December 6, 2023 • 13 mins
On this episode we're joined by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The Commissioner gives insight on why Las Vegas is well suited to be an extraordinary host for the Super Bowl in 2024 and beyond.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Inside the Vegas Huddle,your podcast connection to the events and initiatives
led by the Las Vegas Super Bowlfifty eight Host Committee in advance of the
big game at Allegian Stadium. Welcometo Inside the Vegas Huddle, and welcome
(00:22):
to Inside the Vegas Huddle. We'reexcited as we count down to Super Bowl
fifty eight right here in Las Vegas, and we are very pleased to have
the Commissioner of the National Football League, mister Roger Goodell, joins us and
appreciate you spending a few minutes withus here. I'm so excited. I
know you are. The NFL isfor Super Bowl fifty eight right here on
CBS in lawst right. Don't forgetthat. Yes, don't peak too early,
as I told you so. Yes, we're so excited ourselves. This
(00:44):
is going to be this is goingto be a special event for us as
well as this community. And Ithink we'll show the world all the great
things about Vegas. What is themagic of Las Vegas. Because I've heard
from so many people, your peopleincluded from the NFL, the Host Committee,
the LBCBA that says this is thiswill set the bar to a new
level of super Bowl excitement and forthe NFL, well, I think it's
(01:06):
because you know how to do bigevents, you know how to embrace these,
you know how to make them biggerultimately, and it's a community that
people want to come and experience greatevents. So I think this in many
ways will set a new bar.We'd like to do that every year so
that somebody tries to leap over atthe next year. And I think this
will be special for our fans.But as I said, I'm really hopeful
(01:29):
that this community would be proud ofthis event when we leave. You mentioned
in there and there's no mix,but you got to figure Las Vegas if
there was a mix to get intoa super Bowl mix, this won't be
the last super Bowl in Las Vegas. Well, they're clearly in the mix,
but you know you have to performto stay in the mix. So
and I have no doubt that thissuper Bowl will be extraordinary, and it's
(01:49):
something that so many people are contributing. We have a great partnership here with
the super Bowl Host Committee of thepublic and private sector, so many wonderful
partners in this community. All ofthat is going to contribute to something that
I think will embrace this community ina way that all of them will get
to share in that and the joyof putting on something great and a long
(02:10):
lasting legacy for this community. Youknow, we used to always say,
if you can't go to the superBowl. This is back in the day,
your early years as commissioner, Ifyou can't go to the super Bowl,
the next best place is Las Vegasbecause we could come here and have
found there were parties. But yourecall there was a time before the Supreme
Court made all this possible, thatthat Vegas was kind of a taboo city.
Well, you know, I justsaid this earlier, you know,
(02:34):
to me to see the way LasVegas has evolved. It's flourished, It's
become an incredible destination spot and entertainmentcapital of the world in many ways.
And I think all that's attribute tothe leadership here to understanding what it took
to get that to that place,to bringing in the types of events like
(02:54):
Super Bowls and F one and allthe other events that have contributed so much
to the community. I think that'sa tribute to the leadership. And that's
on the public and private sector aswell as this community in general. People
love it, and you can seethat in the way events are happening here.
The passion. I know there's agovernors and city council leaders and mayors
(03:17):
who are saying the Supreme Court didso much good in terms of allowing gaming
and all the states and sports gamblingand so forth. And really it'sself the
NFL and you think of fantasy footballand you guys are now associated with Caesars.
It's really done a lot, hasn'tit for the NFL? Well?
I think it gives people another wayto engage in our sport and our games
(03:38):
and our events, and so that'salways a good thing. Ultimately, you
know, it's there are challenges thatcome with anything that we just have to
make sure we protect the intake itto the game. But you know,
our partners here have been great onthat, and our partners on a national
and global basis have been great onthat. It's part of something we deal
with we take seriously. But it'sbeen a huge win for all of us.
(04:00):
Somebody told me out here prior tothat, Roger took his family to
the Taylor Swift concert, so Iknow he likes standards with how cool has
that been with Travis Kelcey and Taylorjust eyeballs on the spot. People who
may not have been into the gameof the NFL now we're watching and kind
of vice versa. Yeah, listenagain. You know, anything that brings
attention to the sport in a waythat it gives people a chance to sort
(04:24):
of say, what is it aboutthe NFL or what is it about Taylor
Swifts and Travis Kelce's relationship, Itjust creates more interest. And she performed
for us on our kickoff game severalyears ago. She's an extraordinary artist,
a wonderful person and someone that I'mnot surprised to see your success, but
(04:45):
glad it's part of the NFL too. And speaking of entertainment, the halftime
shows are gigantic now. They're asbig as the game itself in some people's
eyes. And you got Usher comingto fifty eight. Yeah, well,
we try to get a little bitof a local flare to that sure,
in a residence here. But youknow, I think the halftime show has
become incredibly important for not just ouraudience at the stadium, but also obviously
(05:05):
our television audience on a global basis, and it does bring in more viewership.
