I've thought for a while that Roger Baddell isn't a very good commissioner. It's taken a while, but others are starting to see the light, too. Mr. Brilliant Commissioner's new contract was supposed to be signed, sealed and delivered by now, but, as we approach November, it's still unsigned. And we really have one man to thank for that. Jerry Jones.
Jones isn't a member of the NFL's compensation committee, which determines the commissioner's salary. That's headed by the Falcons' Arthur Blank. But Jerry Jones is one of the most influential owners in the league (perhaps the most influential), and his opinion is valued by the other owners. And Jerry Jones has some Texas-sized problems with Ole' Rog. Big enough problems to stall the extension.
There was a conference call last week (presumably led by Jones) among half of the NFL's owners, and they all seemed to be on the same page about the commissioner. However, that group of 17, as unhappy as they might be, isn't enough to do anything to halt the extension. It requires 24 votes to force Baddell out, and it doesn't seem likely that seven other owners would come around to their way of thinking. But the fact that this is a topic of conversation (and one that has been made public) speaks volumes.
The national anthem thing has angered a lot of owners (Jones and the Texans' Bob McNair the most vocal among them), and that appears to be the last straw for this dissatisfied group. Although, if you think about it, the national anthem controversy is just the latest on a long list of recent negative headlines for the NFL. In fact, can you name a positive story out of the NFL over the past few years?
Most of the owners didn't care that Baddell is inept until now because they were still making a crap load of money. The NFL's total revenue has risen from $6 billion in 2006 to $15 billion this year. But...TV ratings and ticket sales are both down...and people have noticed. As a result, they've started paying attention, too.
Baddell's next contract is going to take him thru the NFL's next CBA negotiation. A negotiation that we already know will be contentious and will probably include a work stoppage. Which is not a surprise. Because the players hate him. Worse, they don't trust him.
And why should the players trust him? Baddell has done nothing to make them think he's even remotely on their side. From his lack of ignoring of player safety for too long (while still pushing for an 18-game season, Thursday night games and more international games) to his iron-fisted handling of player discipline, which even the owners agree needs to change, and has led to lawsuit after lawsuit between the league and the union.
Now we've got the national anthem controversy, where Baddell is trying very hard not to take a public stance against the players. Which backfired spectacularly. Because there were plenty of owners (Dallas, Washington, Houston) who wanted him to come down hard and force them to stand. When he wouldn't do that, it didn't sit well.
He's pissed off plenty of owners with his player discipline decisions, too. Robert Kraft was one of Baddell's biggest supporters...until Deflategate. Now Jerry Jones has Baddell in his crosshairs over Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension, which has been put back into effect by a federal judge, likely costing the Cowboys their best player until mid-December.
So, to recap. The fans already don't like him. The players already hate him. Now he's losing the support of the owners, or at least some of them. Enough to delay proceedings that even they realize are still probably inevitable. At the very least, there's no viable alternative right now, so they realize they're stuck with him as their least-bad current option.
All of this has led some pundits to call for Baddell to resign, or at least wonder if he will. Well, that seems about as likely as another well-known "leader" who's terrible at his job resigning.
Maybe what this will do is serve as a wake-up call for Baddell. He's convinced he's doing a great job. After all, he's making the owners more money. But there's more to being commissioner than making the owners money. The players are the owners' employees, but the two sides are also partners. The commissioner is supposed to be a bridge between those two sides. Not a stooge who just does whatever the owners want. And this guy can't even do that.
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