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NFL owners will extended Commissioner Roger Goodell's contract through 2027, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed to reporters at the league's spring meeting in Minneapolis on Tuesday (May 23).
"It's just dotting the i's and crossing the t's, but it's done," Irsay said via ESPN. "We still have to rubber-stamp it, so to speak, but it's virtually done.
"He's done so much for the league with stability. ... It's a tough job, but he's been a hard worker and worked very hard for the NFL and its success."
Goodell, 64, reiterated that he was "not extended today" but had "no doubt" that the two sides would reach an official deal.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Goodell and league owners were expected to finalize a multi-year contract extension for with NFL commissioner in March. Goodell's extension has been discussed since last season when the league's compensation committee was granted permission to get a new deal done, sources told ESPN.
"It's a healthy discussion to have. The job changes over the years," Goodell said via ESPN. "It's changed ever since I've been the commissioner. I know we will have the discussions at the appropriate time."
Goodell has been given three previous extensions in 2009, 2012 and 2017, since replacing Paul Tagliabue as the NFL's commissioner on September 1, 2006. The latest negotiations are reportedly to have gone smoothly, specifically in comparison to 2017, when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threatened to file a lawsuit before eventually being fined by the league for making legal threats.
Goodell's current contract went into effect in 2019. The commissioner has since helped finalize a collective bargaining agreement, which continued labor peace and brought more than $100 billion in a media rights deal with CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN and Amazon, as well as the upcoming multi-billion streaming deal to include its Sunday Ticket package of games on YouTube TV.