NFL Owner’s Committee
JHUMUNC 2017
1
NFL Owner’s Committee
Topic A: Rule Changes and Player Personnel
Topic B: Team Logistics and Marketing
Committee Overview
The National Football League capped
off one of its most successful seasons in
recent memory, and as popularity for the
game continues to grow, the NFL’s revenue
continues to grow with it. Thanks to Roger
Goodell, the NFL hopes to achieve its goal
of $25 billion dollars in revenue within the
next five years. Due to the recent growth
and success of the NFL, the owners have
much to discuss at their annual meeting,
including rule changes that each teams bring
forward. Just last year at their annual
meeting, the NFL Owners voted to narrow
the field goal uprights, and paired with the
longer extra points, kickers struggled like
never before. It is up to owners to decide
what rule changes they wish to implement,
and how they would like to change the game
of football possibly forever. In addition to
all this, many teams are considering moves
to higher market cities coming off the heels
of the St. Louis Ram’s stunning return to
Los Angeles. It is up to the owners to decide
whether or not these franchises should be
moved from their initial location, which has
the potential to turn sour and ruin public
relations and the league’s reputation. The
owners will also decide if conference
realignment with teams is necessary and the
feasibility of marketing the NFL abroad.
Finally, the owners are now given the power
to decide on player personnel decisions and
the ramifications that come with it (ie. Tom
Brady). With the potential for big decisions
and long lasting changes to be made at this
year’s meeting, it is truly up to the owners to
see that the National Football League has a
prosperous season in 2016-2017.
Parliamentary Procedures
For this committee, we will follow
standard parliamentary procedure. We will
remain in constant moderated caucus, unless
a delegate motions otherwise, and most
actions will occur through the passing of
directives. Directives and all other
procedural matters will be passed with a
simple majority.
This committee is a specialized crisis
committee — this gives you the freedom to
change how you want to run your
committee. It would be preferred if the
topics were discussed in a moderated caucus
so the committee may move through them in
an orderly fashion. With that said,
unmoderated caucuses can be used fairly
regularly if it will help the conversation
move forward.
For those that are new to Crisis, it is
much more fast-paced than any of the
standing committees. It will test how well
you can adapt to presented situations. If
something comes up during committee that
you feel needs to be addressed, feel free to
call a ‘Point of Order’ or a ‘Point of Inquiry’
to clarify— we will do our best to
adequately answer your question. In order to
make something happen, delegates typically
use Directives. Personal Directives, or crisis
2
notes, are direct actions you send through
notes to Crisis Staff that you wish to
implement. These are very open-ended, so it
is in your best interest to be very specific in
what you want. If your Directive needs to be
voted on, it will be passed with a simple
majority (50% of voting members +1
additional member). If you feel you need to
address something outside of committee, try
your best to communicate that to the Crisis
Staff during the sessions. We will do our
best to find you and help you with your
situation.
Delegate Biographies
United States. Many describe Bisciotti as
one of the NFL’s best owners.
Los Angeles Rams Owner: Stan Kroenke
Stan Kroenke, of the sports conglomerate
Kroenke Sports Enterprises (which includes
the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids,
Colorado Avalanche, and the Los Angeles
Rams), is also the largest shareholder of the
English football club Arsenal. He originally
bought a stake in the St. Louis Rams after
their relocation to Missouri in 1995. He
became the full owner of the St. Louis Rams
in 2010 and orchestrated their move to Los
Angeles in 2015.
Cincinnati Bengals Owner: Mike Brown
Carolina Panthers Owner: Jerry
Richardson
Michael Brown has been the owner of the
Cincinnati Bengals since 1991. He is the son
of football legend Paul Brown, who founded
the Bengals in 1968 as part of the then
American Football League. Mike Brown
began his duties with the Bengals as an
assistant general manager, making personnel
decisions as well as dealing with issues on
league rules and team policy. Brown has
been criticized immensely since taking the
helm of the Bengals organization for a
variety of issues including threatening to
move the franchise unless a new stadium
was built, building a losing culture, and not
ceding football decisions to a general
manager, thus effectively running the team
himself.
Jerry Richardson is a former NFL champion
for the Baltimore Colts. After his career, he
opened the very first Hardee’s franchise in
Spartanburg. From there, he began to grow
his business empire by founding Spartan
Foods, and later become the CEO of
Flagstar, a food service company
responsible for over 100,000 employees. It
was not until 1993 that Jerry Richardson
tried his hand in the NFL, whereupon he
founded the Carolina Panthers and became
the first former player since George Halas to
become an NFL team owner. Richardson
utilized his vast business acumen and was a
major player during the final negotiations
that ended with a new player's agreement.
Baltimore Ravens Owner: Steve Bisciotti
Pittsburgh Steelers Owner: Dan Rooney
Steve Bisciotti became a majority of the
owner of the Baltimore Ravens in 2004,
when he purchased the remaining equity
from Art Modell after purchasing only 49%
in 2000. Previously, Bisciotti started an
aerospace company called Aerotek, which
grew to the Allegis Group, which is now the
largest privately held staffing firm in the
The son of famed NFL pioneer and founder
of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney has
served as the Chairman of the Steelers since
2003. Apart from being known for his
political career, in which he served as an
ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney has
been instrumental in the advancement of
minorities in the NFL. In fact, Dan Rooney
3
has been so impactful that the NFL now has
a requirement that mandated each team to
interview at least one minority candidate
while filling a vacancy. This requirement
has become known as the Rooney rule.
New England Patriots Owner: Robert
Kraft
Robert Kraft is the Chairman and CEO
of a multi-billion dollar Corporation, known
as the Kraft Group, whose main holding is
the New England Patriots. As chairman and
CEO of this corporation, Robert Kraft also
owns the New England Revolution of the
MLS and Gillette Stadium. Since becoming
the principal owner in 1995, his New
England Patriots have seen an unparalleled
era of success, resulting in 4 Superbowl
victories, to go along with a total of 7
Superbowl appearances. He is seen as one of
the best and brightest owners of the NFL,
respected by many, yet he too has his
enemies who are keen to point out the
Spygate fiasco of 2008 and the alleged
equipment violations of 2015.
