Goodell great for NFL, even if Steelers and their fans disagree
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It was about 90 minutes after Super Bowl XLIII, a game that always will be remembered here because of the Steelers' fabulous comeback against the Arizona Cardinals. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was at a private party, his tie off, his sleeves rolled up and a cold adult beverage in his hand. Earlier that evening, he had handed the Lombardi Trophy to Steelers owner Dan Rooney, the man who pushed hardest for him to become commissioner in August 2006. Goodell was feeling pretty good about himself and his league.
Imagine how Goodell felt Sunday night after Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
It was another terrific game, the New York Giants' 21-17 victory against the New England Patriots going down to the final play. Goodell, a noted perfectionist, wasn't pleased with the classless middle-finger salute in the halftime show by one of the featured singers, whose name is not worth mentioning. But everything else was good. No, everything else was great.
Everything about Goodell's $10 billion-a-year NFL is great, actually.
Well, almost everything.
We'll get to the concussion issue in a moment.
Goodell has enemies in this town, mostly because he has had the audacity to fine linebacker James Harrison and other Steelers for illegal and dangerous helmet-to-helmet hits. But his legacy as one of sports great leaders has been secured. He has taken the powerful NFL -- carefully constructed by previous commissioners Paul Tagliabue and Pete Rozelle, not to mention brilliant owners such as the Rooneys -- and made it bigger, stronger and better.
In the summer, Goodell negotiated a new, unprecedented collective bargaining agreement with the players that assures a decade of labor peace. In December, with television ratings soaring, he signed off on a nine-year deal with the networks that will mean $6 billion a year in revenue for the NFL and its players. Even more money will roll in once the league gets a bigger global presence, a Goodell vision.
First Published February 7, 2012 12:00 am
