Roger Goodell on "Costas on the Radio"

LOS ANGELES, January 30, 2007 – NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, joined Bob Costas for the entire Costas on the Radio program over the weekend to discuss the state of the league, player behavior, labor issues, officiating challenges and more. Below are some highlights from the interview.

On the eligibility of suspended players for postseason honors…

COSTAS: "I know you expressed interest in possibly including as part of the penalty, that the player would be ineligible that season for the Pro Bowl or for any league awards. Is that going to happen? Shawne Merriman is the perfect case of that."

GOODELL: "Right, and that is a reasonable step and I think it merits a lot of consideration. Gene Upshaw and I have had a lot of discussions about it. I'm optimistic in the off-season we'll come to a conclusion on it, that any player that is detected with performance-enhancing drugs during that season is ineligible for post-season honors. I think that makes sense, and I'm fairly confident that we'll get to that point."


On player benefits….

GOODELL: "We've made significant improvements for player benefits in each one of the most recent collective bargaining agreements since 1993. Every one of those represented significant improvements for active and retired players. We have to continue to focus on that. I am particularly focused on the players that are dealing with medical consequences that came out of their career where medical technology wasn't as advanced as it is now; they need some help. They need to make sure that we're doing everything possible we need to deal with those consequences and I think we are making advances in those areas. We do have programs. We do have funds that are available to outreach, but we may have to re-evaluate some of those to see how we can improve them."


On possibly penalizing teams for the misbehavior of players….

GOODELL: "I am very troubled by the off-the-field incidents. When I say we're held to a higher standard, I think players have to understand that. It has a tremendous negative impact on the NFL when they're involved in off-the-field incidents. I don't think it's good for any of the franchises, the league itself, or any of the players because we're all wiped with that brush…I think in my short tenure I hope that we have been able to send a strong message that we are not going to tolerate that."


He went on to say….

GOODELL: "Bob, actually that is one of the things we are considering; whether we should hold those clubs accountable for those players. It's something I have had a great deal of discussion with a number of clubs and I think it's something we will consider in the off-season."


On getting a team back in Los Angeles…

GOODELL: "It's very important to the league because we know we have hundreds of thousands of fans in the Southern California, Los Angeles, region and we'd like to be back there, but it's important to get back there on a successful basis. We don't have to be back there at all costs. Los Angeles is a great community. They have done very well without the NFL, we have done very well without Los Angeles, but I still believe one and one is three in this case, in that I think it would be good for the community, and it would be good for the NFL to be back there."


On making the overtime period fairer than the current system…

GOODELL: "One of the things we've talked about is, can you make the decision in the overtime period where you can move the kickoff up so the kickoff return is not quite as long, and they have to go further with the football. I think that merits a lot of consideration and I accept that it makes some sense."