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Roger Goodell (born February 19 1959) is the Commissioner of the National Football League, having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, being unanimously approved by the 32 owners on the fifth ballot. He officially began his tenure on September 1, 2006, just prior to the beginning of the 2006 NFL season.
Background Goodell was born in Jamestown, New York and is the son of former New York Senator Charles Goodell. The Goodell family moved to Bronxville, New York, in 1971, where Roger graduated from high school. A three-sport star for Bronxville High School in football, basketball, and baseball, Goodell captained all three teams as a senior and was named the athlete of the year at Bronxville High. NFL career Goodell's career in the National Football League began in 1982 as an administrative intern in the league office in New York under then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle - a position secured through an extensive letter-writing campaign to the league office and each of its then 28 teams. In 1983 he joined the New York Jets as an intern, but returned to the league office in 1984 as an assistant in the public relations department. In 1987, Goodell was appointed assistant to the president of the American Football Conference (Lamar Hunt), and under the tutelage of Commissioner Paul Tagliabue filled a variety of football and business operations roles, culminating with his appointment as the NFL's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in December, 2001. As the NFL's COO, Goodell took responsibility for the league's football operations and officiating, as well as supervised league business functions. He headed NFL Ventures, which oversees the league's business units, including media properties, marketing and sales, stadium development and strategic planning. Goodell was heavily involved in the negotiation of the league's current collective bargaining agreement. He had worked extensively with Tagliabue since the latter became commissioner in 1989. He has played an extensive role in league expansion, realignment, and stadium development, including the launch of the NFL Network and securing new television agreements as well as the latest collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association. Selection as commissioner Goodell's selection as Commissioner following the retirement of Paul Tagliabue came as no surprise, but it was not a fait accompli. Tagliabue initiated a substantive, wide ranging search for his successor, appointing a committee headed by owners Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Goodell was one of five finalists, joining Gregg Levy, Frederick Nance, Robert Reynolds, and Mayo Shattuck III. With 22 votes from the owners being needed to make a choice, Goodell, who oddsmakers had installed as a prohibitive 2:5 favorite to be selected, only garnered 15 votes to Levy's 13, with three votes scattered among the other candidates and the Oakland Raiders abstaining. On the second and third ballots, Goodell and Levy were the only candidates to receive votes (Goodell 17, Levy 14). Goodell increased his lead to 21-10 after the fourth ballot, falling one vote shy of election, but on the fifth round of voting two owners swung their votes to him to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The Raiders abstained from the voting in each round. Personal Goodell is married to Fox News Channel anchor Jane Skinner and they have twin daughters. He has four brothers, among them are Tim, a member of the worldwide executive committee of international law firm White & Case; and Michael, long-time partner of Jack Kenny, creator of the short-lived NBC series The Book of Daniel. The Goodell family was the inspiration for the Webster family on the show. Notes | ||||||||
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