During the first day of the APSE commissioner’s meetings various sports editors met with the heads of the NHL, NBA and NFL at their respective league offices in New York.
Gary Bettman – NHL commissioner
- In the midst of the NHL playoffs, Bettman indicated that the NHL’s metrics are growing and that the sport is becoming more popular, thanks in part to increased fan engagement through new media.
- The next step for the league is to reach national status in which local fans show greater interest in out-of-market games.
- Bettman discussed “expressions of interest” in potentially expanding the league, but stressed that the presence of a hockey-friendly arena is essential for a city’s bid to hosting an NHL franchise.
- Bettman said the success of the Winter Classic games has helped the league grow and said it’s likely the NHLwill continue to feature multiple outdoor games during New Year’s.
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Adam Silver – NBA commissioner
- Silver spoke about the NBA’s minimum age of eligibility for players and said he is in favor of raising it from 19 to 20 years old. He said raising the minimum age would be in the best interest of the league and the crop of players who are transitioning from college basketball. The earliest this could be considered would be in the 2015-16 season.
- Officiating was a key topic of discussion, as possible expansions to the replay system were brought up. Silver, with the aid of president of basketball operations Rod Thorn, said increased transparency has led to the league being open about its review of calls and officiating concerns.
- Silver said it is “inevitable” that teams will begin to feature corporate sponsors on their jerseys.
- With the perceived strength of the upcoming NBA draft class, Silver discussed the notion of teams “tanking” in order to try to secure a higher draft pick. Silver indicated that the NBA lottery is in place to prevent that from being the case and said teams go through rebuilding phases that are commonly perceived by fans as tanking.
- The league’s television contract and flex policy was addressed, and Silver said the availability of NBA games online has helped grow fan engagement across the globe.
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Roger Goodell – NFL
- With the possibility of the league’s first openly gay player in Michael Sam, Goodell and his staff indicated that measures are being taken to ensure that a healthy and anti-discriminatory work environment are being implemented.
- Goodell said the league is aggressively considering the expansion of the playoffs and indicated that it will be brought up at the next owner’s meeting. He said that it could still be possible to have an expanded playoffs next season.
- NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said the league amended its proposal to experiment with the length of extra points during two games in the preseason and will now kick them from the 15-yard line, resulting in a 33-yard kick.
- With the addition of CBS as part of the league’s Thursday Night Football package, Goodell stressed that the NFL is trying to build Thursday as “a night for the NFL.”
- Goodell said the league has not had further discussions about a franchise possibly moving to Los Angeles.
- The future of the NHL’s cooperation with Olympic hockey was raised, although Bettman said that further discussions have not taken place about the viability of keeping the current model intact.