It brings in casual viewers, andwe hope it's all part of the
entertainment. We hope we can addanother aspect of the Super Bowl why people
want to watch. They even liketo watch our commercials, which is really
it's a big part of our showand our advertisers are a big part of
(05:26):
that. You were saying those arethe most stressful twelve minutes for an artist,
right, Yes, that was Severalhave said that, but when Bruce
Ringston said it to me, Iwas really taken back because he's done a
lot of performances, but he candictate how long it goes. He had
to come out, he had tohit it, and he had twelve minutes
to get on and off stage andlight up the world, and he did.
(05:50):
Internationally, the game has just grownbeyond belief in a way where it's
just becoming so big And I wassurprised for four million, more and a
half million and a half tickets couldhave been sold for our two Germany games.
What does that kind of tell youabout the league in the NFL and
just how excited it is over therethat there's great potential that we have fans
on a global basis that we needto do more to bring the game to
(06:14):
our fans. That's all of whatwe're really focused on, and a big
initiative for us. Becoming an Olympicsport in twenty eight is something that we
think is going to provide a greatopportunity to promote the game of football on
a global basis, but also togive young girls and young boys a chance
to play the game even outside ofthe Olympics and maybe compete in the Olympics.
(06:35):
But to get that ability to playfootball is something we want to share
with them. Own players obviously bigger, faster, stronger, certainly than when
you've gotten involved in the NFL andthen we've been around watching it forever.
Player safety is always such a bigconcern on the top of your guys' minds
all the time, isn't it.It is because we, you know,
(06:55):
we always look for things what wecan do to make the game safer.
That could be changes and looking attechniques to remove them from the game.
It can be improving equipment, Itcan be improving our surfaces where we play,
our cleats, and so we studythis, We invest in research,
We bring all of the data togetherto help us look at what changes we
(07:17):
want to make to the game tomake it safer as well as more exciting.
And I think we've proven we cando the two together. And that's
something that some people doubted we coulddo, but clearly we've been able to
do that. And diversity in theleague, it just keeps climbing. You
guys make a big effort there aswell, so where you have just the
diverse on and off the field reallyright, even female referees and so forth.
(07:42):
Absolutely, and again it's a partof making the NFL great. And
you know, you have to havegreat talent, and so we want talent
from every sector, every place.They can all contribute to making the NFL
better. And so we love that. And diversity is a core, fundamental
aspect of the NFL. Quarterbacks arethe biggest stars on the team. Recently
(08:03):
Tom Brady talked about that. Butit's almost it's kind of a tough fine
line you have to cross. Imean, is the game getting softer?
Perhaps not, but you want toprotect the quarterbacks, and these quarterbacks that
are injured right now, those arethe players that fans want to come see.
That's kind of a's is the gamegetting softer? No? And I'll
bite you down the sideline sometime andyou'll see, and you mentioned before,
(08:24):
the players are faster, they're bigger. That equates to more force. And
so what we believe is the gamecan still be full contact, but you
just have to take those techniques thatwe see data that supports that they lead
to an injury. So we're lookingat types of hip drop as a new
one where it's a technique that leadsto more serious injuries. We want to
(08:48):
figure out how to address that andhow to get that out of the game
so that you see contact and yousee the toughness of the players, but
you also get to see them onthe field say there and be healthy,
not just why they're playing, butalso after they leave the field. I
couldn't let you leave without talking aboutAl Davis. I mean, people love
him wherever you go. He waskind of a maverick, one of those
(09:11):
guys. And so, what doyou have any kind of cool little story
or something about Al Davis that youcan share with us. Well, Al
taught me a lot as young.I've been in the league nearly forty two
years, and to see somebody whohas a passion for the game, I've
never seen anyone who has that kindof passion. It always is about the
game. But I think people underestimatethe influence he had in the league in
(09:33):
so many areas. He was aninnovator. He brought the first to hire
a black head coach in the modernera, to bring in a female president
of the club, to change theway standard the NFL was run in some
way. He challenged status quo inso many ways, and I think ultimately
(09:56):
those things continue to make us better. Look at what if your job would
be to raise revenue, get moreeyeballs on the sport, and just to
increase the popularity. You've certainly doneyour drive, you know, terrific successful
job. So kind of what doyou feel as next? What can you
do better to five years down theroad or something? Or is it do
(10:16):
more of it? You know?I think again, to share our game
internationally and make this a global sport. I think the potential is so clearly
there from the experience we've had.We're going to expand the regular season series,
We're going to continue to do that. So I believe making our sport
global is a big initiative. Butall the things we work on keeping our
(10:37):
game competitive, you know we nowhave seventy one percent of our games that
are within seven points in the fourthquarter. Never been more competitive. Great
young players, including at the quarterbackposition, that are stepping in and just
playing lights out. So for us, we want to keep the game,
the focus on that and the qualityand the competition continue to grow it can
(11:00):
enjoy it and make sure that wecontinue to do everything with the highest quality.
