LOOKING AHEAD IN THE BUSINESS OF FOOTBALL

When asked to look ahead to the NFL’s key challenges, I often highlight two – the need to adapt our electronic media distribution to new technologies and maintaining the public’s respect for the athletes and everyone else involved in our game.

Other challenges reflect the changing nature of our society and of America’s role in the world. We need to be mindful of the ongoing importance of keeping our game attractive as a participatory sport in a society that gives young people more choices than ever. We also must recognize the increasing significance of globalization and continue to invest in football internationally.

Expanding the popularity of uniquely national sports on an international basis is a long-term process. Professional soccer has been investing for almost 40 years in the United States and is still at its early stages of public appeal. Basketball took 30 to 40 years to develop internationally, beginning in the late-1950s and early-1960s when European national teams started to compete successfully in the Olympics. We, too, will eventually have a global talent pool and business opportunity if we are patient and if we understand the global environment. But it will require major long-term investment and talent development to expand our sport globally, probably spanning several generations.

As we look ahead to concluding the rest of our television agreements that take effect in 2006, we continue to recognize that we need both viewers and dollars to be successful. Broadcast television delivers the viewers but may not alone yield the necessary long-term revenue. Other forms of television may deliver additional revenue because of dual advertiser and subscriber fees, but the audience might eventually be less inclusive.

Adapting to this landscape will be crucial to the future success of all sports. We will be tested as we go forward as to choices between revenue and television viewers – between short-term resources versus long-term investments. Our relationship with the players and the Players Association also will be tested in a variety of ways, but we must ensure both the quality of the competition and the public’s respect for our players.

Most important, assuring a bright future for the NFL will require us to maintain the allure and uniqueness of our game. This means that sometimes we may need to operate on the premise that less is more so that we are successful for the long term. If you succumb to the short-term pressures to commoditize, you will ultimately become just that – a commodity that may languish in the competition for leisure-time entertainment with other attractions, including computer screens, video games, and other technology-based attractions.

Domenico De Sole, the visionary former chief executive of Gucci, often emphasized that Gucci’s success depended on acceptance of the notion that sometimes the cash register can ring less often, that the mere volume of sales is not necessarily the ultimate barometer of a healthy business. He emphasized that the image, quality, customer service, and exclusiveness of your product are as important as weekly sales.

The NFL will do everything necessary to maintain its distinctive form of sport, which is uniquely attractive to a mass audience. We will seek to continue delivering our game as something special to both sports fans and the larger public. We will not depart from our values of intense athletic competition or allow our annual football competition – culminating in the Super Bowl – to become a commodity.

It is often said that the football business is one of relationships. We will continue to nurture the special relationships that currently exist among our owners, players, fans, communities, and other audiences. This will be increasingly important as we address all of the challenges facing us in the future.

These comments were adapted from a speech Commissioner Tagliabue gave recently at the Georgetown University School of Business.

Super athletes giving super performances under super-competitive conditions: that’s the NFL, and here we go again.

With the hard work of training camp and preseason nearly complete, we are ready to kick off our 85^th season. We are proud that the NFL, combining the talent of players, coaches, administrators, and owners, continues to deliver the absolute best in sports entertainment. There is enormously positive energy as we begin the season – generated not only by of the quality of our game but also by the general maturity of our players and the way they are serving their communities.

The game of football is deeply rooted in the nation’s history and culture. It represents important values – tough competition on a level playing field; teamwork; diversity; and achievement based on hard work and performance. Football also has the unique ability to build bridges across diverse segments of society, bringing people and communities together to achieve common goals.

Because of what the game represents, we have a responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest standards in everything we do. Our goal is for the NFL and NFL players to continue to be highly respected throughout America and viewed as a positive influence on millions of Americans of all ages and walks of life.

Each year we remind our players of their obligation to uphold these high standards in their conduct on and off the field. But we do much more than pay lip service to a lofty goal. The league and all 32 of our clubs invest significant resources in the development of players as citizens and role models.

