Goodell’s Power May Lead To Another Lockout

It was bad enough this summer for NFL players to watch money just get thrown at NBA free agents signing new contracts under the new cap. Some players even had to Google some of the names because they had never heard of them. Even I had to question who a couple of the players were that received big money this summer, and I like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to player personnel in the NBA. The NFL players had to be thinking that they picked the wrong sport.

What many people do not understand about contracts in athletic sports is the difference in how they are distributed for each sport. As fans, we tend to only look at the final number and think that’s what the player will receive. And in the NBA, that’s true. If a player signs a five-year deal worth $100 million with no options applied, then regardless of what happens within the next five years, that player will be honored with the $100 million they agreed to. Even should that player suffer a long-term injury (please see Grant Hill) or be traded to another team, that said player will still be paid the full $100 million by the end of the 5th year.

The NFL does not work that way. A player who signs a similar looking deal will have guaranteed money included in the deal. So say a player signs the same contract as the NBA player for $100 million, but maybe only $50 million of it will be guaranteed. The $50 million is really how much the contract is worth since players hardly ever receive the full amount that they signed for. Teams are given the option of opting out of their long-term deals with players by cutting them to free up cap space. Unlike the NBA, NFL teams are not allowed to go over the salary cap, and therefore, are given the freedom to make necessary changes to avoid doing so. This is why we often see big time players cut from teams with no compensation in return.

The average fan may not feel any pity for the NFL players since they are still being paid millions of dollars to play a sport while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet with a regular 9-5. Also, because the NBA has less players it makes sense for them to get paid more. However, if the average person found out that someone on the other side of town was getting paid 10 times as much as they were to do the same type of work, they wouldn’t be too happy with the news. Chances are they’d turn to their boss and expect similar pay. Fat chance of them getting it though if their boss is anything like Roger Goodell. He’s too busy trying to dictate the league to notice or care. Between the money differential and the power of their Commissioner, the NFL is on its’ way to another lockout.

It’s no secret that NFL players do not like Roger Goodell. At all. He’s nothing like Adam Silver of the NBA and hated even worse than former NBA Commissioner David Stern. Stern was disliked by most but at least had the respect from the majority of players. Some NFL players, on the other hand, have anonymously declared they would love nothing better than to have their fists meet the face of Roger Goodell.

The last NFL Lockout occurred in 2011 and if things don’t start getting any better from the players’ perspective, we’ll be on our way to another one after the 2020 season when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. Some may remember seeing former football center Jeff Saturday and owner Robert Kraft at the forefront of it all five years ago, and lauded for their respective roles in reaching an agreement between the owners and the NFLPA. At the time, it was a wonder as to which side won the deal. The answer is Roger Goodell.

Without getting too much into the details of the agreement, understand that it included giving Goodell more power to oversee all activities on-and-off the field and render disciplinary action. He pushed for it hard during negotations. At the time, it didn’t seem that a big of a deal, especially when the owners had been lobbying for more control of the league. Since then, however, it’s become clear that Goodell has become something of a power hungry monarch over everything going on in the NFL.

Goodell bargained for his newfound powers during the process to help restore some order to the league. Based on his actions these past few seasons, maybe someone should restore some order to the Commissioner. In 2014, Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson was charged with child abuse after he disciplined his 4-year old son with a wooden switch. Goodell may have well been within his rights to suspend Peterson and was even backed by a federal courts appeal panel earlier this month that the suspension was justified. However, going after one of the premier players in the league and succeeding gave Goodell an extra pep in his step and the confidence that he can go after anyone at any time. A judge overturned Peterson’s suspension in February 2015 and he was reinstated that April. The suspension, however, caused Peterson to miss all but one game in 2014.

The 2014 NFL Playoffs is when we saw the birth of the famous Deflategate scandal that surrounded New England Patriots QB Tom Brady. For those who are unaware, Deflategate stemmed from the AFC Divisional Playoff between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Brady and the Patriots were accused of deflating footballs after Colts LB D’Qwell Jackson intercepted a pass from Brady and reported the football feeling ‘light’. The Patriots remaining footballs were tested and 11 of 12 showed to be under the required PSI levels designated by the NFL. An investigation was under way and when it was all said and done, Goodell concluded that Brady knew enough to warrant a four-game suspension.

Brady appealed his suspension and shortly before the 2015 season started, a federal judge overturned Goodell’s ruling and Brady was allowed to start the season with no penalty. While we all thought that this was the end of Deflategate, Goodell had other plans. Feeling outrage and defeated, Goodell pushed the matter further.

He later appealed the federal judge’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, who ruled in favor of Goodell, and reinstating Brady’s initial four-game suspension. Initially, Brady planned to again appeal the ruling and push the case even further, but decided against it and accepted the ruling. Brady will now be suspended the first four games of the 2016 season.

Now, there is another situation that Goodell has gotten involved in that seems over the top even for him. Last year, there was a report from Al-Jazeera that a list of NFL players were using PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs). The most famous player stemming from the report was QB Peyton Manning, who refuted the report from the very beginning. Shortly after, Al-Jazeera recanted the story, and it became clear that Manning was telling the truth. The report lost credibility after that even though there were still a list of players accused of taking PEDs.

Goodell and the NFL took it to the next level and started interviewing players on the list in late June. Despite a lack of evidence on the matter and an already recanted story, the NFL declared earlier this week that players would be suspended if they did not come forward to interview by August 25th. The suspension would not include whether they were found guilty or not. If a player was found guilty it would result in a separate suspension.

The NFL’s threat to players was targeted directly to four players who had not yet interviewed, including James Harrison, Clay Matthews, and Julius Peppers. The players could have very well fought the issue based on the lack of evidence, but as of yesterday, we’ve learned that those players have decided to comply and will meet with the NFL. So case in point, Roger Goodell wins again.

It feels like a loss for the NFLPA because some believed that this could have been their opportunity to finally ‘get one’ over on Goodell. The players can’t be blamed for their decision to go ahead with the interviews though. They have their careers to consider and the consequences for not cooperating could be detrimental.

We could continue seeing this trend of power hunger come from Goodell until the end of the 2020 season. If the NFLPA continues to feel it’s being mistreated by the organization and other sports continue to give their players the upper hand, it’s almost a certainty that a lockout will ensue. This time it could take much longer than the last one did and some football could be missed come 2021. Don’t be surprised if one of the demands from the NFLPA is the resignation of Goodell as Commissioner. I’m not sure if that’s even legal but because of the dictatorship that Goodell has been pulling over the past few years, I would be all for it.

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