NFL Owners Conclude Meetings

The NFL owners announced an August 18 date to decide on a new commissioner to replace the retiring Paul Tagliabue.

An eight-man committee headed by Dan Rooney (Steelers), Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Jerry Richardson (Panthers) and Al Davis (Raiders) will trim a pre-determined list down to 3-5 individuals and the 32 NFL owners will vote.

Leading candidates for the job include Roger Goodell, NFL Chief Operating Officer; Rich McKay, Atlanta Falcons GM; Dick Cass, Baltimore Ravens president and Michael Powell, son of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former chairman of the FCC.

They appear to be the front runners, but more names will be added and a surprise could come forth. The NFL will and should take its time in selecting a new commissioner. The league has been blessed with two of the greatest leaders that any sport has ever had in Pete Rozelle and Tagliabue.

Because of them, the National Football League has grown into a multi-billion dollar juggernaut and surpassed baseball years ago as the nations favorite sport. Heck, most teams in the league can draw 40-50,000 for a preseason game! The individual chosen will have gigantic shoes to fill.

In other news from the meetings, as expected the league said no to Reggie Bush getting his number changed. He wanted to wear his number five from college, but the NFL has a rule that running backs wear 20-49. Five is reserved for quarterbacks and kickers.

The league started the numbers policy back in 1973 and haven't deviated from it except last year when receivers were given permission to wear numbers in the teens. The change was made because of all the tight ends and receivers that make NFL rosters now. Most franchises were running out of numbers in the eighties.

The NFL is a league of tradition and I agree with them. Bush knew what the league rules were and no matter how talented he is, he is not bigger then the game. Agree or disagree, those are the rules of the NFL and players have to abide by them.

Finally, the owners took one step forward in their determination to have a franchise in L.A. as soon as possible.

The NFL will give $10 million dollars, $5 million each to Los Angeles and Anaheim (the two front-runners for a team in the L.A. area) to use towards looking into refurbishing an existing stadium or to look for locations to build a new one.

The owners have stated emphatically that they don't want an expansion franchise, because they would have to create a 34th team as well for scheduling purposes. The league really favors the refurbishing of the L.A. Coliseum.

The NFL knows that to build a new stadium in the Los Angeles area will run about $600-850 million (chump change!) and the Coliseum is financially better for a new owner, the city and the league to get a team in right away. After the franchise is established in the area and revenues are flowing, then and only then, get to work on a new stadium.

Look for the San Diego Chargers or the New Orleans Saints to be the team that will land in L.A. The NFL would love for the Chargers to go. The franchise started in Los Angeles back in 1960 as a member of the old AFL.

The league wants to keep the Saints in New Orleans to reward their fans for staying by the team even after the destruction that Katrina left on the city. The problem is owner Tom Benson has wanted to leave New Orleans for years, even before Big K showed up. Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the U.S. and the Superdome, even with the refurbishing it received, is an outdated stadium.

Only time will tell, but rest assured, the NFL is firmly resolved to have a franchise in Los Angeles and it's only a matter of time before it happens.

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