FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2001

COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE OPENS MEETING WITH ANNUAL REVIEW

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue opened the 2001 NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Desert, California today with a 30-minute review of overall league affairs to a group of approximately 250 owners, club presidents, head coaches, front-office employees, and league officials.

Excerpts from the Commissioner’s review include:

• "We are America’s number-one sports league. We present an exciting game and are often considered the model sports league with competitive teams throughout the league. We are at record paid attendance levels – with 86 percent of games sold out in advance of the home blackout deadline – and we have, by far, the largest audience on television. New stadiums are all over the league with more on the horizon. Yet, at the same time, we are surrounded by challenges that, if not addressed intelligently, can threaten our success both short and long-term."

• "The 2000 season was competitive and exciting. The regular season was filled with memorable games, including a great run of Monday night thrillers. It was another year of surprises in our ever-competitive and ever-changing league. Six different teams have gone to the Super Bowl in the past three years; 11 different teams have made the last 12 appearances in the conference championship games. When you think you have it figured out in the National Football League, things change again. That is the result of great competition."

• "Last year there were important accomplishments for the clubs and league off the field as well. Agreements were reached with the Players Association on several issues that extended the Collective Bargaining Agreement and expanded the partnership between the league and the Association. Stadium development continued to move forward with commitments for new facilities in Chicago, Philadelphia, Arizona, and Green Bay. The new NFL Internet Network was launched. Its 40 team and league Web sites attracted a 100 percent increase in fan traffic and is the most popular league site and number-two sports site overall. Owners made important progress on realignment, including the approval of an attractive new scheduling formula that will enhance competitive equity and consistently deliver a more interesting series of games to our fans."

• "Your increased support of the NFL Europe League allocation program was an important step in strengthening our European operation. And our football people believe it will prove to be a smart NFL player development move as well."

• "This week the Competition Committee will highlight the issue of sportsmanship – respect for your opponent and the fans – as an area of emphasis this year. The Players Association, including player leaders Trace Armstrong and Nolan Harrison, urged us to tighten officiating and issue stronger fines to improve sportsmanship. The committee will discuss with you clarifying the unsportsmanslike conduct rule to more forcefully eliminate taunting – and other unacceptable actions – from our game. Related to the sportsmanship issue is our Uniform Code and its importance in projecting the right image to our fans."

• "The Competition Committee’s co-chairman Dennis Green has told me many times that the biggest winners from having and enforcing these policies will be the players themselves. Strict standards of sportsmanship, conduct, and appearance on the field will go a long way toward eliminating misconceptions about our players."

• "Our success depends on maintaining and growing a passionate -- and mass -- fan base. This requires reaching out to diverse audiences, including women, young people, and Latinos – the fastest-growing segment of our population. We congratulate the growing number of clubs who are servicing the Hispanic audience through radio broadcasts and other activities. This year ESPN will launch a Spanish-language telecast of our Sunday night games on digital cable. And we encourage all clubs to review the potential of this audience in your market and then take the appropriate steps to continue to develop it."

• "The relationship between the league and the Players Association requires constant attention, which it gets from the Management Council and the Management Council Executive Committee. Currently, this means working with the Players Association to extend the CBA beyond the current TV contracts to the 2007 season, if possible. This will not be an easy or simple negotiation. But it will mean making the salary cap/free agency system better for both players and clubs, including strict adherence to the cap concept and the introduction of performance-based pay elements."

• "We will continue to implement programs to support our television ratings. This includes permanently moving the start of the regular season to the week after Labor Day when summer has ended, which will eventually push the Super Bowl to the first week of February. It involves moving the kickoffs of late-season nationally televised Saturday games, and our Saturday playoff games, to later in the day so that the second-games on those Saturdays cross into early prime time. And we are continuing to explore the feasibility of flexible television scheduling late in the season to better ensure that we deliver our best games to the widest possible audience."

###