Query about the nu NFL commish. Bills related.

[blackonyx89]

The new NFL commisioner has Buffalo roots and connections. I hope he looks out for his hometown and uses everything in his power to keep the franchise here in Buffalo.It will be a tragic irony if we lose our team and the head of the most powerful organized sports league from Buffalo fails to help. Thoughts?


I know this is an old article but still relevant...

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/08/AR2006080801043.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/08/AR2006080801043.html)

[OpIv37]

true but he was hired to keep the league popular and profitable- he can't play favorites with his hometown team. Hopefully he'll be sensitive to our concerns since his roots are in Buffalo, but he won't last long as commish if he starts playing favorites.

[TedMock]

I think the local fans are too hung up on Goodell's "Buffalo roots." Truth is he moved to Westchester county when he was 12 or 13. He could very well be a die-hard Giants or Jets fan for all I know, and the possibilty that he couldn't care less about the Bills does exist. I hope that's not the case. He spent his high school years at Bronxville High. Keep your fingers crossed that he's on our side, but don't just expect that to be the case.

[Billscusey]

Was the "Small Market Commission" that Tags set up (with Ralph as a member) not supposed to be our saving grace, or was all that thrown out the window the moment Tags left?

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I guess that the big-money guys who were not on that commission didn't like what they were coming up with so they prevailed on Tags to hire some big firm to do a survey of the league's finances. They are due to bring in their report sometime next month, then the owners are supposed to review it and if they can't agree on which set of recommendations to go with Goodell is supposedly empowered to make the decision.

I think that it is really interesting that the judge in Minnesota who is overseeing the whole collective bargaining process has refused to accept/ratify the new CBA until the owners come to a decision on how to split up their revenues. I have a feeling that making sure that they come up with something that pleases the judge will be more important to Goodell than where he was born, grew up, what team he roots for, or even whether he pleases a particular group of owners. I also have a feeling that the judge--who, if I recall, is the one who handled the union's anti-trust case against the league, will be more inclined to approve a deal if the league shares revenues more equitably within its organization than if it does not.

[RedEyE]

I think he's a goof.

[Jan Reimers]

Goodell is the Commissioner of the entire NFL, not just the big or small market teams. Despite his Jamestown roots, I don't think he can single-handedly save the Bills, although he did help with regionalizing the franchise, moving training camp to Pittsford, and getting the Ralph renovated when he was working for Tagliabue. He certainly knows our situation.

As far as the Qualifier Committee, my understanding is that the outside consultant will develop financial information and "benchmarks" for each market, and present it to the committee to use in their recommendations. So Ralph's committee isn't really dead.