The Sports Xchange

At the conclusion of the NFL spring owners meetings on Wednesday, commissioner Roger Goodell said Robert Kraft’s decision not to appeal the penalties from the Deflategate investigation was the initiative of the New England Patriots’ owner alone.

“The decision Robert made was his decision,” Goodell said.

Goodell would not comment on the specifics of quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension or his appeal, but he said he looked forward to hearing from Brady. When he returns to New York on Thursday, Goodell said, he will give full consideration to the NFLPA’s formal request that he recuse himself from the Brady appeal.

He said one of his primary responsibilities is upholding the integrity of the game, policies and procedures. Because the process negotiated with the union for appeals calls for Goodell to be the final authority, he is not prepared to remove himself from the matter.

“I’m not going to get into hypotheticals,” Goodell said. “I look forward to hearing directly from Tom. … I have great admiration and respect for Tom Brady. But the rules have to be enforced on a uniform basis. They apply to everybody in the league. … We put the game ahead of everything.”

Goodell said he read the report by investigator Ted Wells only “shortly before” the public did and denied that the NFL demanded the Patriots suspend the two employees who handled the footballs for the team. There was no discussion on the chain of custody or the protocol for handling of game balls at the owners’ meetings over the past two days. Goodell said the NFL office would first discuss what changes it wants to see.

“What you are trying to do is get it right. I thought his report was very clear. It was comprehensive,” Goodell said.

Goodell reiterated that failure to cooperate was a factor in punishment stemming from the Wells investigation.

“We do expect to have that; and, when there isn’t full cooperation, that’s part of the discipline,” he said.

The Patriots were fined $1 million and stripped of a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a fourth-round pick in 2017.

–Expansion to Los Angeles was a dominant topic, Goodell said, and monitoring what is happening in each local market will impact any advances toward establishing a team or teams. However, Goodell said he is not ready to say it’s a foregone conclusion that an NFL franchise will be in place in Los Angeles for the 2016 season.

Goodell said there was “tremendous progress” in St. Louis, but he would not characterize the state of things in San Diego. He said he has not seen anything or heard directly from Oakland.

“I don’t know if it’s a point of frustration, but it’s a point of information,” Goodell said.

“Mark (Davis) wants a long-term stadium solution,” Goodell said. “He would like to have it be here in the Bay Area and Oakland. … We don’t have a deadline, but this is not a new issue we’re all dealing with here. This is something that the Raiders have been working on for years. We do need to have a proposal from the people here on how they’re going to be able to keep the Raiders in Oakland. … That proposal is necessary soon.”

–Goodell said the PAT rule was changed because it had been viewed as a rule that could be improved for “quite some time. These changes are terrific.” The rule moves the line of scrimmage on extra points to the 15-yard line from the 2, but it is a one-year provision that will be revisited after the 2015 season.

–The NFL is considering expanding the international series from London to possibly include Germany and Mexico, among other sites. Those conversations will continue, Goodell said.

“There’s been some interest in playing a Pro Bowl in Rio,” Goodell said. “There’s a growing passion for our game on an international basis. … We are excited about where we are. We are excited about the passion for our game and taking it to another level.”

–The NFL used a third-party firm to do site assessments of the home markets of the three franchises with interest in moving to Los Angeles. The results will be provided to officials in Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis.

“There are really important variables that are outside of our control,” NFL executive Eric Grubman said. “It’s too early to tell what the (home market) proposals will be.”

Grubman said the NFL encourages wider development beyond a simple stadium project. The Hollywood Park proposal backed by deep-pocketed Rams owner Stan Kroenke includes retail and residential projects around the stadium.

Each franchise is investigating the viability of a new stadium in its current market, Grubman said.

He said Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., was built with the potential to be home to two NFL teams, with the San Francisco 49ers serving as the primary tenant. That leaves open the option for the Raiders to share that site.