Roger Goodell’s Las Vegas Super Bowl 2024 ‘risk’ comes alongside NFL’s gambling crackdown

LAS VEGAS — Signage throughout Las Vegas hotels points to casino floors with arrows in one direction and to Allegiant Stadium in another.

There is no hiding that what once was crazy — the NFL partnering with sports gambling outfits — is a reality now that Super Bowl 2024 between the Chiefs and 49ers will be played Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, in the shadow of Mandalay Bay at the beginning of a strip of casinos.

“We understand the risk,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday in his annual state-of-the-league news conference. “We did not make the decision. Ultimately the decision [to legalize sports gambling] was made by the Supreme Court. We have to adapt.”

The league reissued its gambling policy — which forbids players from wagering on the NFL and league employees from wagering on any sports — to all teams this week. Goodell said that 13 players have been suspended under the policy and at least 25 league or team employees have been terminated for violating the policy.

Most of those violations have been caught through digital app tracking. It is not clear how quick the NFL response time would be if a relatively obscure player or coach walked into a Las Vegas casino and placed a cash bet.

“Protecting the integrity of the game is critical,” Goodell said. “It’s our No. 1 objective.”

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So, why is the Super Bowl being played in Las Vegas for the first time?

“This is a big-events town,” Goodell said.

Feel the love

Goodell scoffed at the idea that the relationship between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop star Taylor Swift is anything more than true romance.

“The idea that was scripted — that it was pre-planned — is nonsense,” Goodell said. “Frankly, not even worth talking about. We see two people who are really happy together, having fun together, I think that’s wonderful and I wish them well.”

But he can’t deny that Swift bringing a new demographic of young women to the NFL audience is good for business.

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“Taylor is obviously a dynamo,” Goodell said. “Everything she touches there are people following, and so we count ourselves fortunate and we welcome it.”

Goodell called the Swift effect a “positive” for the league. He took his 22-year-old twin daughters to two of her concerts on her recent Eras Tour.

“She knows great entertainment,” Goodell said, “and I think that’s why she loves the NFL.”

More from the commish

Here are some other highlights from Goodell’s address:

— The Eagles will host the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil on Friday, Sept. 6 (Week 1) as part of continued international growth efforts.

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— The greatest coach of all-time, Bill Belichick, might not have an NFL coaching job for the first time since the 1974 season.

“I think he’ll be missed,” Goodell said, “But I have a feeling he’ll still be around the game.”

— As the spotlight intensifies with every missed call, Goodell said the NFL officials are “superior” but there is room for improvement.

“We have to continue to try to get better,” he said. “We have to use technology wherever we can to try to improve their performance.”

— After making the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game only available through streaming on Peacock, Goodell was asked if the next logical step is to move a Super Bowl off of broadcast television.

“Certainly not in my time,” he said.

— Goodell once vowed to a “ground war” on reporting over concussions, according to his recently released 18-month-old testimony in the litigation over efforts to force insurance companies to pay out concussion settlements. Asked to clarify his remarks, Goodell said it was a reference to putting an end to “inaccurate reporting.”