That's what we want to do,all right. Final question, I
know you're having a blast doing this. I had to write this down,
the challenges to have fun, tokeep going. If you were to walk
away right now, how do youwant to be remembered. Well, I'm
so busy, I can't even thinkabout that. And there's so much you
know, I look forward, Idon't look backwards. The only time we
(11:24):
look back is to see what wecan learn and see how we can get
better. But for me, there'sso much potential. I think the best
days of the NFL ahead of it, and I want to help try to
keep us down that path and tokeep us on that track because I do
believe the potential for this sport isstill only being scratched. If someone had
(11:46):
never seen a National Football League game, and they came to us and describe
it to me, how would youdescribe a National League football game. I
think that's what makes football so excitingbecause there's so much strategy to it,
there's so much athletic ability to there'steamwork. The things that I learned so
much from playing the game that Ithink are foundational to who I am and
(12:09):
frankly represents the values of so manypeople. The hard work, the determination,
the resiliency, the teamwork, allof that makes football truly unique.
There's no better team sport. Andwhen you see that all come together and
then you see the drama of itall. People like to tease that we
write the script. I couldn't thinkof these scripts, and neither could our
(12:31):
team, and it's things just evolvedso quickly, and I think that's really
the fascination of the sport. Well, the writer's got to get back in
the super Bowl. Yes they do, Yes, And I know they're focused
on it, and I know Markand Sandra and so many of the Raiders
fans are looking forward to that day. Thank you, Thanks Chris four
This is Inside the Vegas Huddle,your podcast connection to the events and initiatives
led by the Las Vegas Super Bowlfifty eight Host Committee in advance of the
big game at Allegian Stadium. Welcometo Inside the Vegas Huddle, and welcome
(00:22):
to Inside the Vegas Huddle. We'reexcited as we count down to Super Bowl
fifty eight right here in Las Vegas, and we are very pleased to have
the Commissioner of the National Football League, mister Roger Goodell, joins us and
appreciate you spending a few minutes withus here. I'm so excited. I
know you are. The NFL isfor Super Bowl fifty eight right here on
CBS in lawst right. Don't forgetthat. Yes, don't peak too early,
as I told you so. Yes, we're so excited ourselves. This
(00:44):
is going to be this is goingto be a special event for us as
well as this community. And Ithink we'll show the world all the great
things about Vegas. What is themagic of Las Vegas. Because I've heard
from so many people, your peopleincluded from the NFL, the Host Committee,
the LBCBA that says this is thiswill set the bar to a new
level of super Bowl excitement and forthe NFL, well, I think it's
(01:06):
because you know how to do bigevents, you know how to embrace these,
you know how to make them biggerultimately, and it's a community that
people want to come and experience greatevents. So I think this in many
ways will set a new bar.We'd like to do that every year so
that somebody tries to leap over atthe next year. And I think this
will be special for our fans.But as I said, I'm really hopeful
(01:29):
that this community would be proud ofthis event when we leave. You mentioned
in there and there's no mix,but you got to figure Las Vegas if
there was a mix to get intoa super Bowl mix, this won't be
the last super Bowl in Las Vegas. Well, they're clearly in the mix,
but you know you have to performto stay in the mix. So
and I have no doubt that thissuper Bowl will be extraordinary, and it's
(01:49):
something that so many people are contributing. We have a great partnership here with
the super Bowl Host Committee of thepublic and private sector, so many wonderful
partners in this community. All ofthat is going to contribute to something that
I think will embrace this community ina way that all of them will get
to share in that and the joyof putting on something great and a long
(02:10):
lasting legacy for this community. Youknow, we used to always say,
if you can't go to the superBowl. This is back in the day,
your early years as commissioner, Ifyou can't go to the super Bowl,
the next best place is Las Vegasbecause we could come here and have
found there were parties. But yourecall there was a time before the Supreme
Court made all this possible, thatthat Vegas was kind of a taboo city.
