Two Decades at the Helm: Goodell’s NFL Empire Reaches Unprecedented Heights

Ladies and gentlemen…Roger Goodell.

Boo! Boo! Boo!

That remains the standard reaction whenever the NFL Commissioner steps before a crowd. Boos have rained down on Goodell at the NFL Draft stage, during stadium appearances, and even just weeks ago in Canton, when he stopped by for a photo op alongside more than 100 Hall of Famers gathered for enshrinement festivities.

No, it is likely nothing personal. Goodell, 67, is simply the face of Big Football — the league that prints its own money while so many of its worker bees wind up with broken bodies or worse, battered brains. Meanwhile, your fantasy team underperforms and your parlay falls flat.

Certainly, he is handsomely compensated — reportedly at least $64 million per year — to navigate the league’s direction and serve as a human heat shield for NFL owners, absorbing shots and criticism from every angle. Fortunately, Goodell, who marked the 20-year milestone of his tenure on Tuesday, possesses thick skin to match his polished demeanor.

It comes with the territory. The man simply attracts a great deal of jeering.

Unless, of course, he is working for you.

“He’s done what we all hoped,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told USA TODAY Sports this week. “It’s not the same Roger. I’m not talking about the guy in the mailroom. I’m talking about the guy who stepped in as commissioner. He’s much more seasoned, knowledgeable about things. He has such an overall sense of where our touchpoints are in the NFL.

“That’s not Roger anymore. That’s Roger Goodell.“

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

The NFL Draft regularly produces its most memorable moments off the stage, when selections end with a handshake or embrace from the commissioner.

See the moments when draft night emotions peak as Roger Goodell greets players hearing their names called.

Above, Texas Tech Red Raiders linebacker David Bailey embraces NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after he is selected by the New York Jets as the number two pick during the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium.

(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

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Roger Goodell shares hugs with players on the NFL draft stage

NFL revenue has soared under Roger Goodell’s leadership

Of course, nothing measures Goodell’s success quite like the bottom line.

Art Rooney II, the Pittsburgh Steelers owner, recalls sitting in a session during the NFL owners meeting in Orlando in March 2010 — with the longest lockout of players in NFL history looming the following year — when Goodell made a bold projection.

He set a goal for the NFL to generate $25 billion in revenues by 2027.

At the time, the league was collecting approximately $8 billion in revenues.

“It seemed ambitious at the time, for sure,” Rooney told USA TODAY Sports. “I didn’t roll my eyes or anything, but it certainly sounded ambitious. But it was typical of Roger to put a goal out there that you’d have to reach for.”

With the league surpassing $23 billion in revenue for the 2024 fiscal year, the NFL could reach that goal before 2027. The growth has been fueled by enormous media rights deals — the league is in the midst of agreements worth $110 billion over 11 years — alongside an expanded array of partners that now includes streaming networks. Corporate sponsorships (including some from the gambling industry), merchandising, licensing, and expansion into international markets have also been instrumental in boosting revenues.

And labor peace helps. Since the 2011 lockout disrupted the offseason without resulting in the loss of regular season games, the NFL and NFL Players Association have struck extended labor pacts of 10 and 11 years — surprisingly lengthy by historical standards, yet highly beneficial in enabling long-term broadcast agreements.

“Roger deserves a great deal of credit,” Rooney said. “Those are the two biggest pieces of the puzzle for us. I don’t think you can fault him for anything regarding that. The most important things on his plate, he’s done an outstanding job.”

Challenges during Roger Goodell’s NFL tenure

Goodell’s tenure has certainly included missteps, and ongoing issues continue to haunt him — such as the long-term effects of head injuries and the poor track record for NFL teams in hiring Black head coaches, which connects to the class action lawsuit led by Brian Flores against the NFL and several teams alleging sham interviews. There is also the lingering stain of the fact that Colin Kaepernick never landed another job in the NFL after his 2016 national anthem protests against police brutality and systemic racism — a situation that appeared even worse when, in a video message following the killing of George Floyd, Goodell admitted the league should have done a better job listening to its players raising social concerns.

