Roger Goodell shares insights on possibility of Saudi billionaires owning NFL teams

Roger Goodell has done a great job in recent years of building the league's brand and improving broadcasting revenues and sponsorships.

So with the PIF (Public Investment Fund) from Saudi Arabia investing billions in different sports around the world, including LIV Golf and the Premier League, it was natural to wonder if we could see them moving into NFL ventures in the near future.

But Roger Goodell doesn't think that this will happen anytime soon.

During an appearance on CNBC on Thursday, the league's commissioner was asked if any kind of public investment or ownership could be coming for the teams in the future. He said that for now, he was happy with the model in place.

“We haven’t made the move as other leagues have to any kind of public investment,” he said. “It’s something we’ll contemplate at some point in time, but we really like our basic model now where we have private ownership. Those owners are in the meeting room, they’re part of the league and they’re part of our success.”

Roger Goodell's NFL career: When did he become commissioner?

Goodell first became an unpaid intern in the league in 1982, and he went through a variety of jobs before settling in as Chief Operating Officer in 2001.

When Paul Tagliabue decided to retire in 2006, Goodell was officially voted as the NFL's new commissioner, only the third person to occupy the job since 1960. The other one was Pete Rozelle, the key figure behind the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Goodell is not the most popular figure in the league, but he's gotten better at his job. At the end of the day, however, one can never forget when talking about him that his bosses are the owners, and not the fans or the players.

And, considering the NFL's growth in revenue over his tenure, you can be sure that most of them are incredibly satisfied with his performance as the commissioner.