San Diego Chargers Owner: Alex Spanos
Alex Spanos is a self-made billionaire
of Greek descent. He is the founder of the A.
G. Spanos Companies, a real-estate
development firm. In 1984, Mr. Spanos
bought 60% of the San Diego Chargers.
Over the next decade he began to buy all
remaining shares, leading to his current day
status of owning 97 percent of the team. In
the past few years Spanos and his Chargers
organization have had rumors swirling
around them with many fearing that he
intends to move his Chargers team to Los
Angeles, a rumor which has since almost
been muted due to the St. Louis Rams move
to the same city. Still, there is still a sense of
unease and unrest within the fan base
regarding long term commitment of the
organization to the city of San Diego.
Minnesota Vikings Owner: Zygi Wilf
Zygi Wilf is a real estate developer of
German descent. The son of German
immigrants,
Mr.
Wilf
earned
his
undergraduate degree in Economics and
later received his J.D. (doctorate of the Law)
from the New York Law School in
Manhattan. In 2005, Mr. Wilf along with
five of his partners purchased the Minnesota
Vikings. Since becoming the owner of the
Vikings, Mr. Wilf has come through on his
promise to upgrade the stadium in which his
Vikings play in, which he viewed as
inadequate. When the state Senate approved
the new stadium, fear and suspicion of the
Vikings leaving Minnesota was put to bed.
Dallas Cowboys Owner: Jerry Jones
The enigmatic personality that is Jerry
Jones truly began his legacy in football as
the co-captain of the 1964 National
Collegiate Champion- University of
Arkansas. Known as one of the most handson owners in all of sports, Jerry Jones
purchased the Cowboys in 1989. He
promptly fired his head coach, the legendary
Tom Landry and his general manager,
thereby allowing him to have almost
complete unilateral authority of all
personnel decisions. He is one of the most
polarizing figures in the NFL, having gained
a multitude of both friends and enemies
during his 27-year reign. He is known for
being a big spender who does not shy away
from the media, with his billion-dollar
stadium being the latest public project Jones
has undertaken.
Indianapolis Colts Owner: Jim Irsay
Jim Irsay is the son of Robert Irsay,
who was the owner of the Baltimore Colts.
In the winter of 1984 amidst much
controversy, Robert Irsay and the Baltimore
Colts relocated to Indianapolis, the current
4
home of the Colts. Irsay has been one of the
loudest and fiercest owners since he came to
power of the Colts in 1997. He has on
multiple occasions petitioned the NFL to
institute a multitude of rule changes that in
general have benefitted the Quarterback,
such as enforcing stricter pass interference
calls and increasing the range of hits that
constitute a “roughing the passer”. It comes
as no surprise then, that the two leaders of
Irsay’s Colts teams have been elite
Quarterbacks, chiefly Peyton Manning and
currently Andrew Luck. Recently however,
Irsay has begun to antagonize his fellow
owners after making allegations and
complaints regarding equipment violations
committed by the New England Patriots.
Seattle Seahawks Owner: Paul Allen
Paul Allen is most famously known for
co-founding Microsoft, along with Bill
Gates. He is the 45th richest person in the
World, valued at 17.7 billion dollars and is
the founder and CEO of Vulcan Inc, which
is the parent Company to all of Paul Allen’s
main investments, including the Portland
Trailblazers of the NBA, the Seattle
Sounders of the MLS and since 1997 the
Seattle Seahawks. During his time in Seattle,
Mr. Allen has been able to foster one of the
most proud fan-bases in all of sports, and
since his reign, his Seahawks have been to
three Superbowls, winning in the 2014-15
season.
Oakland Raiders Owner: Mark Davis
Son of the late and much scrutinized Al
Davis, Mark Davis has been the controlling
interest owner of the Oakland Raiders since
2011. In stark contrast to his father, who was
known for his very hands on approach, Mark
Davis has hired various personnel to handle
the football aspects while he solely focuses
on the business decisions of the Raiders.
Over the course of the last 4 years, Mark
Davis has worked tirelessly to secure a new
stadium for his Oakland Raiders. In the past,
prior to the recent move of the (now) Los
Angeles Rams, it was thought that the
Raiders would perhaps return back to LA.
For now Davis continues to attempt to
increase the value of his Raiders all the
while fighting to get approval for the
development of a new stadium.
Buffalo Bills Owner: Terrence Pegula
A graduate of Pennsylvania State
University, Terrence Pegula is a multibillionaire who like many other owners on
this list made their vast fortunes through real
estate and the owning of the sports teams;
Pegula is the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of
the NHL. Pegula is one of the most recent
NFL owners having bought the team from
the Wilson family in 2014 following the
death of Bills patriarch, Ralph Wilson. He is
well liked by his fan base as he has
promised to keep the Bills in Buffalo.
Furthermore he decided to end the Bills
Toronto Series, which was a series of games
that the Buffalo Bills (under the ownership
of Ralph Wilson) had agreed to play 7
“home” games in Toronto, a device used by
the NFL to attempt its brand internationally.
Kansas City Chiefs Owner: Clark Hunt
Clark Hunt has been the CEO and
owner of the Kansas City Chiefs since 2006,
and is also one of the founding investors of
the MLS. He is the son of Lamar Hunt who
was of the founders of the American
Football League, the predecessor of the
American Football Conference. During
Clark Hunt’s time as CEO, his Chiefs have
woefully underperformed only recently
receiving new life in the form of star
running back Jamaal Charles and cast of
talented defensive players. Clark Hunt also
serves as the chairman of Hunts Sports
5
Group which also includes within its
umbrella the MLS team: FC. Dallas.
