Roger Goodell had arguably the most difficult year of his nine-year tenure as commissioner of the NFL.
Between domestic violence incidents, player safety concerns, league expansion, international travel, possible team relocation, his relationship with owners, accusations of hypocrisy and conflicts of interest during investigations, and criticism of his own massive salary, Goodell admitted that 2014 was difficult. That said, he has never doubted his future as the commissioner.
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"It has been a tough year on me, personally," Goodell said Friday during his annual state of the league press conference. "It's been a year of humility and learning. Obviously, as an organization, we have gone through adversity and adversity for me. But we take that as an opportunity to get better. We've all done a lot of soul searching, beginning with yours truly."It's been a tough year, but a year of great progress. We want to make a difference in this area ... and in society in general."
After congratulating the Seahawks and Patriots for reaching Super Bowl XLIX, Goodell addressed several issues that have plagued the league over the year.
On domestic violence and sexual assault, Goodell said the league is working with organizations to "normalize the conversation and bring awareness" to the issues. Goodell admitted shortcomings in understanding the issue, but said the NFL has "made enormous strides" and has hired people to bring expertise to investigations involving personal conduct and domestic violence. Goodell said the league did not have answers to domestic violence issues.
"We agreed that we needed to take action," Goodell said. "How can we do a better job of managing these complex issues? We have great people who work in the NFL and we are adding these resources and assets to make sure we have a thorough and objective process. The outcome we want is fair and with the truth to be clear.
"I truly believe that we will make progress because the NFL is filled with good and caring people. We will do what is expected of us."
The league owners unanimously approved a new personal conduct policy last month. Goodell said the new policy raises the standards for everyone in the NFL and that he expects the "highest standards of responsible conduct so we represent our communities in the best way possible."
The questions quickly shifted to the investigations conducted by the league using independent, yet league-paid, investigators. Former FBI director Robert Mueller looked into how the league handled the Ray Rice domestic violence incident and New York lawyer Ted Wells is investigating whether the Patriots knowingly used deflated balls during the AFC championship game. Because the NFL is paying for the investigations, there are doubts about whether the investigations are truly independent.
"Somebody has to pay them and I don't think you're volunteering," Goodell responded to the question proposed by Rachel Nichols of CNN. He did not agree with her premise that there is a conflict of interest in the investigations and defended Mueller and Wells. "They are people who have uncompromising integrity," Goodell said.
Goodell has also come under fire about his relationship with owners, specifically Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Earlier this week Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman criticized Goodell for attending an AFC championship game party at Kraft's house. Goodell said it was an event attended by season-ticket holders and media partners and said he would not remove himself from similar events in the future.
"It's not unusual that I work closely with ownership, particularly Robert Kraft, who is on several committees and works on multiple league initiatives," Goodell said. "I know him well and he knows me well and he knows that I am not going to do anything to compromise the league."
When asked specifically about "Deflate-gate," Goodell said Wells is conducting a "thorough and objective investigation" and when the investigation has been completed, the league will publicly share the results.
"We take seriously anything that directly impacts the integrity of the game," Goodell said during his 48-minute press conference. "We are focusing on two things, why were the footballs used and was this a result of deliberate action?"
Goodell handed out severe penalties in 2012 following the Saints bounty scandal, but said those punishments will not affect the Patriots investigation because they are separate issues and each case is handled individually.
"My job is to protect the integrity of the game," Goodell said. "All of us want to make sure the rules ware followed. If the rules are violated, I have to pursue that. This is my job. Our partners and fans expect that and we will do it vigorously."
The second question Goodell fielded was about the NFL's possible return to Los Angeles. He was asked several times by reporters from St. Louis, Los Angeles and San Diego about a team moving to LA. He did say the Chargers need a new stadium — the team has been in Qualcomm Stadium since 1967.
"We want all of our franchises to stay in their current markets," Goodell said. "We will work and have worked with communities, including St. Louis, to engage the business community and the public sector. We have to make sure it works for both the community and the team."
Goodell added that Rams owner Stan Kroenke "has been working on the stadium issue in St. Louis for several years. They had a formal process with their lease and that process did not work for the city and the team."
Goodell said St. Louis seems to be committed to building a new stadium to keep the Rams and "that's a positive," and there are no current plans for a team to move.
"There are teams that are interested but are trying to work their issues out locally," Goodell said and added that the "relocation policy is very clear" and "emphasizes there would be multiple votes" before any relocation would be approved by league owners.
There was no talk of international expansion, but Goodell said the International Series has been a success. The NFL played its first regular-season game in Mexico in 2005 and began playing regular-season games on an annual basis in London in 2007. There were three regular-season games at Wembley Stadium last year and three more planned for 2015.
"We have had tremendous success in London but we are looking at other markets," said Goodell, adding that Mexico is one of those markets but stadium availability there is an issue.
"Football's popularity is extraordinary," Goodell said. "We know the NFL's impact is far-reaching and that is most seen on Super Bowl Sunday."
Super Bowl XLIX is expected to be aired in 230 countries. Because of this, Goodell has set high standards and said that the ever-growing fan base inspires him to be better and that the league must "earn the trust of our fans every day."
Part of that is ensuring player safety and that calls made on the field are correct. There will be a focus on innovations and technology to improve officiating, player safety and the fan experience, Goodell said. He added that the league is experimenting with streaming video to bring the NFL into "homes that do not have traditional television service."On the field, Goodell said player safety has never been better with hits on defenseless players down 66 percent and concussions decreased by 25 percent, which is continuing a three-year trend. He credited the players and coaches for adjusting to the rules to create a "culture of safety." The league will review its concussion protocols this offseason and a new chief medical officer will be in place soon to oversee the league's medical policies.
He said there is more work to do on other fronts, but the quality of the game will continue to improve. Part of that tinkering is to make extra points more competitive and expanding replay to penalties as long as it can "be done without affecting the pace of the game." The league will consider expanding the playoffs to include more teams, but does not want to do it at the risk of diluting the regular season and would like to avoid conflicts with college football's bowl season and its own playoff schedule.
While any changes would be to "grow the game and serve the fans," there will not be a change to Thursday Night Football, which some have called for Goodell to cancel with player safety in mind. But Goodell said he's "excited about the success of Thursday Night Football" and that the league has great media partners. Some of those media have criticized the NFL for forcing players like Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch to speak to reporters when it's clear he doesn't want to. Players have asked Goodell to make himself available on a regular basis, like they have to be. In response to that on Friday, Goodell said he is "available to the media almost every day."
"When you're in the NFL, you have an obligation to the fans and it is part of your job," said Goodell, who added that there has not been a decision on whether Lynch would be fined for wearing his unsanctioned "Beast Mode" attire to media events. "There are things in our job that you might not want to do. I think Marshawn understands the importance of his role in the game. Fans want to know. I understand it's not on the top of the list, but everyone else is doing it. It's part of the job and being in the Super Bowl."