Goodell’s annual press conference, held annually before the Super Bowl, lets sports reporters from all over the country question him on a range of NFL-related topics. This year, the event was by invitation only and took place right before Opening Night.
The commissioner touched on how the popularity of the NFL has soared, thanks in large part to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s (of the Kansas City Chiefs) relationship. There was also news that the Philadelphia Eagles will play the NFL’s first game ever in Brazil in Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Apart from these highlights, Goodell covered a wide range of topics during the presser, some of which we will touch on in this article.
Surfaces For Play
This year, the grass vs. turf debate seemed to intensify. The league’s main goal is player safety, and Goodell wants consistency week-to-week but also inventive solutions. He said that they have been working with the Players Association and calling on experts in this field to try and figure out what’s best for both the players and the game.
International soccer has a mixed format, and the NFL is exploring the idea of using some sort of hybrid type of surface for future play as well. Playing four and a half months in a dome makes the cultivation, removal, and replacement of grass difficult, and the best field surfaces differ according to the environment.
Goodell not only wants uniformity in their investigations but also when it comes to the surfaces for players during practice, the week before their games, and during the main event. Experts and engineers all agree that consistency is crucial, so that is where they are focusing their attention while trying to find better alternatives.
What’s Going To Happen To The Kickoff?
In the NFL, the kickoff has evolved over the past few decades into more of a symbolic move than a truly meaningful one. Goodell, who did supervise a modification this season that permitted fair receptions on kickoffs, does not, however, want to see the play become extinct. According to the commissioner, “I thought this rule was necessary for the one year because we need to innovate,” as reported by ProFootballTalk.
He says he wants to work on a plan that lets kickoffs still happen during a game. They are similar to punts and a fun play that’s important to the NFL, but there is a greater rate of injury for them, and that must be taken into account.
Regulated Sports Wagering
The NFL’s history with sports betting has reached its zenith, as this year’s Super Bowl was held in the gambling capital of the world- Las Vegas. Although the league has applauded the fast growth of legalized sports betting and sites like usalegalbetting.com, which promote legal online sports betting for US gamblers, Goodell did stress the critical need to maintain the integrity of the game.
To reiterate its anti-gambling policies before the Super Bowl occurred this year, the NFL also circulated a memo to each of the 32 clubs. Goodell stressed that the credibility of the league and all its games is crucial. As a result, they devote a lot of effort to training and ensuring that every staff member is aware of the policies around gambling, as well as any other policies that may have an impact on the fairness of the competition.
Going forward, the league has emphasized that anything that could compromise their reputation- including insider knowledge or players and staff wagering on NFL games- is strictly off limits. Should there be any suspicion of a compromising situation, the consequences would be severe.
The Cycle of Recruiting For 2024
While Goodell expressed satisfaction that minority candidates were considered for four out of the eight head-coaching positions during the 2024 hiring cycle, he also noted that there is still an opportunity for improvement.
The spokesperson and leader of the NFL acknowledged that they still have their work cut out for them when it comes to diversity hiring, as it is not only beneficial for the sport as a whole, but it also provides talented people with opportunities they may not have had a few years ago.
However, in his opinion, the recruiting cycle was positive for head coaches, and not just from the perspective of offensive coordinators or coaching levels. They examined it from the perspectives of general managers, coaches, owners, and presidents, and he feels they have made incredible strides here.
This year, the clubs went through a meticulous hiring procedure when it came to general managers and head coaches. Goodell says that everything the clubs have done over the past few years- educating, holding panels, and the accelerator program– has paid off, and they will keep doing that.
