The NFL Commissioner: Roger Goodell

The ultimate Monday morning quarterback has got to be NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who gathers his senior staff and officials on Monday to review the weekend's games - including controversial plays and calls. For the first time ever, cameras were allowed in this NFL meeting, and "60 Minutes" was there as they dissected and discussed some incidents in the first round of the playoffs. In this profile of Goodell, Steve Kroft examines the NFL's unusual business structure: 32 member teams whose players compete on the field, but whose owners cooperate in the business of keeping America's favorite pastime profitable. Wildly profitable. It's a $10 billion-a-year business, with soaring revenues and television ratings through the roof.

The following script is from "The Commissioner" which aired on Jan. 29, 2012. Steve Kroft is the correspondent. Draggan Mihailovich and Frank Devine, producers.

There are only two institutions in this country with the power to create almost limitless amounts of money. One is the Federal Reserve. The other is the National Football League. The Fed is run by Ben Bernanke, the NFL by Commissioner Roger Goodell. And Goodell is having a much better season. In the midst of an economic slump that has seen most American businesses struggle, the NFL's revenues are soaring and its television ratings are through the roof.

By a number of measures it is the most successful entertainment enterprise in the country. And with all due respect to the Ringling Brothers, right now the NFL is the "Greatest Show on Earth," and Commissioner Roger Goodell is the ringmaster.

A day in the life of NFL Commissioner Goodell
Kroft's team lives out a fan's dream: Going behind-the-scenes with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Roger Goodell: When we bring people into our stadium, or if they're watching on television, we want them to say, "That was the greatest entertainment I've ever seen."

It is the American adaptation of the Roman Coliseum, a spectacle that manages to package all the primal instincts. Sex...violence...tribalism...courage...joy...and disappointment. There are agile 300-pound gladiators, spear throwers, and acrobats. The best ones are multimillionaires often in the employ of billionaires, fortunate enough to own one of the NFL's 32 franchises. They pay Commissioner Roger Goodell to manage their $10 billion-a-year business, resolve their disputes and protect their most valuable asset: the game.

Steve Kroft: Now how much power do you have?

Goodell: I don't look at it in those terms. I have to make a lot of decisions that aren't in the best interests of individuals, whether they be owners, club executives, players. But I have to make sure the integrity of the game is protected at all times.

Kroft: And who decides what the integrity of the game is?

Goodell: That's my job.

He is CEO, negotiator, arbitrator, disciplinarian, enforcer, cheerleader and custodian of a national pastime and no one's errand boy. He is paid $10 million-a-year, to tell the owners who hired him - some of the richest, smartest, most competitive people in the country - what's best for them, or that he has to suspend one of their top players, or even fine them, for some infraction.

Kroft: You have to take action against your bosses from time to time...

Goodell: That's one way to look at it.

Kroft: And how do they like it?

Goodell: They don't like it, but they also understand my responsibilities. I don't expect to try to get people to like everything I do. I want them to respect what I do.

[Goodell: You know where you are when you walk into this stadium...]

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.

Kroft: Aren't you supposed to touch his shoe or something?

Goodell: Oh, I'd love to. I'd love to.

Goodell: He was a great one.

Kroft: He's your hero?

Goodell: Yeah, he was special. What a player.

He used to go to the Colt games with his father, the late congressman and U.S. Senator Charles Goodell. He was one of the first Republicans to speak out against the Vietnam War in a speech before Congress, and a copy of it hangs on the wall of the commissioner's office. It earned his dad a place on Richard Nixon's enemies list and cost him the next election.

Goodell: That demonstrated to me courage, not be afraid of taking a principled stand regardless of the consequences. My father taught that to us by example. And that has stayed with me since I was a child.

Goodell used to campaign with his father, so he's not so shy about mingling with the fans and listening to their opinions about the game.

Kroft: This is a completely different experience than sitting at home and watching it on TV.

Goodell: Yes, it is. But that's part of our biggest challenge going forward is how do we get people to come to our stadiums and experience stadiums. 'Cause the experience is so great at home.

He is a regular visitor to tailgating parties around the league and will occasionally sneak into the cheap seats to see what the fans' experience is like from there. A quarter of the league's revenues - about $2.5 billion, still come from ticket sales with another $2.5 billion coming from licensing fees on everything from footballs and league apparel to shot glasses and ice scrapers.

Bud Light is reportedly spending a billion dollars over six years to be the official beer of the NFL, but the real key to the league's success is its unorthodox business model. Under league rules the teams are required to share most of their revenue with each other. Which is always a sticking point with some of the most successful franchises and the more politically conservative owners.