Philadelphia Eagles Owner: Jeffrey Lurie
Laurie inherited his fortune from his
grandfather Phillip Smith, the founder of the
General Cinema Movie Theater chain. He
has an undergraduate degree in psychology
and also has a PhD in Social Policy. In 1993
Lurie, a lifelong Boston sports fan,
attempted to buy the New England Patriots
for 150 million dollars, but eventually
withdrew from the bidding war that ensued.
In 1994 Lurie pulled off one of the riskiest
investment moves of his career, putting the
stock he had in his familial company as
collateral to the 190 million dollar loan he
received from the Bank of Boston to buy the
Eagles. His Eagles are valued at over 2.4
billion dollars.
Washington Redskins Owner: Dan
Snyder
Dan Snyder is the CEO of Snyder
Communications LP, an advertising
company, which issued an initial public
offering in 1996, making Dan Snyder the
youngest ever CEO to have his or her
company publically traded on the New York
Stock Exchange. In 1999, Dan Snyder
became the owner of the Redskins after
purchasing them from Jack Kent Cooke for
800 million dollars. His time as the owner of
the Redskins has been met with mixed
reviews. He has continued to pour hundreds
of millions of dollars into upgrading both his
personnel and his stadium, however, since
the beginning of his reign, his Redskins have
accumulated a net losing record and have
yet to reappear in a Superbowl, an award
which they had won three times in their
history. As of late, he has been in the center
of the naming controversy of the Redskins
as well as being blamed for micro-managing
his team into a tailspin of failure.
New York Giants Owner: John Mara
John Mara began his career in the front
office of the New York Giants, back in
1991. Upon the passing of his father in
2005, he became the third Mara to be
principal owner and President of the Giants.
His family connection the Giants team goes
back to 1925 when his grandfather founded
them. During his time as Owner and
President, John Mara’s New York Giants
have won 2 Superbowls, defeating the odds
both times.
New York Jets Owner: Robert Wood
Johnson IV
Woody Johnson is the great-grandson
of Robert Wood Johnson I, who co-founded
the multinational medical device and
pharmaceutical company- Johnson &
Johnson. Making the majority of his fortune
through the business ventures sustained by
his eponymous company, Woody Johnson
became the owner of the New York Jets in
2000. In 2005, Woody Johnson had
aspirations to move this Jets to a stadium
that was to be located in Manhattan. But,
since it has been struck down, he has
continued to share a venue with New York
Giants owner John Mara.
Atlanta Falcons Owner: Arthur Blank
Arthur Blank began his career as a
senior accountant. Over time and after
slowly amassing a small fortune, Arthur
Blank co-founded Home Depot. He is now
worth 2.5 billion dollars, and since February
of 2002 has been the owner of the Atlanta
Falcons. A shrewd business man who is
never satisfied, Arthur Blank as of 2015
become the founder of the MLS expansion
team, Atlanta United FC, who are scheduled
to begin playing in the 2017 season.
6
Houston Texans Owner: Robert McNair
Robert McNair founded the Houston
Texans franchise (the newest franchise in
the NFL) in 1999. Prior to this, he founded
the company Cogen Technologies, which he
sold to Enron, and now serves as Chairman
and CEO of the McNair Group, a financial
and real estate firm that is headquartered in
Houston. Additionally, he is also owner of
private investment company Palmetto
Partners, and owns Reading F.C. of the
Championship division in England. A noted
philanthropist, he is the head of the Robert
and Janice McNair Educational Foundation
to remove financial barriers that prevented
high school graduates in the Houston area
from attending college, and is known to give
money to many top tier institutions such as
Baylor College of Medicine, Rice
University, and the Houston Grand Opera.
Denver Broncos Owner: Pat Bowlen
Pat Bowlen purchased the Denver
Broncos in 1984 and served as the CEO
until 2014, when he stepped down due to his
battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He still
retains ownership of the team. Bowlen made
his fortune by becoming a successful lawyer
in Edmonton, Alberta and is a popular real
estate developer. Bowlen also owns the
Arena Football League’s Colorado Crush
and the Major League Lacrosse Team the
Denver Outlaws.
Topic A: Rule Changes and
Player Personnel
Introduction
The National Football League
wrapped up another successful season by
seeing the Denver Broncos defeat the
Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
Legends like Peyton Manning retired, and
stars like Cam Newton were born. There
were heartbreaks and triumphs along the
road to the Super Bowl, making this season
of the National Football League one of the
most exciting and competitive years ever.
Multiple rule changes were enforced this
year, most notably the moving back of the
extra point and making the goalposts
narrower to increase competition and make
kickers’ jobs harder. The change saw
kickers miss the most extra points in league
history, increasing the likelihood that many
teams attempt two point conversions, rather
an extra point, adding a new wrinkle of
strategy into the game of football.
Now that the season has come to an
end, the annual NFL Owner’s Meeting will
take place, attended by most NFL owners
and head coaches. During the meetings, the
competition committee also meets to discuss
rule changes and personnel decisions to
change for the upcoming year. At the
Owner’s
meeting,
the
competition
committee presents a report of proposed
rules or rule changes which is then voted on
by the owners and is passed with 75% vote
of the owners. In this committee, the
Competition Committee will be dissolved
and all powers on rule changes and rule
developments will now go through the NFL
Owner’s committee.
The NFL would not be the NFL
without its fair share of controversies.
Recently, the league has been plagued with
issues concerning domestic violence, player
safety, and cheating scandals (including
7
deflating
footballs).
Moreover,
the
relationship
between
players
and
commissioner Roger Goodell has turned
sour, with many players believing that
Goodell has too much power, and should not
be allowed to unilaterally levy punishments.
It is up to this committee to pass new rules
and regulations or amend old ones in order
to make the 2016-2017 National Football
League season the most successful and
safest year in league history.