Well, you know, I justsaid this earlier, you know,
(02:34):
to me to see the way LasVegas has evolved. It's flourished, It's
become an incredible destination spot and entertainmentcapital of the world in many ways.
And I think all that's attribute tothe leadership here to understanding what it took
to get that to that place,to bringing in the types of events like
(02:54):
Super Bowls and F one and allthe other events that have contributed so much
to the community. I think that'sa tribute to the leadership. And that's
on the public and private sector aswell as this community in general. People
love it, and you can seethat in the way events are happening here.
The passion. I know there's agovernors and city council leaders and mayors
(03:17):
who are saying the Supreme Court didso much good in terms of allowing gaming
and all the states and sports gamblingand so forth. And really it'sself the
NFL and you think of fantasy footballand you guys are now associated with Caesars.
It's really done a lot, hasn'tit for the NFL? Well?
I think it gives people another wayto engage in our sport and our games
(03:38):
and our events, and so that'salways a good thing. Ultimately, you
know, it's there are challenges thatcome with anything that we just have to
make sure we protect the intake itto the game. But you know,
our partners here have been great onthat, and our partners on a national
and global basis have been great onthat. It's part of something we deal
with we take seriously. But it'sbeen a huge win for all of us.
(04:00):
Somebody told me out here prior tothat, Roger took his family to
the Taylor Swift concert, so Iknow he likes standards with how cool has
that been with Travis Kelcey and Taylorjust eyeballs on the spot. People who
may not have been into the gameof the NFL now we're watching and kind
of vice versa. Yeah, listenagain. You know, anything that brings
attention to the sport in a waythat it gives people a chance to sort
(04:24):
of say, what is it aboutthe NFL or what is it about Taylor
Swifts and Travis Kelce's relationship, Itjust creates more interest. And she performed
for us on our kickoff game severalyears ago. She's an extraordinary artist,
a wonderful person and someone that I'mnot surprised to see your success, but
(04:45):
glad it's part of the NFL too. And speaking of entertainment, the halftime
shows are gigantic now. They're asbig as the game itself in some people's
eyes. And you got Usher comingto fifty eight. Yeah, well,
we try to get a little bitof a local flare to that sure,
in a residence here. But youknow, I think the halftime show has
become incredibly important for not just ouraudience at the stadium, but also obviously
(05:05):
our television audience on a global basis, and it does bring in more viewership.
It brings in casual viewers, andwe hope it's all part of the
entertainment. We hope we can addanother aspect of the Super Bowl why people
want to watch. They even liketo watch our commercials, which is really
it's a big part of our showand our advertisers are a big part of
(05:26):
that. You were saying those arethe most stressful twelve minutes for an artist,
right, Yes, that was Severalhave said that, but when Bruce
Ringston said it to me, Iwas really taken back because he's done a
lot of performances, but he candictate how long it goes. He had
to come out, he had tohit it, and he had twelve minutes
to get on and off stage andlight up the world, and he did.
(05:50):
Internationally, the game has just grownbeyond belief in a way where it's
just becoming so big And I wassurprised for four million, more and a
half million and a half tickets couldhave been sold for our two Germany games.
What does that kind of tell youabout the league in the NFL and
just how excited it is over therethat there's great potential that we have fans
on a global basis that we needto do more to bring the game to
(06:14):
our fans. That's all of whatwe're really focused on, and a big
initiative for us. Becoming an Olympicsport in twenty eight is something that we
think is going to provide a greatopportunity to promote the game of football on
a global basis, but also togive young girls and young boys a chance
to play the game even outside ofthe Olympics and maybe compete in the Olympics.
(06:35):
But to get that ability to playfootball is something we want to share
with them. Own players obviously bigger, faster, stronger, certainly than when
you've gotten involved in the NFL andthen we've been around watching it forever.
Player safety is always such a bigconcern on the top of your guys' minds
all the time, isn't it.It is because we, you know,
(06:55):
we always look for things what wecan do to make the game safer.
That could be changes and looking attechniques to remove them from the game.
It can be improving equipment, Itcan be improving our surfaces where we play,
our cleats, and so we studythis, We invest in research,
We bring all of the data togetherto help us look at what changes we
(07:17):
want to make to the game tomake it safer as well as more exciting.