Kroft: I mean that's socialism, isn't it?

Goodell: It is a form of socialism. And it's worked quite well for us. So we try to combine socialism and capitalism. How can we socialize by sharing our revenue in a way that will allow every team the ability to compete?

It's not just socialism. The NFL is essentially a cartel, albeit a legal one, thanks to a limited exemption from anti-trust laws granted by Congress more than 50 years ago.

Kroft: You've got 32 competing teams, but they share 80 percent of the revenues. You operate a draft for new players. There are salary caps. You depend on public tax money to help fund your stadiums.

Goodell: Well, we look at it as trying to create the most competitive league we can. One of the things we want every fan to feel in the country is hope when the season starts that their team can end up holding that Super Bowl trophy. And one of the stats we're most proud of in the last nine years we've had at least one team go from last to first.

The result is a financially engineered equality that allows a small town team in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to compete with a metropolis like New York. It produces lots of close games and those unscripted dramas that are essential to the NFL's appeal. Every Monday morning, in the league's New York Command Center, Commissioner Goodell and top officials conduct the ultimate Monday morning quarterback session, dissecting and discussing the weekend's most controversial plays.

[Carl Johnson: So what we're gonna have here is an inadvertent whistle...]

This was the first time cameras have ever been allowed into the meeting. On this Monday morning following the first round of the playoffs, two blown calls that were irreversible because of early whistles from the referees drew the attention of Goodell and Vice President of Officiating Carl Johnson...

Johnson: We gave the ball to Detroit. It should have gone back to the fumbling team...

Goodell: Do we know who blew the whistle?

Johnson: Yes, the line judge blew the whistle. The line judge blew inadvertently. He thought it was a forward pass. Should not have and...

Goodell: From a mechanics standpoint, he shouldn't have been blowing that whistle though...

Johnson: From a mechanics standpoint, he shouldn't have blown the whistle.

Afterwards, we spoke to Goodell, Carl Johnson and Head of Operations Ray Anderson.

Kroft: What's the point of these meetings?

Goodell: To understand where we've made mistakes, where we can improve.

Kroft: If you make a mistake, what do you do? Call, do you have to call the owner?

Johnson: Normally, they, they call me.

Kroft: They call you...

Goodell: You don't have to wait to hear from 'em...

Ray Anderson: You don't have to wait very long Steve believe me...

The commissioner hears about a lot of things from owners, coaches and players, often about his tough policies on personal conduct in-and-out of uniform: everything from penalties for excessive touchdown celebrations, to multi-game suspensions for unsportsmanlike conduct, and illegal helmet-to-helmet tackles.

Kroft: You not only control their lives off the field. Now you're controlling their lives on the field, the way they play the game, the way they tackle, the way they hit. Is...

Goodell: Well, it's some...

Kroft:...all of that necessary?

Goodell: I think it is. Being associated with the NFL is a privilege. It is not a right. And when you're here, you have to meet that bar.

Concussions have always been a part of the NFL. This used to be called getting your bell rung, now it's treated as a serious brain injury and doctors, not coaches or players, decide if someone is fit to return to the game...as long as someone catches it.

Johnson: Okay, commissioner, now this game, we had a concussed player that we didn't know about. And this guy didn't tell anybody.

It's the man making the tackle on this play. Number 42 Amari Spievey suffered a concussion here and should have gone to the sidelines, but the officials missed it and he decided not to tell anyone about his symptoms so he could stay on the field.

Kroft: Is that common?

Goodell: Unfortunately, it is. Far too common.

Kroft: Why is it do you think people don't report it?

Goodell: Some of it's warrior mentality. Some of it's wanting to be out there, to contribute, but that's part of our education is to make sure the players understand the seriousness of the issue and that they have to report these injuries.

The league and the players have committed a $100 million to fund concussion research, following some bad publicity and several lawsuits. And they will finally provide more than a billion dollars in additional funds to improve pensions, as well as medical and disability benefits for retired players.

[Goodell: Hey crew...]

With no game this Sunday, Goodell and his staff began final preparations for next Sunday's Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

[Goodell: Are these streets going to be closed...

Goodell: You didn't tell me what the weather is going to be like...

Woman: The halftime show as we all know will be Madonna...

Goodell: Has anyone seen that yet? (laughter)

Woman: Seen what? (laughter)]

The game is a much-anticipated rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. And if the current trend holds, it will attract the largest American television audience ever, somewhere north of 163 million people. When it's over, there will be no more football until next summer, leaving fans exactly where the NFL wants them...wanting more.