New York (AFP) – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has agreed to terms with team owners on a contract extension through the 2030 season, the league announced on Sunday. The move comes three days before the start of the 2026 NFL campaign, with Goodell’s current contract set to end in March 2027. Goodell, who last signed an extension in October 2023, would have his latest deal expire on March 31, 2031, under the terms of the agreement.
Goodell’s first major priority will be negotiations on a new NFL collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association, with the current deal expiring in March 2031. He will also face new media rights deals to be negotiated and the club owners’ desire to increase the seasons to 18 games per team. A memo by compensation committee chairman Robert Kraft to other team owners, which was obtained by NFL Network and ESPN, described the new agreement with Goodell as “heavily performance-based, with more than 95% of the total compensation tied to Roger’s and the NFL’s performance measured against various metrics and at the discretion of the compensation committee.”
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The extension marks Goodell’s fifth extension after re-signing in 2009, 2012, 2017, and 2023. “We believe we are very fortunate to have Roger at the helm for the next four years,” Kraft said in the memo. Goodell, 67, was first elected commissioner in 2006 to replace Paul Tagliabue and serve as the eighth full-time commissioner in NFL history. His start with the NFL came in 1982 as an administrative intern in the league office.
Goodell has grown the sport globally during his tenure, kept the league going through the COVID pandemic without missing a game, and improved safety measures for players, including special helmets and a change in kickoff rules.
© 2024 AFP