And I think we've proven we cando the two together. And that's
something that some people doubted we coulddo, but clearly we've been able to
do that. And diversity in theleague, it just keeps climbing. You
guys make a big effort there aswell, so where you have just the
diverse on and off the field reallyright, even female referees and so forth.
(07:42):
Absolutely, and again it's a partof making the NFL great. And
you know, you have to havegreat talent, and so we want talent
from every sector, every place.They can all contribute to making the NFL
better. And so we love that. And diversity is a core, fundamental
aspect of the NFL. Quarterbacks arethe biggest stars on the team. Recently
(08:03):
Tom Brady talked about that. Butit's almost it's kind of a tough fine
line you have to cross. Imean, is the game getting softer?
Perhaps not, but you want toprotect the quarterbacks, and these quarterbacks that
are injured right now, those arethe players that fans want to come see.
That's kind of a's is the gamegetting softer? No? And I'll
bite you down the sideline sometime andyou'll see, and you mentioned before,
(08:24):
the players are faster, they're bigger. That equates to more force. And
so what we believe is the gamecan still be full contact, but you
just have to take those techniques thatwe see data that supports that they lead
to an injury. So we're lookingat types of hip drop as a new
one where it's a technique that leadsto more serious injuries. We want to
(08:48):
figure out how to address that andhow to get that out of the game
so that you see contact and yousee the toughness of the players, but
you also get to see them onthe field say there and be healthy,
not just why they're playing, butalso after they leave the field. I
couldn't let you leave without talking aboutAl Davis. I mean, people love
him wherever you go. He waskind of a maverick, one of those
(09:11):
guys. And so, what doyou have any kind of cool little story
or something about Al Davis that youcan share with us. Well, Al
taught me a lot as young.I've been in the league nearly forty two
years, and to see somebody whohas a passion for the game, I've
never seen anyone who has that kindof passion. It always is about the
game. But I think people underestimatethe influence he had in the league in
(09:33):
so many areas. He was aninnovator. He brought the first to hire
a black head coach in the modernera, to bring in a female president
of the club, to change theway standard the NFL was run in some
way. He challenged status quo inso many ways, and I think ultimately
(09:56):
those things continue to make us better. Look at what if your job would
be to raise revenue, get moreeyeballs on the sport, and just to
increase the popularity. You've certainly doneyour drive, you know, terrific successful
job. So kind of what doyou feel as next? What can you
do better to five years down theroad or something? Or is it do
(10:16):
more of it? You know?I think again, to share our game
internationally and make this a global sport. I think the potential is so clearly
there from the experience we've had.We're going to expand the regular season series,
We're going to continue to do that. So I believe making our sport
global is a big initiative. Butall the things we work on keeping our
(10:37):
game competitive, you know we nowhave seventy one percent of our games that
are within seven points in the fourthquarter. Never been more competitive. Great
young players, including at the quarterbackposition, that are stepping in and just
playing lights out. So for us, we want to keep the game,
the focus on that and the qualityand the competition continue to grow it can
(11:00):
enjoy it and make sure that wecontinue to do everything with the highest quality.
That's what we want to do,all right. Final question, I
know you're having a blast doing this. I had to write this down,
the challenges to have fun, tokeep going. If you were to walk
away right now, how do youwant to be remembered. Well, I'm
so busy, I can't even thinkabout that. And there's so much you
know, I look forward, Idon't look backwards. The only time we
(11:24):
look back is to see what wecan learn and see how we can get
better. But for me, there'sso much potential. I think the best
days of the NFL ahead of it, and I want to help try to
keep us down that path and tokeep us on that track because I do
believe the potential for this sport isstill only being scratched. If someone had
(11:46):
never seen a National Football League game, and they came to us and describe
it to me, how would youdescribe a National League football game. I
think that's what makes football so excitingbecause there's so much strategy to it,
there's so much athletic ability to there'steamwork. The things that I learned so
much from playing the game that Ithink are foundational to who I am and
(12:09):
frankly represents the values of so manypeople. The hard work, the determination,
the resiliency, the teamwork, allof that makes football truly unique.
There's no better team sport. Andwhen you see that all come together and
then you see the drama of itall. People like to tease that we
write the script. I couldn't thinkof these scripts, and neither could our
(12:31):
team, and it's things just evolvedso quickly, and I think that's really
the fascination of the sport. Well, the writer's got to get back in
the super Bowl. Yes they do, Yes, And I know they're focused
on it, and I know Markand Sandra and so many of the Raiders
fans are looking forward to that day. Thank you, Thanks Chris four
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