Historical Background
The National Football League was
formed in 1920 in Canton, Ohio and was
originally called the American Professional
Football Association, before the name was
changed to the National Football League
prior to the 1922 season. After its birth, the
NFL was originally overshadowed in
popularity by college football, gaining
footholds in small Midwestern towns. There
were only 14 teams in the original
NFL/AFPA, and only two teams from that
original league still remain in today’s
modern NFL. In 1966, as popularity
continued to grow for the sport, the NFL
merged with the American Football League,
an upstart league founded in 1960 that took
away a lot of business from the NFL, in
1966 as popularity continued to grow for the
sport. Thus, the modern National Football
League was born, with the first Super Bowl
taking place in 1967. When the two leagues
merged, it was reorganized into two
conferences: the American Football
Conference (AFC), which consisted of all
AFL teams as well as three pre-merger NFL
teams, and the National Football Conference
(NFC), which consisted of the majority of
the pre-merger NFL teams. Today, the AFC
and NFC both contain 16 teams each,
broken up into 4 divisions. 1
The NFL continued to grow under
the direction of commissioner Pete Rozelle,
who led the league from 1960 to 1989.
During his tenure, annual attendance at NFL
games increased by 15 million people, and
marked the creation of NFL Charities and a
national partnership with United Way. In
addition to this, Rozelle also developed the
Competition Committee in 1968. The
Competition Committee replaced the
outdated rules committee, which was formed
in 1932 to help develop and create the
game’s playing rules as it distinguished
itself from college football. The Competition
Committee’s actions are based off of
feedback from a variety of sources. At the
end of every season, each of the 32 NFL
clubs fills out a survey with questions about
a variety of topics, such as player protection,
officiating, competitive balance, and
technology usage. The NFL Operations
Department also reviews league data on
injuries and instant replay, and discusses
with coaches and general managers aspects
of the game they would like to change. The
Competition Committee then presents their
proposed rules changes at the NFL Owners
Meeting, and the owners vote to pass new
rules or amend old ones (for the purposes of
this committee, the owners will overtake all
of
the
competition
committee’s
responsibilities in drafting and amending
rules). 2
1
Klein, Christopher. "The Birth of the
National Football League." History.com.
A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 11
July 2016.
2
"The NFL Competition Committee." NFL
Football Operations. The National Football
League, n.d. Web. 11 July 2016.
8
Proposed Rule Changes
While the Competition Committee has
already come out with proposed rule
changes for the NFL Owners for the 20162017, this committee will decide whether or
not to discuss or amend them and then pass
them if appropriate, or completely get rid of
them altogether. The main issues that these
proposed rule changes focus on are player
safety, and the issue of instant replay,
something that has become a hot button
issue for different sports in the modern day.
Here are all the rule proposals by team and
by competition committee:
1. By Competition Committee; Makes
all chop blocks illegal.
2. By
Competition
Committee;
Disqualifies a player who is
penalized twice in one game for
certain types of unsportsmanlike
conduct fouls.
3. By Baltimore; to amend Rule 5,
Sections 3, Articles 1 and 2
(Changes in Position) to require
players to wear jersey vests with
numbers appropriate for their
positions.
4. By Baltimore; to amend Rule 15,
Section 2, Articles 1, 4, and 5
(Instant Replay) to provide each
team with three challenges and
expand reviewable plays.
5. By Buffalo; to amend Rule 15,
Section 2, Articles 1, 4, and 5
(Instant Replay) to permit a coach to
challenge any official's decision
except scoring plays and turnovers.
6. By Minnesota; to amend Rule 15,
Section 2, Article 1 (Coaches'
Challenge)
to
eliminate
the
requirement that a team be
successful on each of its first two
Instant Replay challenges in order to
be awarded a third challenge.
7. By Washington; to amend Rule 15,
Section 2, Article 4 (Reviewable
Plays) to subject personal foul
penalties to Instant Replay review.
8. By Washington; to amend Rule 15,
Section 2, Article 1 (Coaches'
Challenge)
to
eliminate
the
requirement that a team be
successful on each of its first two
Instant Replay challenges in order to
be awarded a third challenge.
9. By
Competition
Committee;
Expands the horse collar rule to
include when a defender grabs the
jersey at the name plate or above and
pulls a runner toward the ground.
10. By
Competition
Committee;
Eliminates the five-yard penalty for
an eligible receiver illegally touching
a forward pass after being out of
bounds and re-establishing himself
inbounds, and makes it a loss of
down.
A full breakdown of the rule proposals can
be found here.
Player Safety
Player safety is an issue that has come
to the forefront of the NFL in one of the
ugliest controversies in modern day sports.
The two most common injuries in
professional football today are knee injuries
involving the ACL/MCL, and concussions.
The ACL is the anterior cruciate
ligament, and one of four main ligaments in
the knee. The ACL is the smallest ligament,
but its function is the most important as it
stabilizes the knees for rotational movement.
It allows football players to cut in different
directions, the bread and butter for many
skill
positions
on
the
gridiron.
Unfortunately, this injury is the most
common in athletes, and the chances of a
non-athlete suffering an ACL injury are
9
1,000 to 1. More unfortunate is that ACL
tears are one of the most common noncontact injuries and can occur at any team,
including training camp, which caused stars
like Jordy Nelson and Kelvin Benjamin to
miss the entire 2015-2016 season without
even playing a snap. As prevalence grows,
more and more studies become available
linking ACL tears to genetically predisposed
characteristics in the human body. Dr. Tarek
O. Souryal, an orthopedic surgeon and head
team physician for the Dallas Mavericks,
conducted a study to describe the link
between bony anatomy and ACL tears. They
found that a certain segment of the
population has bone structure that
predisposes them to an ACL tear, however
there are no ways that ACL tears can be
prevented. 3Thus far, no regimen or training
program has been assessed in the National
Football League to prevent ACL tears.
