I think you could make the argument that while he has helped owners take in money during his tenure, Goodell has done a poor job positioning the NFL for a future that is more open, transparent and tolerant.
The only thing I would say in his defense is that changing a culture is about 1000x harder than opening new markets, finding new revenue streams and consolidating old ones, etc. The problem is, football's culture is odious, violent and antiquated (just look at Harbaugh's pathetic press conference the other night for evidence) – and the game itself is bad for your health.
These would be enormous challenges for anyone but having worked there his whole professional life, Goodell is too much a part of the culture to do anything to change it.
Perhaps the Rooneys, Maras and Krafts have recognized this over the years – but it is probably hard to make much of a stink about things when you see a laughingstock of a franchise like Buffalo sell for $1.4B. So they've tried to make a difference in other ways – through CBAs, rules committees, leading by example with the Holmes trade and Hernandez release. But it's really not enough at the end the day
