Roger Goodell shot down the notion of seeding the NFL playoffs by record Tuesday night, but he said expanding them is an idea that’s picking up steam among the owners.
Those were among the most noteworthy comments by the league’s commissioner during an hour-long discussion at the 92nd Street Y in which an at-times defiant an unapologetic Goodell was pressed on some of the biggest issues facing the sport.
The commissioner poured cold water on the idea of seeding the postseason by record instead of whether a team won its division, describing that as a media creation in the wake of 12-4 San Francisco having to travel to 8-7-1 Green Bay last weekend because the Packers had won the NFC North while the 49ers were the NFC West runners-up.
“I don’t think there is momentum for [reseeding],” Goodell told the audience of several hundred. “There might be momentum in the media, but the first objective of any team is to win your division, and when you win your division, you should have a home game.
“I don’t see the owners pushing for a big change on that,” Goodell added. “I know it’s been discussed in the media, but I don’t see that happening.”
But fans probably can expect to see a larger playoff field in the very near future, judging by Goodell’s statements Tuesday.
The commissioner said adding a seventh team to each conference “is under serious consideration” and will get a lot of attention from the NFL’s powerful competition committee this offseason.
Under that scenario, only the No. 1 seed in each conference would get a wild-card bye, as opposed to the top two clubs in the current 12-team playoff format.
“Look at this year — 13 of the 16 games the final week of the season had playoff implications,” Goodell said. “That’s extraordinary, and we want to keep that. If we can keep that and increase that … by adding two more teams, that’s compelling. And that’s what we’re looking at.”
Other topics addressed by Goodell:
— The commissioner maintained the league’s interest in eventually putting a franchise in London, even if that means Europe gets a team before Los Angeles.
Asked which city would get a team first, Goodell stunned the crowd by saying: “I don’t know what will be first, and I’m not sure I care. I’d like to see if we can be successful in both, ultimately.”
— Goodell adamantly denied charges in a recent PBS “Frontline” documentary and in the book “League of Denial” the NFL had for years covered up evidence of lasting damage to players from brain trauma and concussions.
“Absolutely not,” Goodell said. “In fact, the NFL has been leaders in this area. Since the 1990s, we identified this and had a committee of independent medical experts that studied this issue. The [players union] participated in all of that, so all of the information this committee studied was shared with the players. I’m proud of what the NFL’s done on that front, and I believe we’re going to have an even greater impact on that.”
— Goodell would not rule out the possibility players would one day be allowed to use medical marijuana with a prescription.