The other and far more controversial
issue with player safety is concussions.
Concussions and other types of traumatic
brain injurious blows in football have been
shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain
disease which has led to player suicides,
depression, memory loss, and even
dementia. In 2014, researchers with Boston
University conducted a study on brains of
former NFL players, and concluded that 76
out of 79 had tested positive for CTE. 4 The
NFL first began to review cases of
concussions
in
1994,
when
then
commissioner Paul Tagliabue created the
3
"ESPN Feature on ACL Injuries, ACL
Tear, ACL Surgery, ACL Injury, Dallas
Texas Sports Medicine, Dallas
Mavericks." ESPN Feature on ACL Injuries,
ACL Tear, ACL Surgery, ACL Injury, Dallas
Texas Sports Medicine, Dallas Mavericks.
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2016.
4
"FRONTLINE." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 11
July 2016.
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee and
chose Dr. Elliot Pellman to chair the
committee in order to study the effects of
concussions and concussion history in NFL
players. Dr. Pellman was often criticized as
he was not a neurologist, and often admitted
he knew very little about head injuries. Due
to this, the league often produced data that
understated the significance of concussions,
and continued to find information that was
contrary to other studies, including a NIOSH
study that reported that football players are
more likely to have CTE, ALS, Alzheimer’s
and other traumatic brain injuries. A flurry
of doctors continued to produce studies that
showed that repetitive head injuries led to
neurological problems later in life. In 2008,
the NFL commissioned a study done by the
University of Michigan Institute of Social
Research on over 1,000 former NFL players
showed that Alzheimer’s and similar
diseases occur over 19 times more often in
former NFL players than in regular people.
Due to this, in 2009, Roger Goodell and the
NFL Concussion Committee were called
before Congress to talk about their
concussion protocols and under pressure
from Congress and the NFLPA, made
policies and protocols more stringent to
protect the players. However, in 2011, 7
players filed lawsuits against the National
Football League for not providing adequate
protection to the players as they suffered
repeated concussions throughout their
career.
Following this, two former players,
Ray Easterling and Junior Seau were both
found dead after shooting themselves. Both
their brain autopsies revealed they had
suffered from CTE.5 This has heightened
criticism against the National Football
League, and increased the number lawsuits
brought against them. In 2012, the number
5
"Junior Seau Dies at 43." ESPN. ESPN
Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.
10
of players involved in lawsuits against the
NFL reached 3,402. A federal hearing was
held in 2013 to discuss the NFL’s motion to
dismiss the lawsuits brought on behalf of the
now 4,500 former players. Judge Anita
Brody decided to have representatives from
both sides work together to form a
settlement, which occurred in an agreement
in which the NFL had to contribute $765
million to provide medical help and
attention to former players. In addition, $10
million will go towards funding brain injury
research and safety programs for players.6
The only tangible thing done to improve
concussions in game is the presence of
independent neurologists on the sidelines,
and improved helmet technology. Many
NFL players have since retired at a very
young age, including Chris Borland, AJ
Tarpley, and D’Brikashaw Ferguson, all of
whom have cited their mental health and
future health as reasons for their retirement.
It is up to the NFL Owner’s Committee to
determine the future mental and physical
health of their players.
Playoff Format
As it currently stands, the NFL
playoffs are a single elimination bracket
tournament to determine the NFL champion.
Six teams from each conference qualify for
the playoffs based on regular season records,
four division winners and two wild cards. If
teams have equal records, different tie
breaking procedures exist to determine who
makes the playoffs and who does not. Based
on record, each team in the playoff bracket
gets a seed, the better the record the better
the seed. The top two seeds have bye weeks
for the first round of the playoffs, and have
home field, with the 2nd seed only having to
play away if they face the 1st seed. Higher
seeds always have home field advantage.
However, the four division winners are
always the top four seeds (division winners
always clinch a playoff berth), which means
it is possible that a wild card team that does
not win their division but still has a better
record than a division winner, will end up
with a lower seed then that division winner.
It’s even possible that a team that misses the
playoffs and does not win their division has
a better record than a playoff team as
evidenced in the 2010 playoffs with Seattle
having a 7-9 record and still making the
playoffs by winning their division, the worst
record to ever qualify for the NFL playoffs.
Because of this, many call for the abolishing
of divisions and seeding, and instead having
the top 6 teams with the best record in each
conference, regardless of division, make the
playoffs so as not to dilute the playoffs with
teams that are undeserving of being there.
Another popular proposal is to expand the
playoff field to 14 teams, however that has
failed multiple times to gain traction in
league circles.
Personnel Decisions and
Punishments
With Roger Goodell maintaining his
commissioner status in the league for a
prolonged period of time, many players have
expressed their displeasure with how
Goodell runs the league. Players, such as
Brian Westbrook, James Harrison, and Drew
Brees to name a few have all spoken out
against Goodell’s decisions in terms of
suspensions and punishments for various
wrongdoings. Brees once publicly said, “He
is the judge, jury, and executioner when it
comes to all the discipline. I’m not going to
trust any league-led investigation when it
6
"NFL, Ex-players Reach $765 Million
Deal in Concussion Case." Philly-archives.
N.p., 2013. Web. 12 July 2016.
11
comes to anything. It’s not transparent.”7
Goodell came under fire initially for his
handling of the Ray Rice domestic abuse
case, in which he claimed he never saw a
video of Rice attacking his then girlfriend
before sentencing Rice to a two game
suspension, a punishment that caused outcry
from the public for being too little too late.
Perhaps most damaging for Goodell was
his handling of the deflate gate debacle that
coincided with the 2015 AFC Championship
game between the New England Patriots and
the Indianapolis Colts. The NFL suspended
quarterback Tom Brady four games on the
allegations that he deflated footballs. The
NFLPA filed an appeal of Brady’s
suspension and requested a neutral third
party arbitrator to preside over the case.
