Robert Kraft, Roger Goodell Share Friendly Conversation At Sun Valley Conference For Media Moguls
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Last year around this time, it became instantly noteworthy that Patriots owner Robert Kraft and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell were spotted at the Sun Valley conference in private conversations. At that time, Goodell hadn't issued his ruling on Tom Brady's appeal, and the belief was that perhaps Kraft was reminding Goodell that the Patriots had played ball and it was time for the NFL to follow suit.
Of course, the NFL did nothing of the sort, with Goodell doubling down in his ruling (and violating Brady's right to a fundamentally fair process) and punishing Brady for new charges about his cell phone.
So, a year later and with Brady's fight still alive in a federal appeals court, one might believe that the relationship between Kraft and Goodell might be rocky, or that one of the league's most powerful owners might not be eager to share a friendly conversation with the commissioner. But one would be wrong.
"Friendship seemed to trump business on Thursday as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots' owner Bob Kraft were seen strolling around this mountain resort — chatting and relaxing as if they hadn't a care in the world," the New York Post's James Covert wrote for the New York Post from the annual conference hosted by Allen & Co, a private investment firm.
Kraft and Goodell were hardly the biggest names in the area, as The Boston Globe noted that "Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, Howard Stringer, former CEO of Sony, Rupert Murdoch's boys Lachlan and James, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, Viacom vice chairman Shari Redstone, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, and General Motors CEO Mary Barra" were all in Idaho for the conference.
Yet from a sports perspective, Kraft and Goodell fraternizing still constitutes a newsworthy event.
"With his all-star player about to sit for 25 percent of the season, you'd think Kraft would be a bit miffed at Goodell," Covert wrote. "If he is, it wasn't showing on Thursday."
Obviously, the two men must maintain a working relationship in order to keep the NFL as a well-oiled money-printing machine. And with Kraft serving as the NFL's chairman on the broadcast committee, he's the leader of the league's largest area for profit. TV contracts are largely what keep the profit train rumbling along the tracks, and both Kraft and Goodell know the significance of maintaining a united public front.
It's also a delicate balance for Kraft, who considers Brady to be a part of the family but who is also technically more aligned with the league and the commissioner than he is with any player.
Still, considering the New England fan base remains largely enraged with the overbearing and hypocritically unfair treatment of the local team as well as the star quarterback over the past year-and-a-half, news of Kraft and Goodell sharing a friendly chat likely won't play well with many fans. Even understanding the need for a business relationship, many Patriots fans likely feel as though Goodell made the issue with the Patriots and Brady personal.
With Brady and the NFLPA continuing to fight the NFL's ruling in a federal appeals court, and with Brady adding a high-powered lawyer while seemingly prepping to take his fight to the Supreme Court, the Patriots' amicus brief supporting their quarterback loses much of its punch when the team owner is seen being outwardly friendly to the commissioner who has had the team in his crosshairs for 18 months.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.