The bigger question at play here is when do the owners/media finally start pressuring Goodell to step down. The entire league went to sh!t the day he took over. Let's recap the richness of embarrassment that has been the reign of Goodell
- Myrid player suspensions without pay despite lack of conclusive evidence or convictions.
- Spygate
- Bountygate
- A player lockout and a referee lockout, the later of which resulted the most embarrassing weekend of officiating in the 100 year history of the sport.
- The bungled move of the Rams to Los Angeles and resulting lawsuit
- Refusal to take any stance in the face of the national anthem protests, resulting in the establishment, and rapid rescinding of the absurd "stand or stay in the locker room" rule
-The blacklisting of Colin Kaepernick, and subsequent sham tryouts
- The ongoing inability to define a catch
- The mishandling of Ray Rice's discipline, resulting in an arbitrary commissioner's exempt list that clearly exists as a means to avoid player lawsuits
- Deflategate, the leaking of a false report, the subsequent punishments despite lack of proof, and admission that evidence had been destroyed by the league, after suspending a player for...destruction of evidence
- The ongoing controversy surrounding the Washington Red Commander Football Club, including issues related to the team name, the leaking of the Jon Gruden texts, sexual harassment accusations and cover up
- The refusal to discipline owners (Haslem, Snyder, and let's face it, Kraft) involved in investigations or criminal cases when similar accusations would have resulted in player suspension
- Now the Flores lawsuit, exposing tanking and sham interviews to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
The damage Goodell has done to the league is irreparable. He turned the league into a legitimate sports version of the WWE. Giving Goodell credit for exponential financial growth of the league is akin to giving Bill Clinton credit for the economy of the late 1990's. Goodell was an accidental beneficiary of internet speed, social media, and the two greatest players in the history of the sport. Bud Selig could have overseen similarcsuccess.