Roger Goodell came under fire throughout this season. (Getty Images)

Commissioner Roger Goodell did not have the greatest year. The 2014 NFL season was one rife with scandal, whether it be Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Ray McDonald or player safety. In reading the recent profile of Goodell in GQ magazine, one gets the impression that the constant scandals could have been avoided -- or at least mitigated -- had Goodell shifted his priorities a bit. Here's a breakdown of some of the more interesting points of the article. 

On alienating players

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue criticized the way Goodell has had a laser-like focus on profit and alienated the league's players.

"If they see you making decisions only in economic terms, they start to understand that and question what you're all about," Tagliabue said. "There's a huge intangible value in peace. There's a huge intangible value in having allies."

The alienation of the players is made even more clear by Cincinnati Bengals tackle Eric Winston, who also serves as the president of the NFL Players Association. Winston let on that he and other players believe the league has succeeded these past few years in spite of Goodell, not because of him.

"You could be the worst bartender at spring break, but you'd still be killing it," Winston said.

Goodell has made enemies of the players by taking an extraordinarily hard-line stance in labor negotiations, serving as both judge and jury on personal conduct issues and purporting to care about player safety while at the same time expanding the schedule of Thursday games and advocating for an 18-game regular season.

Falling out with Tagliabue

Meanwhile, Tagliabue also let on that he and Goodell aren't in contact much anymore these days. "We haven't talked much since I left. It's been his decision. Bountygate didn't help."

It's a rather strange turn of events, considering Goodell was Tagliabue's long-time confidant and right-hand man. They used to go to dinner together frequently while Tagliabue's wife remained in Washington.

"Paul was lonely, and Roger was his wingman," a former executive said.

But in the wake of Tagliabue's review of Goodell's handling of the New Orleans Saints Bountygate scandal, their relationship has become strained.

"I talked to him after I issued the bounty decision," Tagliabue said. "I explained I was doing it and why. He didn't think I would vacate all the discipline. He said, 'I was surprised where you came out.'"

Losing owner support

The fallout from Bountygate apparently saw Goodell lose support from at least one owner. Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said one of the main reasons Saints owner Tom Benson resigned from the three league committees he was on was Bountygate. "Tom's a green-eyeshade accountant of many years," McNair said. "He's just not happy about what happened." (Benson denied the assertion to GQ through a spokesperson.)

Bountygate is not the only controversy Goodell has had to deal with. Many have criticized his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case in particular. Goodell initially suspended Rice for only two games after he punched his then-fiance Janay Palmer (now Janay Palmer Rice) in a casino elevator, knocking her unconscious. Critics observed that Rice was suspended for half the amount of games for his trangression that various violators of the NFL's controlled susbtances policy were for testing positive for marijuana. It was indeed a very bad look.

When the full video of Rice striking Palmer and dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator became public and Goodell subsequently amended the suspension, making it indefinite, criticism became even louder. The impetuosity gave off the impression that Goodell was just swinging wildly, with public relations being the primary concern. Goodell stated that his reason for amending the suspension was because Rice's original account of the altercation was ambiguous, but that was later found not to be the case by the judge who vacated his punishment. In the hearing on the issue, Goodell appeared sloppy and unprepared. This just brought more criticism his way.

Relationship with Kraft

One owner, according to GQ, he never lost the support of, though: Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots. Kraft has gone to bat for Goodell multiple times, voicing support for the commissioner's $44 million salary, among other things. According to GQ, Kraft personally called multiple owners and lobbied them to issue statements backing the commissioner after the TMZ video of Rice came out. One NFL executive quoted in the piece called Kraft "the assistant commissioner" because of the power and influence he wields within the NFL and the league office.

The relationship between Kraft and Goodell is obviously in the spotlight right now as the league deals with the fallout from its newest scandal, Deflategate. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said Sunday that he doubts the Patriots will be punished for whatever happened with their footballs in the AFC Championship Game. "Will they be punished? Probably not. Not as long as Roger Goodell and Robert Kraft are still taking pictures at their respective homes," Sherman said. "I think it was just at Kraft's house last week before the AFC championship, you know. Talk about conflict of interest."

Sherman's not the only one who thinks Goodell gives preferential treatment to certain owners. The GQ story singled out Jets owner Woody Johnson as one who feels the same way. There's no doubt that feeling was cemented when seeing the punishment levied by Goodell on the Patriots for the Spygate (and can we come up with a different term for scandals besides "gate", please?) scandal. There were modest fines issued to the team and head coach Bill Belichick, and the team was docked one first-round draft pick. That punishment paled in comparison to the Bountygate scandal, where various players and coaches received long suspensions, the team was fined twice the amount the Patriots were, and they were stripped of two second-round picks.

Protecting the shield

Still, according to GQ, Goodell has maintained support from the large majority of ownership because he has maximized profits and very aggressively defended them on issues like the concussion lawsuit.

Goodell vigorously went after New York Times journalist Alan Schwartz, whose series of concussion reports drove much of the debate on the issue. "Roger felt this guy is out to get us," a league source repeatedly told GQ. After a 2009 HBO Real Sports segment embarrassed one of the league's doctors, Dr. Ira Casson, Goodell reportedly called the president of HBO Sports and complained.

"[Roger] was shocked by it," Casson said. "A few weeks later, he told me the president of HBO Sports had written a personal letter apologizing for the way they treated me."

"It was about protecting the brand," Texans owner McNair said of the concussion settlement Goodell negotiated with former players, which has since been thrown out by the judge, who removed the $675 million cap.

"Do we want the brand attacked on this for the next 10 years? Or do we want to go ahead and take the high road? In effect, we don't think most of these concussions referenced even occurred in the NFL, but we're not going to complain about it."

That attitude reflects what Goodell had said as recently as 2009, that he was not sure there was a link between head trauma and professional football.

"He's had a lot of challenges," Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said, "but I think he's done a good job with a very difficult situation." That's an opinion that not many outside the ownership circle seem to share these days.


This post has been updated to reflect the relationship between Roger Goodell and Paul Tagliabue. It originally stated that Goodell was once Tagliabue's driver, not a frequent dinner companion. Goodell was in fact former commissioner Pete Rozelle's driver for a time.