Despite their appeal, the NFL announced
that Goodell himself would serve as the
arbitrator for Brady’s case in which he
upheld the suspension.8 In August after the
trial, U.S. Judge Richard Berman criticized
Goodell of being unfair and contradicting
himself multiple times during the
proceeding after the transcript of the trial
had been released. Berman threw out the
trial and vacated Brady’s suspension citing a
lack of fair due process. However, almost a
year later, the Second Circuit court
reinstated Brady’s four game suspension for
the upcoming 2016-2017 season causing
outcry among players and fans alike. 9
Recent Decisions
In the offseason before last season, the
NFL took aim at improving player safety on
the field. Beginning in 2015, the NFL
instituted rules to help players, namely
receivers who are clearly tracking the
football and are in a defenseless position. In
addition, rules concerning peel back blocks
and chop blocks involving the knees and
shoulders of players have been eliminated to
provide an even safer environment for the
players. The league also ramped up its
policy on consequences for unsportsmanlike
conduct and fighting during the game to
alleviate the decision-making in scuffles and
pile-ups. Special teams also changed
drastically in 2015, with the extra point
being pushed back to the 15-yard line from
the 2-yard line, and goalposts narrowing,
making kicking field goals and extra points
considerably more difficult. 10
Question the Committee Must
Address
1. What rule changes should the NFL
make at this moment?
a. More playoff teams?
b. More timeouts?
c. More challenges?
d. How will all of these changes
influence how the game is
played?
2. What can be done to increase player
safety in the NFL?
3. What can be done to change the
playoff process in the NFL?
4. What can be done to take away the
commissioner’s unilateral power for
doling out consequences to players?
7
"Brees Comments on Goodell's Power,
Deflategate and More." Bleacher Report.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2016.
8
"Mueller Report Underscores Roger
Goodell's Deceit in Ray Rice Case."Robert
Mueller Report Underscores NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell's Deceit in
Ray Rice Case. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July
2016.
9
"Judge Nullifies Tom Brady's Four-game
Suspension." NFL.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
July 2016.
10
"The NFL Competition Committee." NFL
Football Operations. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July
2016.
12
5. What should be punishments for
various wrongdoings (domestic
abuse, PED’s, deflating footballs,
etc.)?
Concluding Remarks
The NFL is currently a multi-billion
dollar entity, and the players are getting
richer and richer as each season passes. With
that said, owners and general managers are
making bigger and bigger investments in
‘franchise’ players. How do the owners
work with the Commissioner and the
Referee’s Association to ensure their players
are playing the game in a safe manner while
maintaining the integrity of the original
game of football?
Topic B: Team Logistics and
Marketing
Introduction
As the NFL popularity continues to
grow in the United States, other countries
are quickly catching football fever as well.
While Canada is the only other country
currently with a professional football league
– Mexico had one very briefly but
discontinued it – football’s popularity
globally is growing, especially with many
foreign players being drafted in the 2016
NFL Draft, including Moritz Boehringer, a
German athlete drafted by the Minnesota
Vikings. This year the NFL will host two
games on foreign soil, one in Wembley
Stadium in England, and the other in the
heart of Mexico City at Azteca Stadium. The
NFL must continue to market their brand
globally, as it dominates the United States in
terms of most watched sporting events,
however is not even close to the global
ratings of the FIFA World Cup, or UEFA
Euro Championships.
In addition, rumors of franchises
moving cities have run rampant for years
until January of 2016 when the NFL
approved plans to move the Rams franchise
from St. Louis back to Los Angeles, a town
that lacked a football team since the rams
moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis in
1995. After St. Louis moved, rumors of the
San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders
being unhappy with their current location
surfaced and many believe they are the next
two franchises on the move. The NFL
Owner’s Committee will be heavily
involved with relocation terms for those
franchises, as well as creating new
expansion teams and adding to the 32 team
total in the current NFL. All of these
location changes could even bring a
divisional alignment within the NFL sooner
than expected.
13
Historical Background
Professional Football Subsidies
The National Football League is the
most profitable and popular of the four
major American professional sports leagues.
In fact, the NFL is so popular that it has an
industry all to itself. The combined value of
the NFL’s 32 teams is $37.4 billion, which
is greater than the national GDP of countries
like Afghanistan, Cambodia, and more than
117 other countries. The Dallas Cowboys
are the NFL’s highest valued team at just
north of $3.2 billion, which is enough to buy
the five lowest value Major League Baseball
teams and buy an iPhone 5 for almost every
person in the state of Texas. 11 The NFL
makes a lot of money not just from its
lucrative television deals ($1.9 billion from
ESPN, $1.1 billion from Fox, $1 billion
from CBS and $950 million from NBC), but
also from fans spending money on games
and merchandise. The NFL merchandise
sales in 2011 reached $3 billion in 2011, and
its revenue sharing pool in 2016 grew 21%
to $7.3 billion in 2015. 12 The Super Bowl
alone accounts for the 21 highest rated
broadcasts in United States history in total
viewership. In addition to this, many
stadiums continue to use taxpayer money to
build stadiums, which has prompted
criticism that we should stop the public
giveaways to America’s richest sports
league, and force owners to spend money on
the stadiums. 13
In 2012, Virginia Governor Bob
McDonnell took $4 million from taxpayers’
pockets and gave the money to the
Washington Redskins to allow the team to
upgrade its workout facility. To avoid any
backlash or criticism, McDonnell approved
the “gift” while the state legislature was out
of session. Meanwhile, Redskins owner,
Dan Snyder, has a net worth estimated at $1
billion. 14 While New Orleans citizens
continued to struggle to rebuild their
community after Hurricane Katrina, the
Saints continued to host home football
games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
just a year after the national disaster.
