Goodell Takes Aim At Record Rookie Contracts

Ah, the broadsides that inevitably come with labor negotiations. Per the AP, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is planning to take a crack at reducing the rookie contracts many think are ridiculous — considering they are much more than what veterans will earn. The commissioner called deals such as the ones Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan and Miami Dolphins O-lineman Jake Long signed “ridiculous.”

Roger Goodell in chair

It will be particularly difficult for Lord Rog to be able to extract a change in the rookie salary scale out of NFLPA head Gene Upshaw because the union can and will demand some serious concessions in any change to the draftees’ first contracts.

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NFL Network Negotiating With The Four-Letter?

We all remember last year’s failed strategy with the NFL NETWORK. When Roger Goodell had a game with an unbeaten Patriots squad and the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants playing in Week 17 on the Network, he had to have the worst of both worlds and allow CBS and NBC to simulcast the game under threat from Senators Arlen Specter and John Kerry.

NFL Network Logo

The fans got a classic game on broadcast television (which wound up being a Super Bowl preview), but it wasn’t the business coup that Goodell & Co. had imagined (and did not come off well following Packers-Cowboys a few weeks earlier) since most of the games on the schedule (like Colts-Falcons) were forgettable and fans were carping about the good ones being on a channel very few could get.

Now, the L.A. TIMES relays news from the WALL STREET JOURNAL that the league is talking to ESPN about broadcasting that package of games that its own network was claiming all for itself.

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NFL Puts Hold On Ex-Bengal Henry’s Job Hunting

Tired of talking about Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson? Let’s talk about ex-Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry!

Chris Henry Bengals

USA TODAY passes along news from the AP that the NFL has suspended the troublesome wideout until the outcome of his latest criminal case is decided.

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NFL Allows Pacman Back On The Field - For Now

The wait is over for Pacman Jones, as the NFL has allowed the corrupted Cowboys cornerback to start practicing with his new team.

Pacman Jones necklace white

(Look how happy he is!)

However, Pacman’s reinstatement is only a partial return to the NFL ranks.

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Matt Walsh Steps Forward, Reveals…Nothing New

So that Matt Walsh - Roger Goodell meeting that we’ve all been waiting to happen? Yesterday, it finally did.

Matt Walsh Spygate Patriots

Among the new revelations were…nothing, really.

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Goodell Memo Guarantees No Spygates For 2008

Faced with criticism from his handling of “Spygate”, and non-stop agitation from Arlen Specter, NFL commish Roger Goodell is fighting back with the most devastating weapon known to man - a strongly-worded memo!

Roger Goodell

The WASHINGTON POST reports that Goodell sent a little note to the league’s competition committee on Thursday, outlining how the NFL can “preserve the competitive integrity of the game” and “maintain public confidence” - and stay out of congressional hearings. Read more…

Bloginalia: The Rog Is Cleaning Up Nicely

CNBC’S DARREN ROVELL documents the otherworldly haul of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. It’s good to be king.

Roger Goodell

SMALL WHITE BALL has a recap of Christian Okoye and “Thunder” Dan Majerle in Pros vs. Joes. Okoye certainly didn’t look like this.

THE SPORTING BLOG found somebody enjoying themselves, at least before they saw “Semi-Pro.”

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Phew! Roger Goodell Isn’t Going To Hell After All

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) wasn’t only raising a stink about the NFL’s handling of the Patriots’ taping scandal. Recently, commissioner Roger Goodell and the league had sought to crack down on churches that were showing the Super Bowl on their big screens.

NFL Church Sign

According to the WASHINGTON POST, Specter, along with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), questioned the policy, and Lord Rog is allowing churches to worship at the altar of the prolate spheroid when Super Bowl Sunday rolls around in Tampa next season.

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Goodell Accused Of Lying To Man In Pacman Case

Things have gone from great to bad to worse to, “Hey, what’s that coming down onto my head? I know it’s not raining,” for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a span of about two weeks. He’s been taken through the wringer on Spygate. And now this: Accusations that he reneged on promises to help Tommy Urbanski, who was paralyzed in the Pacman Jones Las Vegas melee, pay medical bills.

Pacman Jones Tommy Urbanski

Today’s NEW YORK DAILY NEWS has an interview with Urbanski’s wife, Kathy, in which she paints a fairly unflattering picture of the whole situation.

Goodell? Not looking so good. Read more…