Commissioner Tagliabue Press Conference

Annual Meeting

Wednesday, March 20, 2002

 PT: Just a couple of highlights from yesterday’s meetings.  We wrapped up with the Competition Committee and you’ve all spoken to some of the coaches on that.  We had a lengthy discussion on the Arena League issues, which we wrapped up yesterday.  This morning we talked about youth football and the Youth Football Fund, which we created with the Players Association.  We discussed some of the plans we have going forward with that.  We talked about future Super Bowls and proposed a timetable for making decisions and the concept of having northern Super Bowls in open-air stadiums, including New York and Washington. 

 And then Harold Henderson and I discussed our player programs and the support that we give at the league level to the teams, who have their player program coordinators.  In that respect, we advised the clubs this morning, and I’m very pleased to announce that Michael Haynes, Hall of Famer and Pro Bowl player, will be joining us as the Vice President of Football Development.  We worked that out in recent weeks and were in the position to announce that today to the clubs.  He will be a great addition to our office and he comes to us after working at Calloway Golf. 

 In sum, we had an excellent three and a half days of a lot of activities on a wide range of subjects.  We now look forward to announcing our schedule.  Obviously, it’s the first one where we’ll have the eight-division alignment.  We’ve had some queries about the bye format on the schedule.  Basically, there will be no byes in the first two weeks and all of the byes will take place between Weeks 3 through 10.  There will be no byes from Week 11 on.  For the first time in our history, there will be 16 games during the first two weeks of our season since we have 32 teams.  And also for the first time in our history, in Weeks 11 through 17, during the playoff chase, there will be 16 games every week. 

 ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AND FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING

 PT: The status, as I said the other day, is that we’re going to discuss it with the networks again.  We have had discussions of different concepts with the networks in the past.  We’re going to be discussing with them shortly some concepts that apply to specific proposed schedules. 

 From my perspective, there are three things that are really important.  Number one is that we have more games than ever now.  If you go back before we expanded to Jacksonville and Carolina, we only had a maximum of 14 games a week.  Now we have 16 games a week down the final stretch, including the last four weeks, so there’s been a windfall in terms of the number of games.  We don’t see it as any network is losing any games, in fact, the networks have gained a larger pool of games than they’ve ever had before because of expansion. 

 The second thing is CBS and FOX, the Sunday networks, have had flexible scheduling for quite some time.  And we’ve increased that flexibility in recent years.  The flexibility is inherent in the regionalization of games on Sunday and they’ve always had the ability to take some games into larger regions of the country if they turned out to be attractive games.  In recent years, we’ve had greater flexibility for the Sunday networks in moving games from 1 PM to 4 PM or noon to 3 PM, depending on the time zones.  We did it this year with a Cleveland-Chicago game, just to take one example.  And we’ve also, for the first time in recent years, been moving games the other way, from 4 PM to 1 PM. 

 We also have built in some additional games and greater flexibility in terms of viewer’s choice a couple of years ago when we added a third game in a market where we previously only had two and the home team was playing at home and sold out.  That’s produced a substantial enlargement in the networks’ viewing audience.  That kicked in last year for over 100 games where they had greater flexibility for the audience and they had a larger number of games.  It is in that overall context that we’re looking at these continuing issues.  We think that with a 16-game pool every week, we should be able to do something that’s better for the fans and a win-win for the networks. 

 The other thing that underlies this is that we’ve seen what this system, meaning the competitiveness of the teams -- there’s such a narrow margin between winning and losing and getting into the playoffs because the league is so competitive -- that for us, it makes it harder to develop a schedule because of the unpredictability.  The unpredictability makes the scheduling difficult and we don’t see that if there’s a more intelligent way to do things and it serves the fans, our audience, then why shouldn’t we be open to new ideas.  

 ON PRIMETIME PLAYOFF GAMES

 PT: We have some specific arrangements for other weekends of the playoffs to move games later.  How much later is still under discussion, although it may have been worked out in the last few days with the networks.  But I think it’s still under discussion as to how far it will be moved.  The advantage to that is that it will give us a larger audience since more people on those Saturdays will be at home and not out running errands or working.  We feel that as long as we keep it in the reach of young fans, then it’s a plus. 

 ON DETRACTORS OF FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING

 PT: I have found over the years that a lot of people can come into discussions close-minded and then become open-minded, especially when it’s a win-win and when there’s greater flexibility for the Sunday networks.  In some ways, there’s an element of fairness and equity for all four of the networks. 

 ON NORTHERN SUPER BOWLS

PT: We reviewed both the timetable and the concept of a policy change that would open up the opportunity for northern Super Bowls in open-air stadiums, such as New York and Washington.  I summarized with the owners the genesis of the idea and the discussions we have had up to this point with the Super Bowl advisory committee.  And then the factors that we’ll be studying in depth and will be reporting back to the owners on. 

