Contract negotiations are always dicey when business is not going well. After all, what does a business leader have the right to ask for, when he’s essentially failing at his job?
Well, if you’re NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the answer to that question is, a lot.
An anonymous NFL owner familiar with Goodell’s contract negotiations told ESPN, that Goodell has asked owners for $50 million per year, lifetime health insurance for his family, and use of a private jet, for life.
If you’re asking yourself whether it’s normal for contract proposals to become public knowledge during a negotiation? The answer to that is a definitive, no. Which begs the question: Who would leak the details?
It would seem clear that whoever leaked the info, would be connected to Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, who has launched his own crusade against Goodell.
As Breitbart’s Daniel Flynn writes:
Many are the crimes of Goodell against Jones’s franchise: lowering the team’s salary cap as punishment for excessive spending in an uncapped season, suspending Ezekiel Elliott six games after the league’s investigator recommended no suspension, and blocking the team’s effort to honor slain Dallas cops with a decal all come to mind. But Goodell’s weakness against the anthem kneelers, rather than any offense against the Cowboys, that seems to primarily motivate Jerry Jones.
Jones, who knelt with players prior to the national anthem earlier this season, remains the owner most vocal in his displeasure with a pregame ritual to honor America turning into an anti-American publicity stunt. He acknowledges his conversations with the president on the subject. He bluntly says of Cowboys who decide to kneel for the national anthem, “They won’t play.”
Goodell’s refusal to take a similar approach leaguewide, or at least take action to quell the protests, irritates Jones and other owners losing millions because of the commissioner’s refusal to treat the protesters the way he might treat players wearing unapproved headphones or shirts that display logos of companies not sponsoring the league. Ratings plummet as viewers find another Sunday activity. Sponsors, including Papa John’s, begin to publicly complain. Even a visible number of stadium seats, for the first time in recent memory, consistently remain empty in various markets.
The release of Goodell’s contract stance seems to be just the latest front in Jones’ war against the commish. Will it work? Probably not. Does Jones have the purest of motivations? Probably not.
Is it refreshing to see someone pushing back on the worst commissioner in modern history, regardless of motivation?
Yes.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.