NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with fans in Minnesota on Sunday to discuss all things football, touching on everything from daily fantasy football to preseason football. He wasn’t quick to support daily fantasy sites like FanDuel and DraftKings, telling fans that he draws a line between season-long fantasy football and daily sites. He also said that fantasy football should be about fun, not money, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Roger Goodell claims fantasy football is about ‘fun, not money’
Roger Goodell has long defended fantasy football, but says there’s a difference between daily and season-long contests.
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Goodell has long defended fantasy football as something that isn’t gambling on sports, and said on Sunday that even his kids play. However, with lawsuits mounting against FanDuel and DraftKings, Goodell is drawing a distinction between daily fantasy and the season-long fantasy football that the NFL promotes.
Among the other topics that Goodell touched on was the shortening of the preseason and extension of the regular season that has been discussed as a possibility in recent years.
Goodell on preseason: "There are ways to enjoy it. It's just, do we need four (games) any more?"
— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) November 22, 2015 The comments echo the same sentiments that he shared with “The Doug And Wolf Show” in Phoenix on Saturday. Via Yahoo! Sports:
“(W)e have spent a great deal of time talking about the quality of our preseason,” Goodell said according to a transcript that was produced by the league. “The question from a football standpoint point, Wolf, is do we need three preseason games? Four preseason games? Or could we even go to two?
“I think the general view from our Competition Committee and many of our football people is that you certainly could get through with three preseason games. We have not talked about adding a regular-season game because that would have to be collectively bargained with the union. We would not have to, if we reduced from four to three, to do that through collective bargaining.”
Goodell also said on Sunday that it's possible Minnesota could serve as the host of the NFL Draft. Mark Wilf, president and co-owner of the Vikings, told Tomasson that the team hasn't yet looked into hosting the NFL Draft, but will consider the possibility.
After more than five decades in New York City, the 2015 NFL Draft was hosted in Chicago and will remain in Chicago again next year.
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