The man whose name is on the football will continue to have his name on the football through the 2026 season.
The NFL has announced that Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract has been extended through March 2027.
The official statement from the league was very brief: “The Compensation Committee updated the full ownership today that an agreement has been reached to extend Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract for three years, through March 2027.” There are no quotes from Goodell or any owners. That’s all the league has distributed.
Concise. Matter of fact. “It is your birthday.”
Goodell will have four more birthdays before he walks off into the sunset. He’ll be 68. It’s unclear what he’ll do next.
Obviously, he’ll retire with more money than he can ever spend. It remains to be seen whether he gets involved in something else, or whether he simply enjoys the financial fruits of his persistent effort to first get a job with the NFL and then to work his way to the very top of the ladder — and to stay there for just over 20.5 years.
Finally, it’s impossible to rule out that he’ll leave in 2027. When he did his last extension, former league spokesman Joe Lockhart said it would be Goodell’s last deal. Goodell said otherwise. Not long after that, Lockhart was the one who got locked out.
