Goodell sees new deal as his last with NFL

By The Associated Press

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell views the agreement reached on an extension last week as his final contract overseeing the NFL, a league spokesman said Wednesday.

Goodell’s extension through 2024 will allow him to help negotiate a new labor deal when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2021, and have a hand in talks over new broadcast contracts, spokesman Joe Lockhart said when announcing details of the deal signed last week.

“The commissioner I think has been clear that he views this as his last contract and will allow him to deal with some of the important issues that we know are on the horizon,” Lockhart said Wednesday at the luxury Dallas-area hotel where NFL meetings were held.

The extension has been a source of controversy because powerful Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones objected to the process led by the six-owner compensation committee and chairman Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Falcons.

Lockhart said 90 percent of the contract will be incentive based, which he said was an increase in non-guaranteed income over previous deals.

A person with knowledge of the agreement has told The Associated Press the five-year extension is worth almost $200 million with a base salary of $40 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the figures are not made public.

Goodell made nearly $32 million in 2015, the most recent year public records of the NFL are available.

Packers

Coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday that quarterback Aaron Rodgers is getting ready to play against the Carolina Panthers this weekend. Rodgers missed the past seven games after his right collarbone was broken in Week 6 at Minnesota. The two-time NFL MVP is eligible to be activated Friday, eight weeks after initially going on injured reserve. The Packers (7-6) went 3-4 with backup Brett Hundley starting to stay in the playoff race.

Falcons

Tommy Nobis, the first player drafted by Atlanta in 1966 and a hard-hitting linebacker who went on to spend his entire 11-year career with the Falcons, died after an extended illness. He was 74. The team said Nobis passed away Wednesday at his suburban Atlanta home. Nobis has been in poor health with physical and cognitive ailments that may have been related to his football career. He was among hundreds of ex-players who were part of a plan that reimburses them for expenses related to the treatment of dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS or other neurological disorders. He also was among the plaintiffs who settled a massive concussion lawsuit against the league.

Patriots

New England signed veteran receiver Kenny Britt. A 2009 first-round pick out of Rutgers, Britt was released by Cleveland last week after failing to deliver in his first season after signing a fouryear, $32.5 million contract in March. He appeared in nine games with four starts for the Browns, catching 18 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.