Exclusive: SB Nation Interviews NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Negotiator Jeff Pash

Below is the full transcript of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and lead negotiator Jeff Pash’s interview with SB Nation NFL bloggers.

Commissioner Goodell and Jeff Pash with SB Nation

Earlier this week Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the NFL schedule release will go on as usual sometime in the middle of April. Releasing a schedule for next season is making the assumption that there will, you know, actually be a season.

We’re in a lockout right now and we don’t know when it’ll be resolved. But, if this thing rolls into later into the summer, at some point the league will have to decide when games will be canceled. if they work out a deal the first week of September, for example, I’m not sure the week one games can go as planned.

What we don’t know, though, is where the incoming class of rookies stand. They’re not NFL players yet so they’re not technically in the union (or the organization formerly known as the NFLPA). Yet they’ve already declared for the draft so they’re definitely not college players anymore.

It almost feels at times like this group is being overlooked. SB Nation interviewed Roger Goodell on Thursday and asked him about the incoming class. His response is that they’re most definitely not being overlooked.

Earlier this week Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL’s Competition Committee, announced several rule change proposals for the NFL entering into the 2011-12 season (if there is a 2011-12 season). One of those proposals was moving the kickoff from the 30 to the 35-yard line and touchbacks from the 20 to the 25-yard line.

As a fan, I was disappointed to hear this proposal. The kickoff return (for a touchdown) is one of the most exciting plays that can happen in a game and this rule change would decrease the likelihood of seeing that.

The NFL and NFLPA did not reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement last week and we’ve officially entered a lockout so plenty of NFL players have been expressing frustration at the situation.

One of those players was Adrian Peterson who compared his situation to “modern-day slavery” in an interview with Yahoo! Sports earlier this week. Peterson’s words created a buzz around the league and I didn’t think they’d sit well with the NFL considering the state of the league right now.

It’s been well-documented that the most important aspect of the negotiations that broke down last week between the NFL owners and players was the money. Specifically, how to split over $9 billion in revenue.

In an interview with SB Nation on Thursday, Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL lead negotiator Jeff Pash discussed the money issue and Pash indicated that Brown’s interpretation of the negotiations was correct.