Roger Goodell Comments on Tom Brady's Suspension, Raiders Las Vegas Rumors, More

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed a number of offseason topics dominating the news cycle within his sport during a Tuesday press conference.

Goodell callied the possibility of the Oakland Raiders moving to Las Vegas “premature” and “pure speculation,” per Steve Reed of the Associated Press.

Geoffrey C. Arnold of the Oregonian reported earlier in the offseason the Raiders “agreed to a one-year deal with the City of Oakland to use the O.co Coliseum for the 2016 season,” although he noted owner Mark Davis talked about a potential new stadium with Las Vegas, San Diego and San Antonio.

Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk) said Ronnie Lott and Rodney Peete were among a group of investors who were looking to develop on the land where the O.co Coliseum stands to keep the Raiders in Oakland. 

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report noted “Goodell said he spoke with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf on Monday night about [a] stadium for [the] Raiders.” Goodell stressed there needed to be a combined solution on the issue.

Cole recently pointed out the league was more concerned with a stadium and not the gambling aspect of possibly moving to Las Vegas:

The NFL has also been in the news this week because a congressional investigation discovered the league attempted to influence the National Institutes of Health on a study on the link between brain injuries and football.

Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada of ESPN's Outside the Lines reported the NFL did not like the inclusion of Boston University’s Dr. Robert Stern and pulled a $16 million contribution when the NIH did not back down from its selection.

“Goodell said [he] didn’t have time to read” those reports on Tuesday because he was traveling on Monday, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman asked “was he taking a stagecoach?” and commented on the commissioner’s insistence he did not see the report:

Goodell did say player safety and concerns have “been our No. 1 priority” since he accepted his job, per Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated. However, Farrar added, “OK, I can’t finish this. Sheesh,” in light of the Outside the Lines report.

Outside of the Raiders and concussion studies, Deflategate has returned to the NFL news cycle this offseason, as a United States appeals court reinstated New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, per Reuters (via CNBC Now).

The NFL originally handed out that punishment after the Deflategate scandal broke, but U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman vacated the suspension. However, the reinstatement of the punishment ordered Berman to confirm it, as Andrew Brandt of ESPN reported in April.

Brady elected Monday to appeal to rehear his case, per an official release from the league.   

Goodell said on Tuesday, “I respect the [NFL Players Association's] ability to appeal. … I’m really not focused on that at all,” per Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

Goodell’s public appearance came after the league announced the Super Bowl sites for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 games earlier Tuesday. The NFL owners gave the 2019 Super Bowl to Atlanta, the 2020 game to South Florida and the 2021 event to Los Angeles.

Atlanta will open the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017, while the Los Angeles decision follows the Rams’ offseason move from St. Louis to Los Angeles.