
Goodell says there will be a game in November between Raiders and Texans in Mexico.
First question is from San Farmer of the LA Times who has asked annually about the Los Angeles situation. He is now asking Goodell about potential for San Diego and Oakland..
Goodell says “the priority is to keep our teams where they are” he adds that he wants to “get the right kind of facilities in those markets.” He also says he will do whatever he can to support San Diego in keeping the Chargers there. “This has to work for the communities and the teams” which means lots of public money for stadiums for rich owners.
“Our games in London have been a tremendous success.”
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Goodell talking about the future, player safety first. He says he will look at rules and technology to improve players. He says they will continue to look at ways to keep the game exciting and that the new LA stadium will be “transformational”.
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Goodell is starting
First comes some uninteresting stuff about how excited he is for the teams who are here and how much he wants to thank the fans and San Francisco and blah blah blah.
The room for Goodell’s annual address is filling up. These things usually run about an hour and they have become more contentious in recent years. Expect more questions today about Deflategate, PED use, domestic violence, the continuing Los Angeles/San Diego/Oakland situation and, of course, London.
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Hello everyone and welcome to the liveblog of Roger Goodell’s annual State of the NFL address. Not sure that’s what they call it anymore but it’s really how the league treats this thing. They have a gigantic room set up at the top of the Moscone Convention Center here in downtown San Francisco. Lots of curtains, it’s very over-the-top, expensive-looking and therefore, very...NFL.
Goodell is scheduled to start at 11:30.
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Les will be here shortly. In the meantime, take a look at our surprise Super Bowl heroes:
