5 Takeaways from Roger Goodell’s Super Bowl Press Conference

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual Super Bowl press conference on Monday in California, talking with reporters and taking questions for about 40 minutes on a wide variety of issues facing the league. Here are my five takeaways from Goodell’s press conference: 1. Goodell wants replay officials to drop flags to correct ‘obvious errors’ Goodell said he thinks the NFL has done a good job of implementing changes and using technology to improve in-game officiating, and the league will continue to consider all options for making sure correct calls are made as often as possible. One instance of possibly doing that is with replay assistants at stadiums or officials monitoring games in New York to call penalties to correct “obvious errors.” “Technology is something we need to embrace in the game in every way we can,” he said. “So many of the things we have today, some of them didn’t exist 20 years ago … I truly believe that technology can help our officials. They do a great job, but it’s an incredibly fast game. The technology that you all bring with super slow-mo, you now have three times the number of cameras that we had several years ago. They can move the angle. “We need to be able to use that to help our officials get it right. They want to get it right. They’re incredibly dedicated professionals. We also need to give them that tool. I think AI is going to be a real opportunity there. We’re talking with our partners and talking with others about how we implement that to help our officials.” 2. International expansion continues, with NFL returning to Mexico City in 2026 Goodell said the NFL intends to have nine international games in 2026, up from seven this past season, as the league continues to build its brand globally. Those nine will include the first-ever NFL games in Paris, France and in Melbourne, Australia, plus return trips to Mexico City, Mexico; Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Munich, Germany; and another three games in London, England. The game in Mexico City will take place in December, and will mark the NFL’s first game in Mexico since 2022. “We’re excited by that,” Goodell said. “We’re in several new markets … It’s the ambition that we have to be a global sport, but it’s also the demand that we’re having. We’re hearing from cities all over the world that want to host these games and that really want to get more American football.” Goodell reiterated that his ultimate goal is to play 16 international games every season, allowing all 32 teams the chance to play outside the United States every season to help grow the game. 3. 18-game schedule ‘not a given’ Asked about the possibility of the NFL expanding with an 18th regular-season game and whether that would be part of the next round of CBA negotiations with the NFLPA, Goodell said there have been no formal discussions about that and very little informal talks up to this point. “It is not a given that we’ll do that,” Goodell said. “It is not something that we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership.” Goodell said the transition from 16 to 17 games went smoothly, and his hope is that any additional change would be the same way. “The challenges will be different here a little bit,” he said. “It’ll depend on a lot of factors, including the safety of the game … also from a competitive standpoint, should we have two byes? What are the roster sizes? There are a number of issues that need to be discussed with the player that I’m sure will be a focus, or at least a component, of the next CBA … there are a lot of things that I think are going to be on the table.” 4. Goodell says Bill Belichick should be in Hall of Fame, but makes it clear NFL has no role in selection This year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class has not been officially unveiled, but news has leaked that Patriots coach Bill Belichick did not get the 40 of 50 votes necessary to be enshrined in his first year of eligibility. Goodell stressed that the NFL is not involved in the Hall of Fame voting process but expressed confidence that the coach will be inducted down the road. “I think it’s really an important honor, and something that should be done with a lot of clarity, a lot of understanding of what’s expected of those voters,” he said. “We are not involved in it. Listen, Bill Belichick’s record goes without saying. Same with the Patriots’ Robert Kraft, who is also a candidate. They’re spectacular. They’ve contributed so much to this game and I believe they’ll be Hall of Famers.” Later on in the press conference, Goodell said that Belichick deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. “Bill Belichick is the second-winningest coach in pro football,” Goodell said. “He has six Super Bowls as a head coach and two as a defensive coordinator. That’s a Hall of Fame career, but there’s a decision-making process here and it’s a timing issue. There’s a lot of people deserving of this, and the media will have to make that determination as they go.” 5. Goodell hints at potential changes to kickoffs, punts Goodell believes that the rule changes to kickoffs that the league implemented in 2024 have worked to this point, telling reporters on Monday that they’ve “worked as intended.” However, Goodell wants the injury rate of kickoffs to continue to decrease. “We had, I think it’s 1135 or so returns that we didn’t have last year, and I think that’s been great from a fan standpoint,” Goodell said. “But our intent was to get the injury rate closer to a line-of-scrimmage play. We got it closer. We think we can get it closer again with some changes. And the special teams coaches, competition committee, will evaluate every single one of the injuries on kickoff, look to figure out what it is that might be changed. “We debated a lot of things in the context of the kickoff last year that may come back onto the table now that we see the success of increasing the number of returns and the increased safety. But we want to continue to work on that.” The changes to special teams plays might not be limited to kickoffs, either. Goodell said that punts might also be tweaked in order to lower injury rate. “One of the ramifications of the kickoff is not only did we have more returns, we had less punts, and there is a relationship between the two,” Goodell said. “And [the] punt also has an elevated [injury rate] over a line-of-scrimmage play. So, all of those things, using the data to understand, and the video review to understand what is it we can do to improve the safety, look at different techniques — are there things we can deal with in the context of rules? We will do, and I expect that there will be changes in that this spring.”