NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is reportedly ready to escalate his ongoing feud with Jerry Jones by fining the Dallas Cowboys owner millions of dollars in retaliation for his efforts to thwart Goodell’s contract extension negotiations at the end of 2017, as well as Jones’s outspoken criticism of the league’s six-game suspension of running back Ezekiel Elliott for domestic violence.
What’s more, according to The New York Times’ report, Goodell has ‘the support of many NFL owners’ to make the move.
Jones and Goodell battled over several issues last season, most notably in December when the former tried to derail the latter’s contract extension negotiations. Jones was unsuccessful on that front and with regards to Elliott, whose six-game suspension for domestic assault was upheld after a lengthy appeals process in federal court.
Jones (pictured) and Goodell battled over several issues last season, most notably in December when the former tried to derail the latter’s contract extension negotiations
The NFL suspended Elliott for six games on August 11 after a 13-month investigation concluded he was in violation of the league’s personal-conduct policy. He was accused of domestic violence by former girlfriend Tiffany Thompson, but Elliott was not arrested or charged in the case and maintains his innocence.
According to the report, Jones will be forced to pay for all the legal fees the league’s compensation committee incurred while defending itself from Jones last year. Furthermore, Jones will be forced to compensate the NFL for the legal fees it spent defending Elliott’s ban.
Goodell will reportedly cite Jones’s actions as being ‘detrimental to the league’ and he’ll hand out the punishment some time over the coming weeks.
The Commissioner was also heavily criticized by Jones over his handling of the ongoing player protests during the national anthem.
The NFL and Cowboys did not respond to the Times’s requests for comment.
Goodell eventually did sign his contract extension in December, and if the league reaches its financial targets, it could be worth as much as $200 million, according to Ken Belson of The New York Times. Goodell is guaranteed a minimum of $4 million per year, according to Belson.
Goodell, 58, previously made around $40 million a year, depending on how many incentives the leagues achieves in any given season. In 2013, for instance, he pocketed $44 million, but that figure dropped to $34 million in 2014.
Roger Goodell, 58, previously made around $40 million a year, depending on how many incentives the leagues achieves in any given season
His earnings were previously public record, but the NFL changed its non-profit status in 2015, shielding the Commissioner from revealing any such information.
The six-member compensation committee consisted of Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, New York Giants co-owner John Mara, and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II.
While it looks as though the controversial Goodell may have received a slight raise, the financial structure is now largely linked to the league’s overall performance, which was something Jones had been pushing for.
The league’s national television ratings decline from 16.5 average viewers last year to just 15 million this season, according to data compiled by RBC Capital Markets and reported by Business Insider.
In late 2017, all 32 NFL team owners voted to renew Goodell’s contract, which runs until 2019, and nominated the committee to negotiate on their behalf.
Jones reportedly threatened to block Goodell’s new contract with a lawsuit unless all owners were given a say on terms.
Speaking to 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on November 11, Jones said: ‘I basically feel this extension of Roger should go and be reviewed and approved by all the owners, not just a few of the owners.
The NFL suspended Ezekiel Elliott for six games on August 11 after a 13-month investigation concluded he was in violation of the league’s personal-conduct policy. He was accused of domestic violence by former girlfriend Tiffany Thompson, but Elliott was not arrested or charged in the case and maintains his innocence
‘The committee that basically negotiates the salary with our commissioner is taking the view, especially the chairman, that they, in a limited group, can complete this agreement.
‘We’ve given him a lot of power,’ said Jones. ‘I think we need the checks and balances of ownership to be in a position to not just suggest, but approve of his decisions.’
Jones took issue with the discretionary bonuses and wanted Goodell to shoulder some accountability for the decline in television ratings that could affect future broadcast-rights fees.
The average audience was 14.9 million viewers per game, down 9.7 percent from 16.5 million viewers in the 2016 regular season, according to Nielsen. The 2016 viewership was down eight percent from the previous year.
Jones previously served as a non-voting, ad-hoc member of the negotiating committee until he was removed by Blank.
Jones also referred to Elliott’s suspension as an ‘overcorrection’ for Goodell, who admittedly mishandled the suspension of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice back in 2014.
Goodell first suspended Rice only two games after video emerged of the former Rutgers star dragging his unconscious fiancée out of an elevator at an Atlantic City casino. However, that suspension was extended indefinitely after another video was released depicting Rice striking his fiancée in the elevator.
Rice has been out of the NFL ever since.
New Orleans Saints fans express their opinion of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in 2012. Saints coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season after allegedly being involved in the team’s infamous bounty scandal wherein bounties were paid to Saints players who successfully knocked targeted opposing players out of a game.