We have about eight factors that we’re looking at, starting with fan service and fan interest, both locally, nationally, and internationally.  The potential for fan development and for games in large markets to reach new fans because of the visibility of games in New York and Washington. 

The second key thing we mentioned was the interest of the teams participating in the game.  That includes practice facilities and the condition of the field for playing the game.  We talked about some financial implications and the perspective of the networks that would televise the games.  Another area would be the perspective of advertisers and sponsors.  All in all, we have about eight categories of issues that we’re going to be studying and then reporting back.  I also reported that the Jets, Giants, and Redskins have asked for the opportunity to present to the membership their perspective on games in New York and Washington, as well as the perspective of the business community and the political leadership in those communities.  So we will do that at a future league meeting.

ON THE INTEREST OF FOOTBALL IN LOS ANGELES

PT: At a certain point in life, you don’t need evidence that there’s a sun and a moon; it’s there.  We know that the interest is there.  There’s been, over the years, outstanding college football in Southern California.  There’s been outstanding high school and youth football.  There’s been great interest in the NFL and we think that’s still reflected in the TV ratings and the levels of participation in the sport.  We have every reason to think that, if and when we can get a team there, and the fans have their own home team to root for, that the interest will be there.  When you’re talking about interest that’s been in a sport for a better part of a century and with the post World War II tradition of supporting the NFL, whether it be one team or two teams, the question really is if there is any evidence to show that the interest went under the ground like a groundhog.  We don’t feel that’s the case. 

I’ve talked in various contexts about the changing demographics of America, and L.A., like New York and Chicago, is one of those great cities where the demographics have changed.  We’ve found that even with the changes, there’s still a lot of interest in our sport in the area and we just have to do things right, beginning with the stadium and then moving on to how we approach our game with youth participation.  We are working with the mayor to explore some youth football projects in the LA area that would be a part of our Youth Football Fund.  Every indication we have is that the interest in the game is there on all levels. 

 ON FUTURE SUPER BOWLS

 PT: We talked this morning about next fall’s meeting, which will be held on October 30-31 in New York.  We told the clubs that this morning.  We’ve talked about discussing Super Bowl issues possibly in May and possibly in October and certainly by next year’s annual meetings.  Jim Steeg and I both emphasized that Arizona, to take one example, was already the subject of a resolution that we adopted several years ago about playing a Super Bowl there when and if they get a new stadium.  We have to balance those commitments with those cities that have had multiple Super Bowls, like Miami and New Orleans.  Plus there’s the broader issue of northern city Super Bowls.

 ON FUTURE SUPER BOWLS

 PT: This week, both Arizona and New Orleans spoke with our Super Bowl advisory committee about their interests in Super Bowls in 2007, 2008 and beyond.  I know from discussions with the Dolphins, Wayne Huizenga and Eddie Jones, that they are interested.  I’m sure that other cities, including Houston, Detroit and Jacksonville, who are coming on line after San Diego, would like to have repeat Super Bowls.  There’s quite a long list.  Seattle spoke with me about their new stadium.  It’s going to be a long list and it always has been.  We just need to balance it the right way. 

 ON IMPROVED EQUIPMENT AND THE DYNAMICS OF THE NFL GAME

 PT: We’ve had some discussion of that.  We discussed it at other league meetings in the past.  Our approach has been to try to understand the dynamics of the game since they are different at every level.  Our players play at sizes and speeds that make our game’s dynamics different than those at the college level and the college game is different from the high school game and the high school game is different from the youth game. 

 We funded research to focus on our game and our athletes and some of that research, including the study on concussions, we’ve made that data available and manufacturers are using that.  So we’re seeing a new Riddell helmet.  That’s been our approach, to try and understand the dynamics of the game and the incidents of injury.  We look at the cause and effect and then see if the manufacturers can be responsive to that. 

 Over time, we think that will produce a greater array of improved equipment with greater safety features, but that will be a long-term process.  We did discuss this during the week and all the clubs were supportive of continuing the funding and research efforts. 

 ON THE NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY AREA HOSTING A MAJOR EVENT

 PT: There have been some preliminary discussions among our staff and representatives of the two states.  They have a tremendous amount of experience in that from having hosted World Cups and other major events, such as the NBA All Star Game in New York.  The answer is yes, but it is still in the early stages.

 ON MICHAEL HAYNES

 PT: We’ve hired him to take the position that was previously held by Lem Burnham for most of the decade.  Lem had worked at the team level with the Eagles and other pro sports teams, including the Sixers and the Phillies.  He had a strong run with us and decided to take his career in a different direction, so we had to fill his position. 

 We spoke to a number of people and Mike Haynes will be filling that position.  To some extent, we have to redefine the position because it’s a leadership position.  Lem was a leader and Mike Haynes will be a leader.  Lem had some professional training in psychology and other areas and I don’t think that Michael has that kind of training.  So we’re in the process of trying to redefine the position.  But he will definitely continue to be our point man with the club’s player program people. 

