NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is close to signing a new contract with the league and it is likely to be his last, with big changes likely to follow his departure in a few years.
Multiple reports indicate the 64-year-old will soon sign an extension that will run until March 2027, when he will likely retire. Goodell's current contract, reportedly worth up to $200million (£162m) is due to expire in 10 months' time.
"It's just dotting the i's and crossing the t's, but it's done," Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay told ESPN about Goodell's contract situation at the league's spring meetings in Minneapolis this week. "We still have to rubber stamp it so to speak, but it's virtually done."
Goodell has been running the league since 2006 and he has recently won favour with franchise owners with the way he handled the Covid-19 pandemic, when every game on the schedule was fulfilled, and he has also overseen the multi-billion-dollar sales of the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.
His next contract is set to be his last, according to Pro Football Talk, and Irsay has hinted there could be big changes to the way the league is managed once Goodell retires.
“It could be where we have a CEO of business and of the league and you have a commissioner of football,” Irsay told Yahoo Sports in Minnesota. “I think we are looking to grow our business model significantly.”
Goodell has a huge remit in the current structure, but there is a feeling around the league that as the NFL continues to grow, it could become an impossible task for one person to fulfil and sharing responsibilities at the top of the organisation could become the new way of working in 2027 and beyond.
That would reduce the immense pressure on the commissioner's role, which currently encompasses not only football decisions like improving safety and tweaking the rules but also maximising the performance of the business and delivering revenue increases for owners.
For now, though, Goodell says he is staying put and the role will remain unchanged while he is in the post.
He said on Tuesday: "When it's extended, we'll let you know. It's not extended today, that's for sure. I have a year left. I love the job. I have no doubt that we'll reach that point at some point, but when we do, I will let you know.
"(Changing the role) is something that has come up. So this will be when I retire, it'll be the third transition that I've been through as commissioner. That discussion has come up on every single one of those. I have no doubt it will come up again.
"It's a healthy discussion to have, the job changes over the years. It's changed even while I have been commissioner. So I know that we will have those discussions at the appropriate time."
