The National Football League (NFL) is the premier professional American football league in the United States and the world, and is also one of the major North American professional sports leagues, and the largest sports league in the world by revenue. Controversies in the NFL include subjects such as questionable championship rulings prior to the creation of the NFL championship game in 1933, team relocation decisions, and criminal behavior by players. Many of the recent controversies have surrounded NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, player conduct, and/or the league's role in player safety.
1921 NFL Championship
1925 NFL Championship
The 1925 NFL Championship, officially held by the Chicago Cardinals, has been the subject of controversy since it was awarded. Under the league rules during that time, the NFL title was automatically given to the team with the best record at the end of the season instead of having the winner be determined by a playoff tournament. There was an open-ended schedule during that season; although the final listed league games ended on December 6, teams could still schedule contests against each other through December 20 to make more money.
The Pottsville Maroons were one of the dominant teams of the 1925 season, and after defeating the Cardinals on December 6, came away with the best record in the league. However, NFL commissioner Joseph Carr suspended and removed the Maroons from the NFL after they played an unauthorized exhibition game in Philadelphia, on the grounds that they had violated the territorial rights of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The Cardinals played and won two more games against weak NFL opponents, giving them a superior record, and were awarded the title.
Pottsville supporters argue that the suspension was illegitimate, and that the Maroons, who were reinstated the next year, would have had the superior record had they not been suspended. Others claim that Chicago was the legitimate champions based on the rules of the time. The NFL has investigated Pottsville's case on two occasions, both times upholding its decision that the Cardinals are the 1925 champions.
Team relocation controversies
An NFL franchise is an asset to both the football fans in a region and the city the franchise represents. Having a team makes a large impact on a city's perceived status, entertainment and social opportunities, and ability to attract new business and corporations looking to establish a national or regional presence. While a team is able to make certain demands for facilities and incentives to remain in or relocate to a city, a city is also able to use the status conferred by the franchise to make itself considerably more attractive to corporations and the individuals who may choose to work there. Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis
The Baltimore Colts were moved to Indianapolis by owner Robert Irsay in 1984, after multiple years of lobbying to renovate or replace the decrepit Memorial Stadium, including talks of a "Baltodome". In 1982, the Hoosier Dome (later called the RCA Dome) was built in Indianapolis, increasing interest in a move by the Colts. Eventually, the Colts moved to Indianapolis with the help of the moving company Mayflower Transit, who did so at night to confuse the Maryland State Police and fans.
Cleveland Browns move to Baltimore
Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell decided to move the Browns to Baltimore, 12 years after the Colts moved away from the city. After backlash from the fans, the team and the NFL decided on a special compromise: Modell could relocate the Browns to Baltimore, but would play as an "expansion team", and the Browns would go into a state of "suspended operations". Modell's new team was eventually named the Baltimore Ravens. In 1999, the Cleveland Browns returned to the league as an expansion team. Similar agreements would eventually be used for the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA in their relocation to Oklahoma City to become the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS in their move to become the Houston Dynamo (a new Earthquakes team eventually returned).
St. Louis Rams move to Los Angeles On April 13, 1995, Stan Kroenke helped Georgia Frontiere move the Los Angeles Rams from Anaheim to St. Louis by purchasing a 30% share of the team.
In April 2010, as a majority stock holder, Kroenke said, "I'm going to attempt to do everything that I can to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Just as I did everything that I could to bring the team to St. Louis in 1995. I believe my actions speak for themselves."
In August 2010, Stan Kroenke purchased the Rams using a right of first refusal clause in the last minute of bidding, beating a high bid from Shahid Khan.
In February 2013, the Rams and the City of St. Louis went to arbitration over a clause in the Rams' lease that stated the Rams' current stadium must be in the top tier of NFL stadiums. The arbitrators agreed with the Rams, giving the Rams the ability to break their original lease and go to a year-to-year lease agreement. On January 5, 2015, it was announced that the Kroenke Group was teaming up with Stockbridge Capital Group to build a 70,000-seat NFL stadium and venue in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, threatening the Rams' future in St. Louis. In response, St. Louis countered with National Car Rental Field, a proposed open-air stadium in the north riverfront in downtown St. Louis, with the hope of the Rams staying in St. Louis. The fanbase in St. Louis felt it was not being treated fairly—in 2014 the St. Louis Rams had 86% attendance despite a 6-10 record and 10 prior years of non-win seasons, forcing fans and local sportswriters to question the integrity of the NFL and Kroenke for even considering the Los Angeles plans. St. Louis officials felt they were not receiving fair treatment either as Kroenke had no talks or discussions with city officials, who have expressed interest in keeping the team in St. Louis. In a radio interview, Kroenke was labeled as "enemy number one" in his home state due to his uncanny willingness to cooperate. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that St. Louis' funding plan did not meet the criteria set by the NFL because St. Louis offered a stadium plan lacking $100 million. On January 4, 2016, the team applied for relocation to Los Angeles for the 2016 NFL season. The following day, the Rams and Stan Kroenke released their proposal for relocation. Some of the Rams' conclusions were disputed by St. Louis mayor Francis Slay (in a letter to Roger Goodell), The St. Louis Regional Chamber, and Forbes.
