Earlier this month, Roger Goodell sent the NFL world into overdrive when he supposedly said that the NFL would expand to 34 teams. It seems however that we were all deceived.
Speaking on ESPN 1050 on Friday, Goodell backed down from this claim.
"“When I was asked by Bob Costas recently (about expansion), he said, ‘You just go to 33 teams.’ I said, ‘I don’t think you would ever expand by one team, you’d expand by two teams.’ But it was very clear that expansion’s not something we’ve considered,”"
Goodell didn’t rule out expansion entirely but indicated the NFL is very happy with the current setup and that scheduling is “in a good place”.
The part of this that has me suspicious about this whole thing is this – why wait until now to deny the claim that the league won’t be expanding? This next quote gives you a hint:
"“We are working hard to make sure we get the stadiums built”"
What’s this got to do with expansion? On the same day that Goodell gave the interview on ESPN 1050, news came through that an agreement had been reached for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.
That’s right NFL fans – we’ve been played.
This is just speculation but to me it looks like what Roger Goodell said to Bob Costas about expanding to 34 teams was deliberately orchestrated to manipulate the politics surrounding the Vikings stadium deal. Now it may just be coincidence but we all know how savvy a politician he is. He must have known that by not extinguishing the rumors of an expansion to 34 teams sooner that this could be used as a tool to get a deal done. We saw Goodell’s ability in these types of political games during the lockout and this is just another example of that.
As an NFL fan I am appalled at such disregard for the fans. I understand the need to get a stadium built but that he played with the hearts and minds of the fans who pay his salary sickens me. Every penny the NFL makes is because the fans love the game and Goodell should be ashamed for taking advantage of that.
Goodell has been given a 100% pay raise just recently and will receive nearly $20 million at the peak of his contract. He should go back to his $1 policy, after this charade. During the lockout, we saw a smear campaign against the players to make them look like the bad guys for asking for more money. Now we see another example of the dirty politics that those in the front office of the NFL are willing to use.
You never know – I may be wrong. In reality, if the shoe fits…
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