 We also feel he will have a very positive relationship with coaching staffs given his personality, intelligence and history in the league as a player, including the respect and credibility he brings to the job.  It’s a major responsibility.  We’ve had some discussions whether he will play an expanded role in future years with youth football and things like that.  But for the moment, it’s the player programs function at the league level, and relating and coordinating with all 32 teams.  And he has a staff already in place with Guy Troupe and others. 

 ON THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE DECISION

PT: First of all, we had two days of very in-depth discussions involving a lot of different football issues, including the Arena League.  There was a lot of positive prospective from Jerry Jones, Tom Benson, John York, Dan Snyder and others, who will be having or have taken franchises in the Arena Football League.  Among owners who have not taken franchises, there was some very positive prospective on the Arena League. 

Others have reservations, primarily how it fits in with the NFL.  We ended up with most of the discussion being on how do we structure a relationship with the Arena League as the NFL to take account of the fact it will be two different categories of owners – those who are NFL owners who have Arena League franchises and those who are NFL owners who don’t have Arena League franchises. 

We put forth two different concepts for doing that and it got us into a lot of discussions about the Arena League on NBC, which everyone saw as a positive.  It got us into discussions about future opportunities for NFL owners to have Arena teams in their market if arenas are built.  We covered a lot of ground and we had a short meeting last night with Dave Baker.  We tried to fill him in on the overall directions of the discussion.  Obviously, he’s trying to kick off this season soon and then next season with NBC carrying his games.  We’re going to get together in early April to continue the discussions.  We will probably come back with the subject at the May meeting and try to establish something with a vote of the member clubs, which I think we will be able to accomplish.

ON THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND THE 25 PERCENT EQUITY INVESTMENT POSITION

PT: There were quite a few people in support of the idea of taking the 25 percent equity investment position.  There were others who felt that kind of created something that could be misconstrued by fans in certain other markets.  We’ll come back to the idea of an investment, but in the meantime, we need to address other questions that people raised, including continuing to have a working relationship with the league and helping them focus on the quality of the game. 

There was discussion of seven-man outdoor football, Arena League football, NFL football, NFL Europe football and other different forms of football.  There was a feeling that we have a lot of experience and that we need to work with the Arena League in those areas, and if an investment becomes part of it, that wasn’t ruled out.  It was felt that, to some extent, we had the cart before the horse in talking about a 25 percent investment before we do some additional work with the Arena Football League people. 

ON THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND ITS APPEAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE

PT: I’m talking about the way the game is already played, in some high schools and in some parts of the country where outdoor football is seven-man football.  There are players in the Hall of Fame who didn’t play 11-man football until they got to college.  There was part of an overall discussion about the different forms of football and the fact that young people can be attracted to an indoor sport.  I thought for years that arena football has great potential to be an extremely popular intramural sport in schools that have hockey arenas and other arenas.  There’s even potential here for this to be an intercollegiate sport in schools where funding is an issue or where the size of the student body makes it hard to field a 40-man squad.  It was a far-reaching discussion on a lot of aspects of the game. 

ON THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND DIFFERENT FORMS OF FOOTBALL

PT: There are a lot of different forms of football where you don’t have 11 players on the field, including high school football in some parts of the country.  It is not unique to the Arena Football League. 

ON THE DECISION TO NOT EXERCISE THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE OPTION

PT: Part of the question in front of us was, do we exercise the option?  Basically, we made a decision not to do so at this time.  But as I said, that was not for a lack of interest in the Arena Football League but because we had the feeling that we had the cart before the horse and should instead be doing other things.  Owners will be doing that at the team level as Jerry Jones’ team kicks off this year in Dallas and other teams will be planning to kick off next year.  We told Dave last night where our internal discussions ended and how we’ll continue to have discussions with him in April and May.   

ON HIS DISCUSSION WITH DAVE BAKER OF THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

PT: The main purpose of the discussion, which lasted about half-an-hour, was to fill him in on what we had discussed.  His responsibility is Arena Football and my responsibility is the NFL’s relationship to the Arena League.  He focused on where he is and getting ready for this season and where he is on getting Dallas in to operation.  We had some other issues that came up that would be Dave’s area.  Most of the discussion we had was limited to the idea that NFL owners could only own Arena League teams and not arenafootball2 teams, and only in their NFL market.  Very late in the day, the Packers brought up the idea that they potentially had an interest in an arenafootball2 team in Wisconsin.  Those kinds of things fall into Dave’s area, but we need to consider those things too if that’s where the Packers’ interest is.  And that hadn’t occurred to me that an NFL team’s primary interest would be in an af2 team in that market.  It was a lot of discussion and Dave and I scratched the surface on a lot of those issues.

ON THE FUTURE OF THE NFL AND THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

PT: Once we sit down and get the horse before the cart, and take account of some of the things our owners brought up yesterday, that we’ll probably structure some type of arrangement that could be approved at the May meeting.  That would be my guess at this point.