Goodell was the unanimous choice on the owners' fifth ballot, and said he expects to begin serving a five-year contract before the regular season starts. Goodell beat four other finalists: lawyers Gregg Levy and Frederick Nance; Fidelity Investments vice chairman Robert Reynolds; and Constellation Energy chairman Mayo Shattuck III.
Goodell had most recently served as Tagliabue's top assistant, particularly on expansion and stadium construction and in 2001, he became the NFL's chief operating officer.
League revenues have seen huge growth during the 17 years Tagliabue was commissioner. The NFL will collect about $10 billion in TV rights fees during the next six years.
