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Roger Goodell held an invite-only press conference in Las Vegas on Monday evening. Ahead of this week’s Super Bowl, he answered questions about sports betting, officiating, Taylor Swift, diversity in hiring, and more.
The press event has been bumped in 2017 from Friday to Wednesday of Super Bowl week, then this year to Monday, with the additional invite-only mandate. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who was not invited, told Front Office Sports the change leads him to believe that the NFL is “trying to make this an easier, less stressful, less contentious, less potentially unfavorable experience for the commissioner.”
And Athletic reporter Jim Trotter, who questioned Goodell about the lack of diversity among decision-makers at NFL Network at the previous two Goodell pre-Super Bowl pressers, was not in attendance. NFL Media did not renew Trotter’s contract last year, and he filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the league in September.
There were 127 reporters in the room as Goodell spoke for nearly an hour. The Athletic had three reporters ask questions, and a ProFootballTalk reporter was also called upon.
“Kicking off the week on Monday with the Commissioner rather than midweek or at the end of the week enables the media to focus on the players, the two teams, and the events surrounding the Super Bowl,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told FOS.
The NFL will evaluate Monday’s setup, and the league heard positive feedback after the presser concluded, McCarthy said.
Other takeaways from the event:
- Birds in Brazil: Goodell announced that the Philadelphia Eagles will host the league’s upcoming debut in Brazil in 2024, playing on the Friday night of kickoff weekend. Games will also be played that Thursday night, Sunday, and Monday night.
- Betting on the NFL Gets You Fired: Goodell stressed the importance of “protecting the integrity of the game throughout the presser.” That means nobody at the NFL—from players to club and league employees—jeopardizes a fair game by betting on the NFL, and the league has proven it takes the matter seriously by educating its people and enforcing its rules. He said that roughly 13 players and about 25 employees on the club and league level have been disciplined through suspension or termination.
- No Super Bowl paywall: Goodell defended the first playoff game available only on streaming, the first-round game between the Chiefs and Dolphins exclusive to Peacock. He noted the 23 million viewers for that game surpassed the equivalent game during the 2022 playoffs, and the average age of those who watched on Peacock was 10 years younger than the league’s overall viewership average. While Goodell didn’t rule out more streaming playoff games, the Super Bowl won’t be one of them. “‘Not in my time [as commissioner,” Goodell said. Goodell’s current contract expires in March 2027.
- Swift Romance Isn’t Scripted: Goodell said the thought that any of the Swift stories was preplanned is “nonsense” and called having her at the games “nothing but a blessing.” “She loves great entertainment, and I think that’s why she loves NFL football,” noting that she’s a football fan outside of Travis Kelce.
- Las Vegas: Goodell called the fan support in Vegas “nothing short of a miracle,” saying the team exceeded expectations in every way. “I can’t think of a negative thing about it,” he said.
Goodell also was served several questions about diversity, from ownership to assistant coaches.
As team valuations go up, the NFL is trying to ensure diverse groups of owners intentionally. He noted how the ownership group had voted in a resolution to attract diverse owners. He highlighted both the Washington Commanders and the Denver Broncos, the latter of whom became the NFL’s most diverse ownership group.
Goodell said the league will continue to progress in areas like offensive assistants and the newsroom but said he’s proud that 51% of league employees (not including players) are women or people of color.
