Goodell: NFL prospers from listening, learning

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is focusing on listening and learning, which has resulted in increased quality on and off the field.

"When you have people working together, listening to one another and that level of respect, I think everyone feels better," Goodell said as the NFL fall owners meetings wrapped on Wednesday.

Goodell said overall quality and competitiveness are up across the league with a margin of victory on pace to be the third- or fourth-closest in NFL history.

While some are concerned with growing protection of quarterbacks, Goodell said the focus on player safety is coming through in every game.

"People are focusing on football and the great play of the quarterbacks. The safety of the game is better. The quality of the game is better," Goodell said.

Goodell said he is proud of the collective work the league and union have done on social justice issues.

"The focus has been on the efforts the players have brought in their communities and they are working on the issues to make their communities better. That's where our focus is," he said.

Goodell was upbeat discussing offensive numbers and officiating, which he said are at some of the highest levels ever.

Players are healthy, as are viewer ratings, which Goodell chose to focus his attention on Wednesday.

In other news:

--Owners did not discuss the future of the Seattle Seahawks following the unexpected death of team owner Paul Allen. Speculation from the Los Angeles Times indicated a cross-ownership policy ended by the NFL could be designed to open the door for former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer, who owns the Los Angeles Clippers, to purchase the Seahawks and potentially move the NBA franchise to the city.

"We didn't have any discussion of it. We think it's inappropriate at this time to be having those discussion," Goodell said. "The Seahawks, Paul Allen made plans, and there will be a time for those discussions."

A succession plan was not made public. Allen never married and has no children. He has one sister.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the league as a whole expects the Seahawks to stay in Seattle.

"I can't imagine the Seahawks not in Seattle. That hasn't even been a thought. As a matter of fact, he was instrumental in establishing that certainty. It would really be a little unjust -- the thing he did the most for in Seattle was to stabilize that franchise. We are really going to miss him. He had such influence in the league. I was certainly influenced by my interaction with him. ... When we get someone of his stature to join ownership in the NFL, I just completely throw a party."

--The Raiders are in limbo for 2019, Goodell said, saying he has not yet heard how negotiations with the city of Oakland are progressing for the Raiders to play one more season at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

"We know they are in the midst of negotiation," Goodell said, adding he received an update on progress on the stadium construction project in Las Vegas, where the Raiders are expected to relocate in 2020.

--Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)