NFL’s Goodell elusive on Las Vegas entering state of the league address

SAN FRANCISCO — Hand it to Roger Goodell: He sure knows how to play the game.

 

The NFL commissioner holds his annual state of the league address today in preparation of Super Bowl 50 between Carolina and Denver on Sunday, and there’s a better-than-terrific chance one of the main topics of discussion will center on Las Vegas.

 

Specifically, whether the NFL would truly consider relocating a team such as the Raiders to a domed stadium a few blocks off the Las Vegas Strip.

 

"Ultimately, it's the ownership's decision," Goodell said on the Rich Eisen Show this week. "It requires 24 of the 32 owners to approve any relocation to any market.

 

"Obviously, there are specific issues that would need to discussed in the context of Las Vegas."

 

Enter the sports gaming issue and how the NFL would react if a team became serious about making Las Vegas home.

 

Las Vegas Sands Corp. has proposed building a $1 billion domed stadium on 42 acres near UNLV, and Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson met with Raiders owner Mark Davis about the project.

 

Goodell doesn’t sound as if the league will have to concern itself with a Las Vegas vote any time soon.

 

"I think it's way premature at this point to be speculating on that," Goodell told Eisen. "There's no proposals. There's nothing firm anyway. I think this is something that at some point may come up, but at this point, we're not focused on that."

 

• SALUTE TO MVPs — One memorable moment Sunday should come when the NFL honors 40 Super Bowl Most Valuable Players and 18 Hall of Famers on the field at Levi’s Stadium. Bart Starr and Chuck Howley will appear via video.

 

• GOLDEN FOOTBALL UPDATE — Omitted from the list Thursday for those Las Vegas area high schools presented with a golden football from the NFL — sent to the high school of every player or head coach who was on an active roster in one of the previous 49 Super Bowls — was Bishop Gorman. The Gaels received two.

 

• QUOTES TO NOTE — "Obviously everybody knows how intelligent he is, how well he prepares, and what he can do at the line of scrimmage to put his team in a successful position based off of what teams are doing on defense. So you have to do a good job of not letting him see things and not let him get comfortable back there because he has seen just about everything thrown at him. We are going to have to do our best and not let him get too comfortable." — Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly, on Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.

 

"I knew I was going to be on this type of stage. I didn't think that I was going to be playing Cam Newton. I don’t think (there was) any way thinking at Radio City Music Hall, sitting down at the little circle table with our families, that I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Man, one day I’m going to be playing the Super Bowl versus him.’ There’s no way thinking (that). It’s definitely unique ... It’s a beautiful situation." — Denver linebacker Von Miller, on whether he believed he would oppose fellow 2011 draft class player Cam Newton in a Super Bowl.