Taxpayers have, in stages, provided about
$1 billion to build and renovate the
Superdome. Tom Benson, who is the Saints’
owner, is worth an estimated $1.2 billion,
and keeps nearly all revenue from ticket
sales,
concessions,
parking,
and
broadcasting rights. Taxpayers even
contributed for the addition of leather
stadium seats to the Superdome. Twelve
teams have turned a profit on stadium
subsidies alone – receiving more money
than they needed to build their facilities15. A
relevant example is embattled Cincinnati
Bengals owner Mike Brown, and his plan to
tear down Riverfront Stadium, and build a
brand new Paul Brown stadium in its place.
Initially, Brown wanted to keep the
franchise in Cincinnati, and rejected offers
from other cities to move the team.
However, in 1995 he was frustrated by
Riverfront Stadium’s small seating capacity
and lack of luxury boxes, and he believed
11
"THE BUSINESS OF THE NFL Finance Degree Center." Finance Degree
Center RSS. N.p., 2013. Web. 15 Aug.
2016.
12
"NFL Teams Split $7.3 Billion in
Revenue, Packers Numbers
Reveal." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d.
Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
13
Easterbrook, Gregg. "How the NFL
Fleeces Taxpayers." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
14
Easterbrook, Gregg. "How the NFL
Fleeces Taxpayers." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
15
Easterbrook, Gregg. "How the NFL
Fleeces Taxpayers." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
14
this was one of the main things hindering the
Bengals success. 16In 1995, Brown said that
Cincinnati had breached its lease agreement
when it was late by one week in paying over
$167,00 in concession receipts. He
threatened to move the team to Baltimore if
Hamilton County would not fund a new
stadium. 17 Hamilton County quickly gave in
as Cincinnati’s City Council and the
Hamilton County Commissioners agreed to
fund the brand new Paul Brown Stadium
with a proposed county sales tax increase,
which needed voter approval. Voters quickly
passed a sales tax increase to increase the
funding of a new facility for the Bengals and
a second new facility for the MLB’s
Cincinnati Reds. Paul Brown Stadium was
finished in 2000. In 2007, the Hamilton
County Commissioner, Todd Portune, filed
a lawsuit in federal district court against the
NFL and the Bengals, claiming that revenue
shares from the Bengals from 1996-1999 did
not support Mike Brown’s claim that the
team was under any type of financial
pressure. A majority of people that support
Portune feel that Brown lied to them in
saying the Bengals would be more
competitive with a new stadium. 18The
Bengals have only had seven winning
seasons out of 16 since the stadium opened.
Rick Eckstein, co-author of “Public Dollars,
Private Stadiums,” states that the Hamilton
County-Paul Brown Stadium arrangement is
“the single most lopsided stadium deal since
1993”. 19
16
Forbes, Gordon, 1995, June 20. Bengals'
boss sees stadiums as solutions, USA Today,
6C.
17
1995, June 25, Bengals set ultimatum, The
Washington Post, p. D05
18
Associated Press, 2000, August 16, Public
gets look at new Bengals' stadium.
19
"Fuel to the Fire: More on the Stadium
Deal." 'WhoDeyRevolution' N.p., 11 Dec.
2008. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
Moving Franchises
The most prevalent NFL news this
offseason from a business standpoint, as
stated previously, was the Rams franchise
moving from the city of St. Louis to Los
Angeles. The owner, Stan Kroenke, who
originally helped the Rams move from
Anaheim to St. Louis by purchasing a 30%
stake in the company, went into arbitration
with the City of St. Louis in early 2013 over
a clause in the Rams lease contract that
stated the Rams current stadium had to be in
the top tier of NFL stadiums. The arbitrators
agreed with the Rams, and allowed the
Rams to break their original stadium lease
and go to a year to year lease agreement. 20
In early 2015, news broke that Kroenke was
teaming up with a company named
Stockbridge Capital Group to build an NFL
stadium in Inglewood, California, a suburb
of Los Angeles. St. Louis, realizing it could
lose the Rams, introduced plans for their
own open air, riverfront stadium in St. Louis
named National Car Rental Field. 21
However, Kroenke had no talks or
discussions with city officials and expressed
no interest in keeping the team in St. Louis,
leading top St. Louis officials to feel they
were being cheated by Kroenke. In addition,
fans were outraged due to the fact that in
2014, the St. Louis Rams had an 86%
attendance record despite a 6-10 season and
10 consecutive non-winning seasons before
that. In addition, NFL Commissioner Roger
Goodell was criticized for stating that the St.
Louis funding plan did not meet the criteria
set by the NFL, even though St. Louis’s plan
20
Florio, Mike. "Rams Win
Stadium arbitration." ProFootballTalk. N.p.,
2 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
21
Farmer, Sam, and Roger Vincent. "Owner
of St. Louis Rams Plans to Build NFL
Stadium in Inglewood." Los Angeles Times,
5 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
15
was very affordable. 22Goodell later gave a
significant amount of money to the Raiders
and Chargers to improve their stadiums and
help fund their markets. The Raiders,
Chargers, and Rams all originally applied to
move to Los Angeles, however, the NFL
approved the Ram’s application to relocate
from St. Louis in early 2016. There are still
multiple rumors concerning the movements
of the Raiders and Chargers, with latest
sources speculating the Raiders could end up
in Las Vegas, and the Chargers could join
the Rams in Los Angeles. At this time,
however, no movement has been made. The
NFL Owner’s Committee has the
responsibility to approve of and sanction all
movements of franchises to different cities,
and no team can move without approval of
the majority of NFL Owners.
Establishing New Expansion
Franchises
The most recent expansion team that
joined the National Football League was in
2002, when the Houston Texans joined the
newly formed AFC South. Recently, Las
Vegas is a popular name associated with a
brand new NFL franchise, but why only
focus on a team on United States soil?
