ralmat55
2nd Team Getting Their First Start
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2005
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Deflategate was from the beginning about owner politics and Roger Goodell keeping his job.
We have to remember 2014 was the season of the Ray Rice fiasco. Goodell’s mishandling of that situation left Goodell in jeopardy of being fired.
The NFL requires a super majority of 75% of the teams to take such an action. Having the support of just 9 of the 32 teams would keep Goodell his job. Among NFL owners, the 3 biggest motivations are maximizing revenue, minimizing the revenue they share with the players and fear and loathing of the New England Patriots. Goodell saw the third as the way to solidify his base support and keep his job.
It was a set up from the beginning. Goodell’s cronies in NY in cahoots with the Ravens and Colts two of Goodell’s most loyal franchises put the plan in motion. They knew about the Ideal Gas Law. They knew the balls would lose air pressure in the cold and rainy conditions. They were the ones who promulgated false information and created the narrative of guilt from which the Patriots never had a chance to defend themselves.
The Patriots were confused and befuddled by the situation as most would be if accused of something they had not done. I think lots of bad things about Bill Belichick these days, but I don’t think he intentionally threw Brady under the bus. He was just trying to make sense of it all and unintentionally gave Goodell and his jack-booted thugs a clear path at Brady.
NFL owners had ceded too much power to the Commissioner in wake of the Al Davis lawsuits and labor strife. Men like Pete Rozell and Paul Tagliabue could be trusted with the power, but despotic Goodell used it to favor supportive franchises and punish unsupportive ones.
As much as we hated seeing it, Kraft had no choice but to capitulate to that power. Our football team would have suffered even more if he had chosen to make a frontal attack on the Commissioner’s authority.
When Roger Goodell got his contract extension last fall, it was portrayed as an act of approval for Goodell’s leadership by owners in the media. But, when you look at the details of the contract, you see it really wasn’t as it appeared.
For starters, Goodell’s $ 40 million a year salary is not fully guaranteed. Only 10% is guaranteed. The rest is made up of bonuses earned at the discretion of the owners. Goodell must also meet with the owners to answer their question and hear their complaints at every league meeting. Plus, Goodell’s Madison Avenue mafia have mostly been removed from their positions in the league office including his PR apparatus. By giving Goodell this extension, the owners started taking back some of the authority previously given to the Commissioner’s office.
How did this happen? Bob Kraft and other owners formed their own firm group of 9 clubs or more which could have prevented the other owners from offering Goodell whose contract was expiring an extension without a compromise. The compromise was making Goodell more accountable to all the owners and a lame duck Commissioner who most likely will be sacrificed to the players in the next CBA negotiations. Kraft’s long game strategy is working.
We have to remember 2014 was the season of the Ray Rice fiasco. Goodell’s mishandling of that situation left Goodell in jeopardy of being fired.
The NFL requires a super majority of 75% of the teams to take such an action. Having the support of just 9 of the 32 teams would keep Goodell his job. Among NFL owners, the 3 biggest motivations are maximizing revenue, minimizing the revenue they share with the players and fear and loathing of the New England Patriots. Goodell saw the third as the way to solidify his base support and keep his job.
It was a set up from the beginning. Goodell’s cronies in NY in cahoots with the Ravens and Colts two of Goodell’s most loyal franchises put the plan in motion. They knew about the Ideal Gas Law. They knew the balls would lose air pressure in the cold and rainy conditions. They were the ones who promulgated false information and created the narrative of guilt from which the Patriots never had a chance to defend themselves.
The Patriots were confused and befuddled by the situation as most would be if accused of something they had not done. I think lots of bad things about Bill Belichick these days, but I don’t think he intentionally threw Brady under the bus. He was just trying to make sense of it all and unintentionally gave Goodell and his jack-booted thugs a clear path at Brady.
NFL owners had ceded too much power to the Commissioner in wake of the Al Davis lawsuits and labor strife. Men like Pete Rozell and Paul Tagliabue could be trusted with the power, but despotic Goodell used it to favor supportive franchises and punish unsupportive ones.
As much as we hated seeing it, Kraft had no choice but to capitulate to that power. Our football team would have suffered even more if he had chosen to make a frontal attack on the Commissioner’s authority.
When Roger Goodell got his contract extension last fall, it was portrayed as an act of approval for Goodell’s leadership by owners in the media. But, when you look at the details of the contract, you see it really wasn’t as it appeared.
For starters, Goodell’s $ 40 million a year salary is not fully guaranteed. Only 10% is guaranteed. The rest is made up of bonuses earned at the discretion of the owners. Goodell must also meet with the owners to answer their question and hear their complaints at every league meeting. Plus, Goodell’s Madison Avenue mafia have mostly been removed from their positions in the league office including his PR apparatus. By giving Goodell this extension, the owners started taking back some of the authority previously given to the Commissioner’s office.
How did this happen? Bob Kraft and other owners formed their own firm group of 9 clubs or more which could have prevented the other owners from offering Goodell whose contract was expiring an extension without a compromise. The compromise was making Goodell more accountable to all the owners and a lame duck Commissioner who most likely will be sacrificed to the players in the next CBA negotiations. Kraft’s long game strategy is working.
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