NFL REPORT – SPRING 2005
COMMISSIONER’S VIEW

STATE OF THE LEAGUE

Article 8, Section 11 of the NFL Constitution and By-Laws requires the commissioner to "render an annual report to the league members at each Annual Meeting." This report is often called the "state of the league address" and is given at the major off-season league meeting in late March.

We open this report now with a stirring video from NFL Films that recaps the previous season in six minutes, a vivid way to capture the majesty of the game and the passion of our teams and fans. My report that follows is taped by NFL Network with highlights shown on that evening’s "NFL Total Access." The audience of approximately 300 people is comprised of owners, club presidents, head coaches, plus club and league executives. Here are excerpts from this year’s report:

  • "To present a successful NFL season, it takes thousands of people working together 12 months a year. The 2004 season was successful by all measures – with competitive football from start to finish."
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  • "The key rules emphasis last season was the strict enforcement of our downfield contact rules in the passing game. It produced what we expected: gains in offensive production within the range of what the Competition Committee considers desirable, and only a marginal impact on overall penalties. Also noteworthy is that NFL players are playing every game not only with quality but with class. In recent years, with strong support from our players, we have emphasized our rules on sportsmanship -- and they are working well. Penalties and fines for fighting, taunting, and illegal demonstrations are rarely necessary and are at low levels – in some cases, record low levels."
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  • "The strength of the game on the field was clearly reflected in the scale of our audiences watching NFL football in stadiums and on television. Paid attendance reached record levels for the third straight year, and NFL television ratings are stronger now versus the competition and versus other prime-time programming than at any point in history. The playoffs were the most-watched in six years and the Super Bowl was the fifth most-watched show in television history, seen by more people than voted in the 2004 Presidential election."
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  • "The extensions of our AFC and NFC television agreements with CBS and FOX affirmed the NFL as the nation’s premiere sports and entertainment attraction. The agreements give us new scheduling flexibility for plans to showcase the better performing teams on primetime TV and for a late-season ‘run-up-to-the-playoffs’ Thursday/Saturday prime-time package on cable and satellite. New agreements for our prime-time packages – currently on ABC and ESPN – are still ahead of us, and we are very confident of the continuing appeal of NFL football for fans, networks, their affiliates, and advertisers and sponsors – even with audiences fragmented by video recorders, the Internet, video games, wireless devices, and other digital wizardry."
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  • "Many, many people share the credit for the NFL’s accomplishments. We also stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us and set the foundation for the NFL’s rise to the preeminent position in sports entertainment. Today, the entire league faces a critical business challenge – not unlike others that we have successfully addressed in the past two decades. The challenge is how to restructure our leaguewide economics to extend the CBA with the Players Association; to ensure the continuing competitive quality of our game; and to continue the construction of superb new stadiums. And we must achieve these three critical goals in ways that take account of the escalating costs of club operations and that are within reach of all 32 teams…The massive private investment by the league and the teams to build stadiums entails large ongoing debt service costs that are not adequately treated in our current CBA."
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  • "All of us with a stake in the league’s future success need to address these financial realities with openness to new solutions. Together with the Players Association, the league faces challenges that present a compelling need to come together and recognize that, ultimately, all franchises are made better by strong and balanced league institutions. We have to fashion and agree upon some new and different approaches to resolve the financial issues that currently confront all member clubs."
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