Newz Forum: FOOTBALL: Goodell new NFL commissioner

After months of speculation and rounds of interviews, the NFL owners have made a decision quicker than I would have imagined, and selected the front runner for the position, Roger Goodell. He has been working with the NFL for his entire career, and has worked his way to the very top. Best wishes to outgoing commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Yahoo Sports Story Link

The National Football League on Tuesday appointed its number two executive Roger Goodell as its fourth commissioner since World War II, ending its search for a successor to the retiring Paul Tagliabue.

The 47-year-old Goodell was elected unanimously by the league's 32 owners after a series of ballots reduced the five-man shortlist to Goodell and lawyer Gregg Levy.

Goodell will serve a five-year contract after he served as Tagliabue's chief lieutenant, helping to craft league policy, set strategy, negotiate TV and labor contracts, and launch the NFL Network.

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Tagliabue to retire

Goodell has some big shoes to fill. Paul Tagliabue has left a legacy of successful moves that will be tough to match. When he took over from Pete Rozelle in 1989, pro football was already the most popular sport in the U.S., but Tagliabue took it even further. In his tenure, the NFL has risen to a position of dominance. The television contracts continue to bring in massive amounts of revenue, and with the efficient NFL system of revenue sharing, all the teams--even the small market teams--continue to flourish. The NFL has expanded from 28 to 32 teams, but because of the salary cap and free agency, all can be competitive. In fact, parity is one of the reasons the NFL is on top. Another advancement in Tagliabue's time is the development of fantasy football and video games. The NFL benefits financially from these as they sell the rights to logos and team names. Most of all, though, Tagliabue's biggest contribution and what he will be most remembered for is the labor peace he has helped negotiate. Since 1989, when Tagliabue took office, the NBA, NHL, and MLB have had lockouts and strikes galore in that same period; the NFL, however, has not had a work stoppage.

Tags definately did a good job with his time at the helm, with his biggest accomplishment being the fact there were no labor disruptions during his tenure. However, parity was the brainchild of Pete Rozelle, but it took free agency to make parity the driving force that it is in the NFL. Every year, every team has a legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl, something that cannot be said in other sports.

Well, I wouldn't say every team has a chance, but probably close to half of them do have a shot any given year, and that far surpasses the NBA and MLB.

One thing's for certain. When Tagliabue took over, the NFL was the most popular sport in the U.S. Today, it is still #1, and now it has just lapped the field. No other sport is even comparable anymore.