On January 12, 2016, the NFL approved the Rams' application to relocate from St. Louis back to Los Angeles with a 30-2 vote, although the move was generally considered malicious by fans in St. Louis. The following day, officials were pondering Stan Kroenke's removal from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
The initial $200 million as a standard part of the NFL's G4 stadium loan, plus the additional $100 million requested from St. Louis totaled $300 million which the NFL ultimately deemed inadequate, was then granted to Oakland and San Diego to attempt to maintain their respected teams.
On January 14, 2016, at a St. Louis Blues game, St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt III and Blues owner Tom Stillman dropped a puck together to celebrate the "best sports city in America", as the crowd chanted "Kroenke sucks!"
It was reported by many sources that the Rams, although changing their name and city to Los Angeles, were still trying to get players to sign contracts with Missouri as the state of their employer, suspected in part with the relaxed Workers Rights laws in Missouri vs. the much stricter California laws. The NFL Players union has told all agents to not accept any contracts until the verbiage is changed for the Rams to be a California employer.
On March 14, 2016, prior St. Louis Rams COO Kevin Demoff, expressed gratitude for the St. Louis Rams going on a losing streak in 2015 to give the relocation team more time to calculate a move to LA quoted as saying, "we went on a four game losing streak in the middle of November. So, we went from being in the playoff hunt and having a seed to out of the playoff hunt. That allowed us to have more time to talk about this, to put things together." Demoff, who was born in Los Angeles, joined the St. Louis Rams in 2009 just weeks before Stan Kroenke gained majority control. Demoff also ran the Los Angeles Avengers, an Arena Football league in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. Demoff was quoted as saying, "the league has handed Stan and the Rams their greatest opportunity in the last two decades: entry into L.A." suggesting the league had a large role in the relocation process.
On April 12, 2017, it was reported that the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority filed a lawsuit against the NFL and all 32 NFL clubs and club owners (including Stan Kroenke) seeking damages and restitution of profits. On November 24, 2021, after four years of litigation, it was announced that the NFL and the various St. Louis parties had agreed to a $790 million settlement to end the lawsuit.
Team conduct
Washington Redskins/Commanders In July 2020, The Washington Post published a series of articles alleging that over 40 women who were former employees of the then-Washington Redskins, including office workers and cheerleaders, had been sexually harassed and discriminated against by team owner Dan Snyder and other male executives, colleagues, and players of the team since at least 2006. That December, it was also reported that Snyder had settled a sexual harassment claim with a former female employee for a sum of $1.6 million. The alleged incident had occurred on his private plane while returning from the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009. Two private investigations at the time, by the team and an outside law firm, failed to substantiate the woman's claim, and it was reported that Snyder paid the sum to avoid any negative publicity.
A year-long independent investigation into the team's workplace culture, led by lawyer Beth Wilkinson, was concluded in July 2021. It found that incidents of sexual harassment, bullying, and intimidation were commonplace throughout the organization under his ownership. The NFL fined the team $10 million in response, with Snyder also voluntarily stepping down from running the team's day-to-day operations for a few months, giving those responsibilities to his wife Tanya. On July 28, 2022, Snyder voluntarily testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform regarding its own investigation on Washington's history of workplace misconduct.
In October 2022, Washington DC’s attorney general filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the NFL and the Commanders, including Snyder. On December 8, 2022, following a 14 month probe, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform published a report which found that Snyder gave "misleading" answers when he testified about alleged controversies surrounding his team's workplace. The report also accused Snyder of paying former employees "hush money" so they wouldn't come forward with their allegations of abuse which included "sexual misconduct, exploitation of women, bullying of men and other inappropriate behavior," describing it as "commonplace, and that he was a hands-on owner who had a role in nearly every organizational decision.” The report also stated the NFL "has not protected workers from sexual harassment and abuse."
Player conduct
In 2007, Roger Goodell became commissioner, and instituted a player conduct policy to help control off-field behavior by players.Associated Press. Goodell strengthens NFL player conduct policy USA Today, April 10, 2007. Goodell was criticized for stripping teams of draft picks and for punishing Adam Jones and Chris Henry, despite Adam Jones not being convicted.
Notable criminal NFL cases