What Roger Goodell has been up to the last few weeks

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (left) walks with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on July 9 at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Getty Images

By Gary Dzen

July 21, 2015

2 minutes to read

Many football fans may feel like Roger Goodell had one thing on his offseason to-do list: End the Deflategate mess. Yet with training camps fast approaching, the NFL commissioner seems to have been busy for weeks doing all sorts of things in addition to considering Tom Brady’s appeal of his four-game suspension.

Tuesday morning, Goodell attended a fundraising luncheon at a Hilton Garden Inn in Pennsylvania. Speaking to a reporter from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Goodell said the league had no timetable on settling Brady’s appeal.

“We are focused on it,’’ said Goodell, of the process that could amend Brady’s suspension from its current four games. “We are obviously being very thorough and want to make sure we consider all aspects of his appeal. We will make a decision as quickly as possible.’’

A hotel in southwestern Pennsylvania may seem like a strange place for a man making the decision breathlessly awaited by football fans across the country, but based on the commisioner’s recent schedule, it shouldn’t.

Below is a list of public things Goodell has done since hearing Brady’s appeal in New York on June 23.

— July 7: Exporting football to London

On July 7, the NFL and the English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur announced a 10-year deal to host two NFL games annually in London. When the deal was announced, Goodell released a statement that read, in part, “We share a vision and commitment to creating the best experience for our teams, fans and the local community.’’

— July 8: At Idaho “billionaire’s camp’’

Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft joined Rupert Murdoch, Jeff Bezos, and others as a swarm of private planes descended on Sun Valley, Idaho for an annual conference hosted by the investment bank Allen & Co.

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In Sun Valley, Goodell told a CNBC reporter that a Brady announcement could come in the next week.

— July 13-14: Making the rounds with the House GOP

Goodell was scheduled to meet with Rep. Steve Scalise of Lousiana and to attend a “Power House Lunch’’ with up to 40 Republican lawmakers, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers told Politico. That meeting was designed so that the legislators could “hear leadership lessons from Goodell.’’ After reports surfaced that some lawmakers backed away from meeting with Goodell, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ProFootballTalk that some events were cancelled, but that the commisioner still met with about 60 members of Congress during his trip to DC.

While in DC, Goodell told the Associated Press he would make a Deflategate decision, “When we reach it.’’

— July 21: Attended Pennyslvania fundraiser

A graduate of nearby Washington and Jefferson college, Goodell was the guest of honor at the fundraising luncheon for an independent living center for the disabled community. Pennylsvania native and NFL referee Gene Steratore was the featured speaker.