ROGER GOODELL IS ON AN EGO TRAIN, BUT AN 18-GAME SEASON SHOULD BE BANNED

The crowd booed him at the NFL Draft in Detroit, just as a satisfied America boos today, believing the commissioner is off his rocker for not considering safety while offering a brazen expansion plan

     Eminem was still a rap monster. He wanted it known that Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, would be hooted in Detroit. “You know you’re going to get booed, right?’’ he said in the commercial opener, as his “Not Afraid” played in the tent and the streets.

     That worked Thursday night. A day later, America continues to boo. For some reason — perhaps an injection of egotism that comes with operating the country’s entertainment powerhouse — Goodell announced he wants a revised future: He’d prefer a regular-season schedule expanding to 18 games per team from an ideal 17. Never mind his same-day decision to enhance safety requirements, allowing players the option to use padded Guardian Caps that have reduced concussions by nearly 50 percent.

     Let’s add a game and become more dangerous!

     And never mind how many players battled the league four years ago, when a 17th game was added. One was Aaron Rodgers, who last season blew out his Achilles tendon in Week 1. “My decision to vote No is based off conversations I’ve had with the men in my locker room that I’m tasked to represent,” he said. “This deal will affect every player that ever plays this game. Sixteen games to me was never something to be negotiated. There were also many issues raised about the workplace, the workload and the offseason program.”

     Barely half the players approved the league’s stance in official balloting. Now, for all his concern about keeping players safe, Goodell looks at a three-game preseason and doesn’t like it. Nor do I. But that doesn’t mean he can ramp up the savagery and neglect duties as a responsible boss. Seventeen games is more than enough, unless he wants a league of fallen stars in January and February. Think he cares? He is wondering about monstrous media money and larger gambling revenues. Screw the collective bargaining agreement.

     “Listen, we're looking at how we continue. I'm not a fan of the preseason,” he said, before acknowledging draft fans and saying, “And I don’t think these guys like it either. The reality is, I'd rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That's just picking quality. If we get to 18 and 2, that's not an unreasonable thing.”

     Gee, why not 20 and zero? Fifty? One hundred? Goodell keeps raging on, believing Presidents Day can become a stay-at-home holiday that would follow a Super Bowl on a three-day weekend. “You have Monday off,” he said, ignoring that a recognized day requires a Congressional act and a declaration by the President of the United States, which Goodell is not though he sometimes thinks he is.

     And there’s more. Though it’s stunning to think a regular division of play could begin in Europe, Goodell has entered that fuzzy plane. In the next two years, the NFL will bring games to Brazil and Spain. At some point, doesn’t he realize soccer is the real futbol in those places? You can’t put teams in Madrid, London and Frankfurt without a backlash about what is real and American gonzo. For now, he thinks 16 games a season could be played abroad beyond 2030. “Will a franchise ever happen or a division? Maybe,” he said.

     For now, he should keep his eye on the contiguous U.S. and improving a very fortunate sport. Congratulations in revamping kickoffs and minimizing full-blast collisions. Continue to focus on player protection, as executive vice president Jeff Miller told ESPN: “We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice, so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season. Additionally, there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players.”

     And maybe contact Charlotte and ask David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers, why he entered a bar and called out the owner. Not long ago, he was fined $300,000 for throwing a drink at Jacksonville fans during a game. Now he is consumed by a sign that asked Tepper not to make draft picks, recalling how he stumbled in choosing Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud last year: “PLEASE LET THE COACH AND GM PICK THIS YEAR.”

     He walked into Dilworth Neighborhood Grille and gently grabbed the Philadelphia Eagles cap of a manager. After a brief chat, Tepper left. “I do need him to be more of an owner and less of a coach or a GM,” Grille owner Matt Wohlfarth said.

     The Panthers need help, allowing the Chicago Bears to take Caleb Williams with the top overall pick. Other franchises needs help, too. Stay here, Roger Goodell. You had food spillage on your sweater in the commercial.

     “Mom’s spaghetti!” you said, with a nod to Eminem.

     Clean it up.

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     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.