Roger Goodell's tenure as NFL commissioner will likely continue for at least an additional three years.
Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Irsay intimated at the spring league meetings in Minneapolis on Tuesday that Goodell and the NFL owners are closing in on a contract extension, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said an announcement would be coming soon. Goodell, though, refused to admit one way or another when asked by reporters.
"When it's extended, we'll let you know," Goodell said. "It's not extended today, that's for sure."
Goodell took over as commissioner on Aug. 8, 2006, after Paul Tagliabue retired from the role. He's since signed contract extensions in 2009, 2012 and 2017. Goodell's current deal doesn't expire until 2024, meaning a new deal would push Goodell's tenure out to 2027. This year marks Goodell's 18th as commissioner, which already makes him the second-longest tenured commissioner in league history behind Pete Rozelle, who served for 27 years from 1960-1989. Goodell's time, if it ended in 2027, would mean he held the job for 21 years.
It's unclear how much Goodell would make in this new contract. The New York Times reported Goodell's 2017 extension was worth up to $200 million and that he made around $128 million total for the fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21. This would surely top that after he navigated the league through the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded the NFL's international presence with games in England, Germany and Mexico and signed lucrative media rights dealswith Amazon and Google.
At the very least, NFL fans will know who they'll be booing for the next four drafts.
