January 29, 2012 7:07 PM

The NFL Commissioner: Roger Goodell

On a trip to Baltimore for a playoff game week before last, the commissioner acknowledged the challenge and said it required a certain amount of political acumen.

Goodell: You have 32 teams and most of our big decisions have to be made on the basis of 24 votes. So a lot of what I have to do is go and convince at least 24 owners that we have a good solution. It's a lot like being speaker of the House 'cause you have to go out and get those votes.

And after nearly six years on the job Goodell seems to have won the complete trust of his bosses, who this past week extended his contract to the year 2019. Steve Bisciotti owns the Baltimore Ravens.

Steve Bisciotti: I lose a lot of my arguments to Roger, but I never hold it against him because I know, he, you know, it's like kids fighting. You know, I might go and complain, but he's usually stickin' up for another son, and that other son's usually right. So it doesn't stop me from complaining. But I get my, I win my fair share.

Robert Kraft: I wish we could get people in Washington to lead the way Roger leads.

Robert Kraft owns the New England Patriots.

Kraft: His job is impossible because dealing, it's not like a normal board of directors. It's 32 members of the board of directors who each think they know how to run the league better than he does. So it requires a good sense of balance.

And there is plenty for the owners and the players to be happy about. Last July, after months of contentious negotiations, Goodell and DeMaurice Smith of the NFL Players Association signed an unprecedented collective bargaining agreement that will bring a decade of labor peace and prosperity for both sides.

DeMaurice Smith: Sometimes you have to butt heads a little bit in order to make sure things work out.

Kroft: But in the end you were happy?

Smith: Look, if I wasn't happy I wouldn't have signed it.

Kroft: Why do you think the league's been so successful?

Smith: You know who's gonna win this game? Neither do I. And you know what? It's fantastic.

And it all got a lot more fantastic last month when Goodell and the league signed a record shattering nine-year deal with the television networks, including CBS, in which the owners and the players will split nearly $6 billion-a-year in revenue, following a season in which virtually all of the top rated TV shows were NFL games. Goodell managed to wring more money out of the deal than most people thought possible.

Kroft: I hear you're a pretty tough customer. I hear that you can be cold and confrontational if necessary.

Goodell: I think you have to be in this job from time to time. I take my responsibilities very seriously. And I wanna make the league better. And to do that, you can't make everybody happy.

At age 52, he has spent his entire career working at the NFL, starting out as an intern who once drove NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. And this is the only job he ever wanted, like most fans his age his love of the game is shaped by its history and by his early memories.

He grew up in Washington, rooting for the Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas. And he has never forgotten it. When we were in Baltimore, he stopped to pay tribute at the statue of Unitas that now stands outside Baltimore's stadium.



© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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