I didn't mean to imply that I thought regulation would take down the NFL (though I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility). I think it'll be more organic, with parents of top, young athletes encouraging their children to pursue other sports. This doesn't need to happen to 100% of young athletes to affect the NFL, but if 5-10% choose other sports, that idea will spread to other athletes, and then spread further, etc. What if, starting in 2020, every season plays like a diluted expansion team season? The bottom of NFL rosters would be littered with guys who wouldn't sniff the league in 2010. Would fans be as engaged with the NFL? I probably wouldn't.
That's why Goodell is the perfect commissioner for this specific set of owners. Kraft very much included. He cares about the brand of "the shield" only as much as it affects the bottom line now. The future of the NFL, of football, beyond the near term, is inconsequential to these people. They just want to grab as much cash as they can before the bubble bursts. Goodell ONLY makes empty gestures to encourage safety because safety doesn't matter right now. If he gets in front of youth leagues, he's admitting that football is dangerous, and the wall that mentally allows the average fan to watch huge, muscular men bash into each other for many hours of the year would start to crumble. A "Play 60" commercial is "Hey kids, get out there and play FOOTBALL! It's FUN! Here's a smiling Cam Newton". Goodell actually doing something meaningful about game safety reminds us that Cam is going to be taking prescription pain meds for the rest of his life.
So, for these 32 owners, I don't think that Goodell is fucking the poodle. He's doing an amazing job. It's frustrating to listen to people say "Anyone can do Goodell's job - the NFL prints money." Not everyone could do Goodell's job because most people have a relationship with morality and ethics. We have a deeply ingrained, human intuition that tells us to do the right thing for struggling ex-players, or young children, or military vets, or victims of domestic abuse, or drug addicts, or even the fans who really enjoy watching football. Goodell possesses an incredible will to be defiant against anything approaching human morality, so his PR driven, half-assed attempts at "problem-solving" put issues to bed momentarily but never actually address them. That is the ideal solution for NFL owners and it will be that way until the league reaches its "one more mint" limit.