While Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is focused on making his own offense better this season, he also had some ideas on how to make the NFL better.
In an interview with The Ringer, the 34-year-old shared numerous changes he would like to make if he had Roger Goodell’s job for a day.
Among them, Rodgers would make immediate changes with the league’s salary and contract structure. His model would more closely follow the NBA’s style. Rodgers would like to see the NFL implement a soft cap and a luxury tax.
“I would allow teams to go over the cap knowing if they do, since there’s not a hard cap, they are going to be faced with some luxury tax issues and they’d change their strategy,” Rodgers said, via The Ringer. “It’s not like we’re hurting — just like the NBA, we’re not hurting for revenue. We’re doing excellent in the NFL and the NBA is doing fantastic as well.”
He would also take further measures with the league’s structure of contracts by removing the franchise tag. By removing the franchise tag, which has now been in place for over two decades, players would have more contractual freedom.
“I think I would not allow the franchise tags,” Rodgers said, via The Ringer. “Because I think that gives the team a lot of power over your future, and they can tag you a couple of times. That, obviously, restricts player movement.”
Rodgers also believes the move could be beneficial for owners, allowing teams to begin contract negotiations earlier for players and potentially saving money by signing them to long-term deals before they have a big season.
In order to protect the players, especially veterans, Rodgers said he would also look to reduce the preseason to just three games.
Furthermore, he would take action to raise more awareness for the causes players are supporting during their time away from the field. By highlighting this and showing the positive movements and efforts athletes are taking, he said it could help reverse beliefs that there is a crime epidemic among NFL players.
These are just a few of the changes Rodgers would make if he took over Goodell’s job for even a day. For now, he’ll have his eyes focused on competing for a Super Bowl this season.