LAS VEGAS — Signs throughout Las Vegas hotels point to the casino floor with an arrow in one direction and Allegiant Stadium in the other.
A partnership between the NFL and sports betting organizations has now changed what was once a crazy idea, with the 2024 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and 49ers to be held Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in the shadow of Mandalay Bay. There is no hiding the fact that it has become a reality. casino strip.
“We understand the risks,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday at the annual state of the league press conference. “We didn’t make the decision. [to legalize sports gambling] decided by the Supreme Court. we have to adapt. ”
The league reissued a gambling policy to all teams this week that prohibits players from betting on the NFL and league officials from betting on any sports. Goodell said 13 players have been suspended under the policy and at least 25 league or team employees have been fired for violating the policy.
Most of these violations are caught through digital app tracking. It’s unclear how fast the NFL’s response time would be if a relatively unknown player or coach walked into a Las Vegas casino and wagered real money.
“Protecting the integrity of the game is extremely important,” Goodell said. “That’s our biggest goal.”
So why is the Super Bowl being held in Las Vegas for the first time?
“This is a town that hosts big events,” Goodell said.
feel the love
Goodell dismissed the idea that the relationship between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop star Taylor Swift is more than a true romance.
“The idea that it was scripted, that it was pre-planned, is nonsense,” Goodell said. “Frankly, it’s not even worth talking about. I think it’s great to see them both really happy and having fun together and I wish them all the best.”
But there’s no denying that Swift bringing a new demographic of young women to the NFL audience is good for business.
“Taylor is obviously a dynamo,” Goodell said. “Everything she touches there, people are following it, so we feel lucky and we welcome that.”
Goodell called Swift’s impact a “positive” for the league. He took his 22-year-old twin daughters to two concerts on the recent Elas tour.
“She knows great entertainment, and I think that’s why she loves the NFL,” Goodell said.
More from Commish
Other highlights from Mr. Goodell’s talk include:
— The Eagles will host their first-ever game in NFL history in Brazil on Friday, September 6 (Week 1) as part of their continued international growth efforts.
— Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of all time, may not get an NFL coaching job for the first time since the 1974 season.
“He’s going to be missed,” Coach Goodell said. “But I feel like he’s still going to play in the game,” he said.
— As each missed call draws attention, Goodell said NFL officials are “good” but there is room for improvement.
“We have to keep striving to get better,” he said. “We need to leverage technology as much as possible to improve their performance.”
— After making the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game available exclusively for streaming on Peacock, Goodell was asked if the next logical step would be to take the Super Bowl off TV.
“It certainly didn’t exist in my time,” he said.
— Goodell once vowed to wage a “ground war” on coverage of concussions, according to testimony from 18 months ago recently released in a lawsuit over efforts to force insurance companies to pay concussion settlements. . Asked to clarify his statement, Goodell said it was a reference to ending “inaccurate reporting.”
