Roger Goodell

Roger Goodell
Goodell speaking at the United States Military Academy in August 2012
Commissioner of the National Football League
Incumbent
Assumed office September 1, 2006
Preceded by	Paul Tagliabue
Personal details
Born	Roger Stokoe Goodell (1959-02-19) February 19, 1959 (age 58) Jamestown, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Washington & Jefferson College

Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). Goodell was chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the owners. He officially began his tenure on September 1, 2006, just prior to the beginning of the 2006 NFL season. Commentators have described him as "the most powerful man in sports."

Goodell was born in Jamestown, New York on February 19, 1959, to United States Senator Charles Ellsworth Goodell of New York, and Jean (Rice) Goodell of Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Bronxville High School where, as a three-sport star in football, basketball, and baseball, he captained all three teams as a senior and was named the school's athlete of the year. Injuries kept him from playing college football. Goodell is a 1981 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania with a degree in economics.

Goodell's career in the NFL began in 1982 as an administrative intern in the league office in New York under then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle – a position secured through a letter-writing campaign to the league office and each of its then 28 teams. In 1983, he joined the New York Jets as an intern, but returned to the league office in 1984 as an assistant in the public relations department.