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USATSI

NEW YORK — It's good to be king. And for Roger Goodell, he'll be king a little while longer.

The NFL's compensation committee officially extended the commissioner's contract Wednesday at the league's fall meetings in New York. Goodell, who's been at the head of the league since 2006, is now contractually tied to the NFL through the spring of 2027.

And multiple sources told CBS Sports that it may not be the last contract for Goodell, who will turn 65 the week of Super Bowl LVIII.

"No, why would it be?" one source asked incredulously.

Goodell's contract was previously set to expire in 2024. This deal has been in the works for nearly a year, and it has been expected for months that the deal would get done well ahead of his contract expiring. He previously earned contract extensions in 2009, 2012 and 2017.

Goodell has weathered a number of controversies in his tenure. From Spygate to Bountygate, Ray Rice to Deflategate and the player protests during the national anthem, Goodell has led the league -- for better or worse -- through them all.

The league is also in a healthy position today. There's nothing close to the aforementioned controversies taking place in the NFL today.

Goodell presides over a league that in 2020 signed a new collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2030. He also helped negotiate a $113 billion broadcast rights deal in 2021 that runs through 2033. Interestingly, there's an opt-out for the league after seven years that would coincide with the new CBA.

Might Goodell leave after this three-year deal? He'll be 68 years old, after all. He's seemingly in good health, and member clubs are making more money today than ever before.

It's possible he would stay for another term and see the league through another CBA negotiation, which would be his third as commissioner.

There is no obvious successor to Goodell. Whereas he was the clear heir to the Paul Tagliabue throne in the early 2000s, that person behind Goodell doesn't exist today.   

He's one of the most powerful figures in all of sports. At the end of his new deal, Goodell would trail only Pete Rozelle in terms of years as NFL commissioner. Rozelle presided over the NFL from 1960 until 1989.

The compensation committee is chaired by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and he's joined by Arizona's Michael Bidwill, Cleveland's Jimmy Haslam, Jacksonville's Shad Khan and the Giants' John Mara.