Is Roger Goodell Good For the NFL?

[MTK]

The ratings are through the roof for the prime time start to the draft, so it's probably going to stay that way.

[irish]

Super Bowl Saturday is never gonna happen. Its 1 less day for fans to stay around the city which means less hotel rooms used and 1 less night for restaurants to be full. Plus now fans can travel to the site on Sat instead of Fri which would mean taking a day off work.

[firstdown]

One of the reason I think they do Sunday is because the hosting town gets another night of people staying over. If it was Saturday most people would come in on Friday and leave on Sunday. Now they come in on Friday and leave on Monday and thats a big difference in money. Also more people are off on Sunday eve and they have more viewers.

[Lotus]

Rather than changing the game to Saturday, we could just declare Super Bowl Monday to be a national holiday.

[celts32]

Originally Posted by Lotus

Rather than changing the game to Saturday, we could just declare Super Bowl Monday to be a national holiday.

One benefit of the 18 game schedule is that it could push the Super Bowl back to Presidents Day weekend. I understand that not everone is off from work on presidents day but not everyone is off on Saturday or Sunday either. So that is probably the best we could hope for as far as the day after the super bowl being a holiday.

[celts32]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

The ratings are through the roof for the prime time start to the draft, so it's probably going to stay that way.

Unfortunately I agree that it's here to stay, but i remember not being all that impressed with the ratings they got. Anytime you move something to primetime over Saturday afternoon the ratings are bound to be higher. It's not like they won the night though. I think it was a lot of spin control the league did to make it appear that it was a huge success.

[freddyg12]

I think Goodell deserves some credit for the conduct policy & the general manner in which he's responded to issues, e.g. concussions. He is on top of the things that matter to the NFL's future.

He's in a very difficult position now. The NFL is so successful, yet on the brink of a strike. Before I criticize him for the 18 game schedule idea, which I hate, I would need to better understand his role w/the owners. As I understand it, the Commish of the league, he is beholden to the owners. If that's what they want, it is his job to pursue that.

We'll see what kind of moderator, diplomat and leader Goodell is in the coming months. He could have a big impact on the negotiations & it sounds like he wants to.

[SBXVII]

Originally Posted by irish

Super Bowl Saturday is never gonna happen. Its 1 less day for fans to stay around the city which means less hotel rooms used and 1 less night for restaurants to be full. Plus now fans can travel to the site on Sat instead of Fri which would mean taking a day off work.

Funny, one could say the same thing about it being on Sun. Fans fly in to be at the motel at 4pm check in. stay the night, watch the game, then stay Sun. into Mon. for a return flight home.... basically taking a day off work.

The only difference is some people might fly in on Fri. so they stay Fri. night into Sat. then Sat. night and then fly home Sun. Basically the same either way.... 1 day off work possibly and 2 nights in a motel.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Roger Goodell seems to be a double-edged sword for the league.

On his watch, the league has set humongous TV ratings records and since the bulk of the mone comes from TV, that has to be a big plus for him - - - even if he was not uniquely responsible for the soaring ratings.

On his watch, the league has taken a very proactive position - - bolstered by huge PR/communications efforts - - to protect its workforce (the players). That goes over well with the vast majority of adult fans.

On his watch, the NFL is on the brink of a work stoppage - - the first in two decades or so. That is not completely of his doing but it happened on his watch.

With regard to the "games in England", they make economic sense but no sense at all in any other dimension. Consider that the Cardinals are a strong candidate to be in the "London game" next year and it would be one of the Cards' home games. The Cards probably will not sell out more than once next season so a huge crowd in London (maybe 80,000 fans) makes economic sense for them. Of course the 12 hour flight each way from Phoenix to London and a half-dozen other factors make no sense for the Cards...

Is Roger Goodell good for the NFL? If they can pull off a CBA without losing any time in training camp, I would say the answer is YES on balance.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by celts32

Unfortunately I agree that it's here to stay, but i remember not being all that impressed with the ratings they got. Anytime you move something to primetime over Saturday afternoon the ratings are bound to be higher. It's not like they won the night though. I think it was a lot of spin control the league did to make it appear that it was a huge success.

Ratings were up about 30% if I recall, that's a pretty big boost

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

Roger Goodell seems to be a double-edged sword for the league.

On his watch, the league has set humongous TV ratings records and since the bulk of the mone comes from TV, that has to be a big plus for him - - - even if he was not uniquely responsible for the soaring ratings.

Agree; though businesses exist to make max profits, over-commercialization has definitely made the music and film world much less tolerable.

[tryfuhl]

The upcoming strike is more based around the last deal than what Goodell has done, to be fair.

[Jontrem]

I dislike many of the things Goodell has done/is doing. He has way too much power and at best he is reluctant to share it, at worst he seems like a power monger. He hands out fines with impunity and suspensions like they were after school detention slips. I think the Conduct Policy is a great thing but most of the time these players aren't charged with anything let alone convicted and he appoints an investigator and then decides on the punishment?

I also think the player safety/18 game season issue makes him a hypocritical joke. I also want the draft back on Saturdays.

Now having said all that you simply can't argue with the ratings/revenue under his leadership. So I think he might be good for the league but bad for the game as we know it, if that makes any sense!

[SouperMeister]

Goodell is doing good things to get player conduct and head injuries under control, but I see him as being too cozy with the owners on the labor talks, especially with the way he has lobbied for European expansion and the 18 game schedule. His ability to drive consensus in the upcoming CBA talks will demonstrate his true leadership, and I would say that he's great for the league if he can broker an agreement without a work stoppage.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Jontrem

I dislike many of the things Goodell has done/is doing. He has way too much power and at best he is reluctant to share it, at worst he seems like a power monger. He hands out fines with impunity and suspensions like they were after school detention slips. I think the Conduct Policy is a great thing but most of the time these players aren't charged with anything let alone convicted and he appoints an investigator and then decides on the punishment?

I also think the player safety/18 game season issue makes him a hypocritical joke. I also want the draft back on Saturdays.

Now having said all that you simply can't argue with the ratings/revenue under his leadership. So I think he might be good for the league but bad for the game as we know it, if that makes any sense!

I agree 100%. He's out of control with all of his fines. A group of former players and coaches needs to be formed, and if someone appeals they should have the power to over rule Goodell.

And the whole Farve thing was so stupid. Sterger complains two years later and he's got former FBI guys doing this investigation, like it's a high profile murder case. Such as waste of everyones time and money.