“Our agenda starts with focusing on growing and improving the game in every area,” according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell when he spoke about players’ safety at a State of the League news conference Friday.
Goodell went on to say: “It always starts, and there is no higher priority than player safety. We will continue to look at rules and technology to protect our players.”
Goodell also touched on the relocation of teams.
“We want to work to try to keep our teams where they are. As I said earlier this year, relocation is a difficult process. That was true in St. Louis where we have a number of great fans. But it’s something that from a business standpoint becomes a reality.”
According to the NFL.com, the future of the Pro Bowl is in question once again because Goodell isn’t happy with the product.
“I’m not going to speculate where the Pro Bowl is going, but I was disappointed in what I saw on Sunday. I had raised this issue three or four years ago. We worked with a number of players to make changes in the game. They had a positive impact, at least in the short term. But I didn’t see that this week.”
When it came to gambling and the NFL and daily fantasies, Goodell said:
“I don’t make that determination; each state makes that determination. We are obviously going to follow the law. We are going to abide by that in every which way. I’ve said before that I think when it relates to daily fantasy there needs to be more consumer protection. I want that for our fans. I think our fans deserve that. But the primary interest I have is the integrity of the game which is why we’ve opposed sports gambling in the past. When it comes to daily fantasy, I think there are different issues here. You have mash-ups of players, there are different issues that are raised that are not raised with sports gambling or traditional sports gambling.”
