The committee had been working since May on the new contract, which would take effect in March 2019. Jones has denied that he was trying to upend the contract talks as payback for the suspension. Almost in defiance of Jones, the committee accelerated talks to finish the contract. “This decision shows that no single owner is more important than the other owners,” Marc Ganis, a consultant to several N.F.L. He added that keeping Goodell in the commissioner’s job gives the league stability while it prepares for a new labor deal and negotiations with its broadcast partners.

Source: New York Times December 06, 2017 20:58 UTC