NFL’s Roger Goodell on Tom Brady controversy
A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. Last week, I told you I’d have more to say on Paramount’s likely incoming bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Well, I lied. That’ll have to wait one more week. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a special announcement. I caught up with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell this weekend at the San Francisco 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium. We covered a number of different subjects, including Goodell’s comments that the league’s media rights renegotiations could begin as early as 2026 , four years earlier than the existing opt-out clause. “I think our partners would want to sit down and talk to us at any time, and we continue to dialogue with them. I like that opportunity,” Goodell said. “Obviously it’s not going to happen this year. But it could happen as early as next year. That could happen.” I had to ask Goodell about the conflict of interest question surrounding Tom Brady . Quite a bit has been written on the question of whether a national broadcaster of games should be able to appear in the Las Vegas Raiders’ coaches’ box given he probably has access to more information than a normal team’s minority owner. Brady and his business partner Tom Wagner acquired about a 10% stake in the team last year , CNBC reported. Goodell was animated when speaking about the perceived conflict of interest. He fundamentally dismissed the notion that there was a problem. “Teams have the right to say whatever they want to. They don’t have to disclose any information if they think it’s a conflict of interest,” Goodell told me. “Teams don’t need to say anything. Sometimes they don’t say anything to somebody who’s not [a minority owner]. We get a lot of former players that are in [broadcast meetings] that are close to their former teams. I think our teams are pretty smart about saying, ‘I’m not sharing something with him.'” “Where’s the conflict?” Goodell continued. “He’s not hanging around in the facilities. We don’t allow that.” Brady, too, defended his dual roles in his weekly newsletter published Wednesday. “I love football. At its core it is a game of principles. And with all the success it has given me, I feel I have a moral and ethical duty to the sport, which is why the point where my roles in it intersect is not actually a point of conflict, despite what the paranoid and distrustful might believe,” Brady wrote. “Rather, it’s the place from which my ethical duty emerges: to grow, evolve, and improve the game that has given me everything.” Goodell and I also discussed the concept of league expansion. I asked Goodell if the next logical move was to expand internationally instead of within the U.S. “I don’t know if I could predict that, but I would say that the markets outside the U.S. are very, very attractive,” said Goodell. “And we’ve got pretty good coverage here.” Goodell said a team in London was “possible,” adding, “There are markets that could certainly support a team. We’ve always focused on, what are the competitive consequences of that? Can we manage that? And so every year we try to learn something from the international series.” Goodell noted the Minnesota Vikings are playing back-to-back international games in the coming weeks, something he said has “never been done before.” The Vikings will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin on Sunday, followed by the Cleveland Browns in London on Oct. 5. “It starts to give you a sense of, can you do certain things that are going to be necessary from a scheduling standpoint and a training standpoint? When we first came up with the idea of [an international] regular season game, I didn’t think there would be as much support. But now, every team wants to do it,” Goodell said. “We don’t have to talk them into it. They’re asking us.” A Week 1 NFL game in Brazil, streamed on YouTube, drew 16.2 million U.S. fans and 1.1 million international fans, showcasing the growth potential of the league if Goodell can expand the game globally. Goodell praised the league’s partnership with YouTube, specifically citing the platform’s ability to reach a younger audience. YouTube acquired Sunday Ticket from DirecTV three years ago, and the Brazil game was the first-ever game on the main (free) platform. “I think there’s so many different directions that relationship will go, and it won’t be one, it’ll be many,” Goodell said of YouTube. “Sunday Ticket has been a huge hit for them as well as for us.” Sources familiar with the matter told me Sunday Ticket currently has between 2 million and 5 million subscribers – so, more than DirecTV had but still a somewhat niche product. “It’s hitting a younger demographic,” Goodell said. “It’s the technology they bring. They’re changing the way people are watching sports, whether it’s multiview or just for creators.” Still, Goodell pushed back on the notion that younger viewers aren’t watching full games anymore. “I know everyone says kids don’t watch. That’s not true, in our experience,” he said. “I think they may be watching with multiple screens or several devices. They’re watching their fantasy team or they’re watching some aspects of the game.” Goodell also told me he was pleased with the league’s rollout of private equity ownership – capped at 10% for select PE firms. He told me “not yet” in terms of raising that threshold – something he’s suggested he’d be open to in the past. *** Speaking of YouTube, I have one more YouTube nugget for you. I’m told YouTube TV has about 10 million subscribers and may be on a collision course with NBCUniversal that could end in NBCU’s networks going dark on the platform, according to people familiar with the matter. (Don’t worry CNBC watchers, you can always subscribe to CNBC Pro or CNBC+ to watch your favorite shows!) The YouTube-NBCU deal is up at the end of September. I often hear potential blackout chatter as carriage renewal deadlines approach. But this one feels a little different. YouTube TV, at 10 million, is getting to be a major player in the distribution game – and it wants to be treated as such. That means, it wants lower rates for NBCU’s networks. YouTube TV executives haven’t been thrilled with the way NBCU has priced Peacock, arguing it has undermined the wholesale value of NBCU’s cable bundle, according to sources familiar with the discussions. I’m told that’s one of the reasons why Peacock just raised its price in July. By the way, after NBCUniversal, I’m told YouTube TV has a Disney deal to nail down near the end of October. And, lo and behold, Disney just announced a price increase for Disney+. I’m also told some executives at NBCU view YouTube skeptically. Blacking out NBCU may be bad for YouTube TV subscribers, but if those customers cancel YouTube TV because of a blackout – is that really that bad for the broader YouTube in the long