According to an October report from
Yahoo!, the British Treasury Department
will reportedly do everything in its power to
make sure and approve of a permanent NFL
team in London sometime within the next 5
years. 23 Given that the NFL is regularly
22
Hunn, David. "Goodell: $300 Million for
St. Louis Stadium 'fundamentally
Inconsistent' with NFL Policy."
Stltoday.com. N.p., 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 16
Aug. 2016.
23
Holden, Eric. "London and the Cities
Most Likely to Win an NFL Expansion
Team." AXS. N.p., 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 16
Aug. 2016.
playing games in England and now Mexico,
it is reasonable to ask if the NFL is going to
expand with one or multiple new franchises
in these countries. This committee will
examine the possibility of the league adding
new franchises to expand their global
market. If the league does not feel it is
viable to establish a new franchise, the
alternative is to move a current franchise to
either England or Mexico. If the owners
choose this option, which franchise would
leave the United States and re-establish in
their new home?
Division/Conference
Realignment
The last expansion and realignment in
NFL history was in 2002, when the Houston
Texans joined the NFL as a franchise
expansion team. With the Texans joining the
NFL, the teams realigned into eight
divisions with four teams in each division
and then four divisions in each conference.
This led to major changes in the NFL’s
landscapes, with the Seattle Seahawks
switching conferences from the AFC West
to the NFC West. The Arizona Cardinals
moved from the NFC East to the NFC West,
and the AFC South (Colts, Jaguars, Titans,
and Texans) and NFC South (Falcons, Bucs,
Panthers, and Saints) were formed. With the
addition of a team, the NFL modified their
playoff format to four division winners and
two wild cards from each conference
advancing to the playoffs, a huge difference
as previously three division winners and
three wild cards advanced in the playoffs24.
In addition, the NFL added the modern rule
that the division winners are now seeded one
through four in their respective conference.
The NFL Owner’s Committee have the
24
Murray, Ken. "Nfl Vote On Realignment
Nears." Tribunedigital-thecourant. N.p., 21
May 2001. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
16
jurisdiction to change any alignments they
see fit once franchises move or are added to
the National Football League. Recently,
rumors of the Chargers and the Raiders
moving to Los Angeles, have sparked
divisional realignment talk, with some
believing that the Chargers would move to
the NFC West, while one team from that
division would move to the AFC. 25
NFL Global Marketing Strategy
In 2007, the NFL held its very first
regular season football game at Wembley
Stadium in London, and every year since
then the NFL has held at least one game
across the pond called the NFL International
Series. Some NFL games are wildly popular
in London, and most are well attended with
some being sold out within hours of tickets
becoming available. The first game in 2005,
between the Miami Dolphins and the New
York Giants, sold over 35,000 tickets in the
first 90 minutes of sales and thousands more
sold in the hours that followed26. The
Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that are in
pole position to move across the pond, as the
Jags have had a tough time isolating a
market in football heavy Florida, and
retaining a solid fan base, but many cities in
the United States need expansion franchises,
let alone a franchise in England. In 2016, the
NFL International Series will expand to two
more stadiums in London, while also
holding a game in Azteca Stadium in
Mexico City. Prior to 2005, the NFL’s main
way of promoting football globally was
25
Petchesky, Barry. "NFL's Los Angeles
Move Could Bring Divisional Realignment."
Deadspin. N.p., 2015. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
26
Holden, Eric. "London and the Cities
Most Likely to Win an NFL Expansion
Team." AXS. N.p., 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 16
Aug. 2016.
through the American Bowl, which was a
series of preseason games played around the
world that ended in 2005, and NFL Europe,
a small developmental league based in
Europe that ended in 2007. However, in
2005, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the
San Francisco 49ers in Azteca Stadium in
Mexico City, under the branding name of
NFL Fútbol Americano. It was the first
regular season NFL game held outside the
United States and drew the NFL’s highest
game attendance at the time with 103,467 in
attendance. Roger Goodell has voiced his
pleasure with expanding the league’s appeal
overseas since the end of NFL Europe, and
has even openly discussed the idea of
holding a future Super Bowl game in
London. 27The NFL has also studied the
possibility of adding a 17th regular season
game to all teams, that would take the place
of the fourth pre-season game and would be
played in different countries around the
world. 28 Thus far, all London NFL games
have been popular, with tickets for two
games per season selling out in two days
almost nine months in advance. According
to the NFL, only 3% of those attending the
London games are Americans or American
expatriates, while 22% are from London,
and 60% are from elsewhere in the United
Kingdom. 29
27
"NFL Commissioner Says Super Bowl
May Someday Be Held in London." ESPN.
N.p., Oct. 2007. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
28
"NFL Looking Closely at Expanding to
17 Games with International Flavor." ESPN.
N.p., May 2007. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
29
Zimmerman, Brandon. "NFL Banking On
'Passion' Of U.K. Fans To Make London
Expansion A Success." SportsBusiness.
N.p., 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Aug. 2016.
17
Questions the Committee Must
Address
1. Where and what should the NFL
look to do (nationally or globally) to
expand their fan base?
a. Should the NFL hold more
games overseas to continue to
expand the popularity of
football?
b. Should the NFL altogether
introduce a new franchise
team in London or in a city
abroad?
c. Should the NFL move a team
from a smaller market to a
larger market with more
potentially lucrative deals?
2. What teams should be moved to a
different conference if realignment
or expansion should occur?
3. Should relocation terms be granted
to teams unhappy with their current
city-stadium deals?
4. Should conferences be removed
altogether?
5. Should owners be forced to pay for
their own stadiums?
Concluding Remarks
From determining the fu
From determining the future of player
safety, to expanding the popularity of
football to every corner of the world, the
NFL Owner’s Committee has many
responsibilities that need fulfilling over the
extent of this conference. The NFL is at a
point where, under the right leadership, it
can advance to new heights no other
American sport has done before, in terms of
popularity and business. It is up to the NFL
Owner’s Committee to decide on a path, and
lead the way.
18