Bountygate. Deflategate. Goodell’s history is incomplete without those controversies. But worse than either was his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case in 2014 — which resulted in an initially lenient two-game suspension until a video surfaced showing the Baltimore Ravens running back knocking his then-fiancée unconscious with a strike in an elevator, then dragging her limp body out.

In determining that weak punishment, Goodell actually held a meeting with Rice and his now-wife Janay Palmer in his office — which domestic violence experts maintain should never happen — and heard appeals from Ravens officials.

Rooney, who met Goodell when he began as an intern at NFL headquarters during the 1980s and watched him climb the ladder, said he learned much about the commissioner through the adversities.

“He could make a mistake and bounce back from it,” Rooney said. “Let’s put it that way. Ray Rice may have been the best example of that. Learning from something that we could have done better.”

Roger Goodell has “plenty of bite”

Jones, meanwhile, points to Goodell’s wherewithal in dealing with NFL owners as significant. Paul Tagliabue, who stepped down in 2006 after 17 years as Goodell’s predecessor, told me a few weeks before his Hall of Fame induction in 2021 that he could have lasted longer in the post but grew weary of settling disputes between owners. The toll on Tagliabue was substantial.

Goodell does not give off the impression of being worn down by dealing with owners, but that weariness manifests behind closed doors. Jones, who threatened to sue Goodell in 2017 over Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension, acknowledged the challenge.

“I bet there’s not a team in the league that hasn’t had a rough spot with the commissioner. Not a team,” Jones said.

“Let me say this: There was an illusion early, when he started, that his youth and demeanor might not have the punch needed to make some hard decisions against the ownership. His people skills should never be confused with whether he has bite. I know him to have plenty bite.”

DeMaurice Smith, the former NFLPA executive director, can attest to that from a different perspective. Smith succeeded the late Gene Upshaw in 2009 and was immediately thrust into a full-fledged labor battle. The nature of their respective positions at that time put Smith and Goodell squarely at odds.

“For the first four or five years the relationship was built on two people at war,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports this week. “I’d say we became very good at going to war against each other.”

And the lockout was just one issue. Looking back now, Smith, whose book “Turf Wars” was released in 2025, speaks highly of Goodell and recognizes the mutual respect that resulted in the two extended labor agreements.

No, that does not guarantee much for the next round of labor talks, with the NFL eyeing an 18-game season. Yet there is no denying the incentives for both sides when it comes to long-term labor peace. The current deal ensures that players receive 48% of total revenues and that teams spend 95% of the salary cap. The salary cap for 2026, by the way, stands at a record $301.2 million per team. By comparison, in the 2011 season following the lockout, it was slightly more than $120 million.

Beyond that, the two sides found a way to play the complete 2020 and 2021 seasons amid the pandemic. Smith said that working relationship flowed from trust that was built years earlier, after the contentiousness from the lockout thawed.

“I think his constituents came to an understanding that war didn’t have to be the modus operandi, day in and day out,” Smith said, referring to NFL owners. “And I think the person who convinced them of that was Roger.”

Rooney hardly disputes that characterization.

“I think he’s always understood and over time even more so, the importance of the players, and the relationships with the players and the Players Association,” Rooney said. “He needs to work that side of the street pretty hard.”

When will Roger Goodell retire?

Before the next labor deal, though, another contract looms for Goodell. With his current compensation dwarfing that of commissioners in other major sports leagues — reportedly double the combined pay of the commissioners of the NBA, NHL, and MLB — an extension is considered imminent.

Will the next contract be his last? Given his lengthy tenure and the toll of the position, it is not unreasonable to think that if he guides the NFL to another long-term labor deal and long-term media rights packages — the two most important items on his plate — it would be a fitting time to step aside.

We shall see. But Jones, 83, wants to hear none of that.

Said Jones, “As far as I’m concerned, he’s a puppy.”

With just enough bite — and plenty of bank.

Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell

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