run? In other words, it’s easy for YouTube TV to take a hardline stance because any degradation in traditional TV ultimately benefits Big YouTube (the free service), even if it means YouTube TV – the digital cable bundle – loses customers. One person familiar with the negotiations told me, only half-jokingly, YouTube TV “needs to make an example out of someone” to prove it means business when it comes to getting lower rates. Still, NBCUniversal is a valuable partner for YouTube. Old SNL clips, for example, are very popular on YouTube. One YouTube executive told me it doesn’t behoove the company to make enemies of major content providers for the main service. More to come on this one. And our standard disclosure, that Comcast’s NBCUniversal owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant. On the record With sports investor Marc Lasry … Minor league baseball, the WNBA and the NWSL – that’s where sports investor Marc Lasry wants to put his money, he told me in an exclusive interview. The former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks (he sold in 2023 ) told me while he wishes he waited another year or two to sell the team (NBA valuations have continued to skyrocket), he stands by his logic to sell when he did – mainly, it’s hard for small-market teams to compete and win in the NBA. The Bucks won the NBA title in 2021. Lasry acknowledged he didn’t have much faith another championship would be coming any time soon – and heading into a potentially prolonged period of not winning champions isn’t good business. “You only make money in sports three ways: ticket sales, sponsorship and media,” Lasry said. That logic has also driven his investment in professional bull riding, which Lasry sees as an undervalued asset. Lasry, who is the CEO and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group, acquired the New York Mavericks – a team with the Professional Bull Riders league – in 2024. TV ratings for PBR are shockingly high – sometimes topping 2 million U.S. viewers. That’s more than many MLB games draw. (Shocking, at least, to me. Apologies to the PBR fans out there who knew this already.) Lasry feels there’s an arbitrage play with PBR. Sure, media companies aren’t going to pay the same for PBR as they do for MLB – but the gap shouldn’t be as big as it is, he told me. You can watch our entire conversation here . Or listen here and follow the CNBC Sport podcast if you prefer the audio version. CNBC Sport highlight reel The best of CNBC Sport from the past week: Speaking of Tom Brady, he has sold his protocols! Yes, Aescape, a company that makes robots that give massages, has acquired “the exclusive rights to Tom Brady’s recovery and longevity protocols.” CNBC’s Jessica Golden spoke to Brady and his business partners and has all the details . CNBC’s Dom Chu spoke with the PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague about the Ryder Cup coming to New York’s Bethpage Black course. The Ryder Cup begins tomorrow, Sept. 26. Walmart is teaming up with Spanish soccer league La Liga as the first-ever presenting partner of the “El Clásico” rivalry match-up between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s yet another soccer tie-up for the nation’s largest retailer, which partnered with MLS in July. CNBC’s Luke Fountain has more. Contessa’s Corner Hi all! Contessa here again with your weekly sports betting update: Americans love to gamble – especially younger Americans. At least, that’s the conclusion from TransUnion, which analyzed second-quarter wagering here in the U.S. Thirty percent of Americans are betting now, compared with 25% just last year. And the big drivers? Millennials — up 42% year over year — and Gen Z, up 34%. These younger gamblers are also dabbling in speculative investing, which many experts would say looks a lot like gambling. TransUnion says it’s “likely these consumers use cryptocurrency” in their online trading and gambling. Neither DraftKings nor FanDuel accept any transactions in crypto, which could indicate a willingness to explore unlicensed, offshore gambling platforms. The debt is stacking up for these risk enthusiasts, with monthly payments up 20% for millennials and 27% for Gen Z. Of course, it’s normal for younger adults to take on debt when they buy homes or have kids, but these debt increases far outpace inflation at 6% and wage growth at 8%. In 2024, headlines warned that legalized gambling could wreck Americans’ finances. Northwestern University and UCLA researchers tied it to higher bankruptcies and lower credit scores. But not so fast, says Michael Mandel , chief economist at the Progressive Policy Institute. He points out early adopter states actually saw a 40% drop in bankruptcies between 2019 and 2024 — better than the national average. And credit scores? They ticked higher in those states, right in line with the rest of the country. And one more thing: European lottery giant Allwyn is making its move in the U.S. sports gaming market. The company just inked a deal to acquire 62% of daily fantasy platform PrizePicks at an implied $2.5 billion enterprise value. See you next week! The big number: 106 “Sister Jean” is retiring at 106 years old . Jean Dolores Schmidt rocketed to celebrity status in 2018 when the Loyola Chicago Ramblers made a surprising NCAA Final Four run as an 11 seed. “Sister Jean” has been a campus minister and the official chaplain of the Ramblers men’s basketball team. Quote of the week “We’ve been, I would say, on the 1-yard line about five times. OK? And we haven’t been able to get it done. It’ll get done. What’s the hurdle? The hurdle is always at the end day, nobody wants to be first.” — Marc Lasry, when I asked me when we will finally see a college sports program sell a piece of itself to private equity for cash. Around the league As the men’s World Cup gets ready to make its way to the U.S. next year, FIFA is already considering expanding the field to a whopping 64 teams for 2030. Next year’s World Cup, which will be played throughout North America, will involve 48 teams – an increase from the 32-team field FIFA has used since 1998, reports Front Office Sports. Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce ‘s hit podcast “New Heights” is now available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S. Among the episodes available at launch is the brothers’ Taylor Swift interview, where she revealed the release date and cover art for her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl.” The San Francisco 49ers have a deal in place to sell 3.2% of the franchise to Fortress Investment Group Managing Partner and Board Chairman Pete Briger Jr ., sources told Sports Business Journal. If this sounds familiar, the 49ers sold a 6.2% stake to three Bay Area families in May. Briger’s deal is said to be at the same $8.6 billion valuation as the minority sale in May, SBJ reports.
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