Roger Goodell’s tenure as NFL commissioner is not likely to end any time soon, given that the league’s team owners expect to complete a contract extension with him in the coming months. Some in the sport even wonder if he will remain on the job beyond the duration of this pending extension.
But some owners spoke publicly a few years ago about the need to begin contemplating a succession plan for whenever Goodell is done. And with Goodell set to turn 68 in February, the owners perhaps will renew consideration of such a plan in conjunction with this extension, whether or not they take any formal action to begin implementing a succession plan.
Goodell’s current contract expires in March. The owners’ plan to strike a deal with him on another extension was confirmed by four people familiar with their views.
“That’s in good shape,” one of those people said. “… That’s going to get done.”
The NFL has scheduled a special owners’ meeting for Aug. 26 in Atlanta for a potential ratification vote on the $9.612 billion sale of the Seahawks. There are regularly scheduled quarterly owners’ meetings in October and December. When the owners agreed to a three-year extension with Goodell in 2023, that deal was announced at an October owners’ meeting in New York.
