MIAMI — The logical response to a slight increase in concussions and lower-body injuries in the NFL in 2019 doesn’t seem to be playing more football.
But the NFL reportedly continues pushing for a 17th game to be added to the regular season — and for the preseason to be shortened given it is more difficult to sell those games to television partners — in negotiations for the new collective bargaining agreement. The current deal is set to expire in 2021.
NFL Players Association leaders will gather here Thursday to discuss the latest proposal and whether it meets their demands for increased revenue shares in return for further risk to their bodies.
“We’ve been having incredibly productive dialogue,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at Super Bowl LIV. “I think we’ve addressed difficult issues that face our league going forward. Everyone in the negotiation has worked to try to find solutions.”
Goodell said the NFL has made more than 50 rule changes related to safety in the last 15 years and soon will be introducing six new helmet models with the latest in safety innovation.
“We believe we have made the game safer and made it better,” Goodell said, “and we believe we can reconstruct the season that is smart for the future of the game.”
Roger GoodellGetty ImagesThere still is no timetable for resolution in the Patriots’ latest cheating allegation, stemming from the video crew caught taping the Bengals sideline in December. The Patriots, who could be facing a fine and loss of draft picks, admitted wrongdoing and the NFL possesses the film evidence, but it’s not an open-and-shut case.
“Our responsibility is to be extremely thorough,” Goodell said. “We have a responsibility to 31 other clubs, our partners and the fans to understand all of what happened. Our team has been on it. It has not been that lengthy of a time. We have obviously put the focus on it, but we are going to get it right.”
Bad news for any players and fans who share the opinion the NFL would be better off without Goodell.
“I haven’t thought about retiring. It’s not on my agenda,” Goodell said. “We have too much to do.”
Goodell, 60, was promoted to the job from within the NFL in 2006.
“I believe that consistent leadership in some fashion is critical for the league,” Goodell said. “Succession will be an important part of it.”
Goodell fielded questions about putting permanent franchises in:
— Toronto: “It’s certainly a great city for an NFL team. A stadium that is up to NFL standards is going to be a certain requirement.”
— London: “A timeline has not been set. Can we do this competitively for all 32 teams, not just the team, if there was one, in London?”
The NFL held a moment of silence for late NBA star Kobe Bryant before Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday and is planning to honor Bryant and late Pro Football Hall of Famer Chris Doleman in some form Sunday.
Goodell called Bryant a “special person” and said: “I’m proud of the way our league responded and the way the fans responded.”