At the end of June in San Diego, our 2004 class of incoming players went through four days of intensive training at our annual Rookie Symposium. The subject matter included financial education, substance abuse, HIV prevention, media and community relations, anger management, and dealing with friends and family. Current and former players, coaches, and administrators from the NFL and NFL Players Association shared their stories to prepare our newest players for the challenges ahead. We explain that their chances to succeed on the field will improve immeasurably if they develop good life skills.

Our player development initiative does not end with the Rookie Symposium. We also conduct annual Veteran Life Skills Seminars with each team annually during the regular season. It is an opportunity to review with all players key issues impacting their lives and remind them of the resources in place at the league office and their clubs to assist players and their families.

These programs operate under the direction of the NFL Player Development Department, headed by Executive Vice President of Labor Relations Harold Henderson and Vice President of Player and Employee Development Mike Haynes, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who works closely with each club’s player development director and staff.

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NFL Player Development defines its mission as challenging players "to become lifelong learners while pursuing continuous improvement in family relations, social interactions, personal growth, and career development."

A wide-ranging series of programs are organized around three core areas: career transition, player assistance, and training and development. Players and their families participate on a year-round basis in continuing education, financial education, and career internship programs. They also have the opportunity through Player Development to connect with professional counselors on personal issues ranging from parenting to coping with stress.

All of it is designed to ensure one thing: that NFL players are the type of people that you respect and admire for what they do on and off the field in American’s most popular sport.

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NFL REPORT – SUMMER 2004
COMMISSIONER’S VIEW

                   BUILDING BRIDGES

            Much of the NFL’s appeal is rooted in tradition, in the predictable rhythms of the game and the season. While always respecting tradition, it is also our responsibility to avoid becoming stuck in the past. We have to remain open to change and innovation in an ongoing quest to improve.

            Two years ago, for example, we modified the opening week of our season by introducing a Thursday night primetime kickoff game. This gave us not only a new nationally televised season-opening event but also a platform to promote the rest of Kickoff Weekend and the new season.

            This year we are taking another step to enhance Kickoff Weekend by establishing a new tradition of holding our season-opening event in the home of the Super Bowl champion – to focus on the reigning top team -- and linking it to the next Super Bowl.

            This year’s game on Thursday night, September 9 on ABC will match the Indianapolis Colts against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts – a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game. There will be Kickoff events that week in the New England area and also in Jacksonville, where Super Bowl XXXIX will be played next February 6.

            The events in New England and Jacksonville will be linked on our one-hour NFL Kickoff show on ABC from 8-9 p.m. ET. The nationally televised show will celebrate the new season in several ways. It will recognize the super talent -- Tom Brady, Troy Brown and others – on the Super Bowl champion Patriots.  It will be a Brady-Peyton Manning rematch.   It will pay tribute to Pat Tillman and the men and women serving in our military. It will include musical elements and feature Jacksonville as the upcoming Super Bowl city.

            NFL Kickoff 2004 will create a symbolic bridge from last season to this season. “Building Bridges” is the theme we have introduced to guide our presentation of the 2004 season from Kickoff through Super Bowl XXXIX. A bridge is featured in the Super Bowl XXXIX logo. It symbolizes both the literal Jacksonville landscape with its many bridges that unite the community and the many ways the NFL brings together people and communities around their passion for football. “Building Bridges” reflects what the Super Bowl will mean to the Jacksonville community and what the NFL and the Super Bowl represent to the nation.

               We will carry forward the concepts put in place this year for NFL Kickoff and for a Super Bowl theme that links the entire season. These traditions provide a rich new opportunity to give each Super Bowl and each season a more distinctive signature while keeping the focus on the game, our top teams, our super players, and the important values that the NFL exemplifies.

            Next year, the 40^th Super Bowl will return to Detroit for the first time in more than 20 years. The new stadium -- Ford Field -- and the 40^th anniversary of the Super Bowl will give us an opportunity to think in a fresh way about Detroit as an NFL Super Bowl host city. We will do so starting with Kickoff 2005 at the home of the Super Bowl XXXIX champion.

            It already feels like a great tradition.      

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