NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell patronizes Bills' fans at 'topping out' event

The Buffalo Bills celebrated on the construction site of the new Highmark Stadium, and the NFL Commissioner addressed the crowd that he claimed to relate to

Mar 29, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell watches courtside during the match between Jessica Pegula (USA) and Aryna Sabalenka (both not pictured) in the women's singles championship of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

He's one of us, or so he wants us to believe.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was the keynote speaker at the Buffalo Bills 'topping out' ceremony for the new Highmark Stadium being built on the other side of Abbott Road.

"It's a real thrill for a kid from Jamestown, New York to be here today. Having come to this stadium across the street for many years, and now to see what's behind me, I sort of wish I was a kid going into that stadium, because it is just remarkable. And another shoutout for all of you guys," said Goodell.

Friday's ceremony marked the completion of the structural steel phase of the project, which will be entirely completed in time for the 2026 NFL season.

"To the Buffalo Bills fans, to your core, you're as loyal as they get," said Goodell during the final portion of his address that ran a little over three minutes in length.

Naturally, Goodell failed to recognize how the NFL has become less fan-friendly under his leadership, which itself carries a $60+ million price tag annually. While the commissioner pulls in generational wealth, the league squeezes middle-class fans for every possible penny. From inconvenient flex scheduling to forcing season ticket holders to purchase preseason games to requiring multiple paid subscription services to access all games, and now personal seat licensing, it's becoming nearly impossible to bring a family to the game.

"This community has fans like no other community. Their passion, their pride in this community, you can feel it every time you walk into the stadium, but more importantly, when you even watch it on television. And this is going to be a symbol of the Buffalo community and the Buffalo Bills all over the globe for decades to come," said Goodell.

Saying the quiet part out loud, Goodell suggested that the new stadium was a must in order to keep the Bills in Buffalo.

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Since the Pegula family purchased the team in 2012, Goodell and his henchmen basically bullied the Bills' organization into building this stadium that will wind up costing over $2 billion. Not to mention, it was by no means a gift from the NFL and Pegula as at least half of the cost is coming from public funds and another large portion will be funded through PSLs.

Although never officially proclaimed, it was the dirty little secret that if the small-market region couldn't support the project, Goodell would finding another market willing to do so.

The fact that Goodell knows how much the Bills mean to the community, yet he was willing to take them away for the right price, makes his words meaningless.

The Buffalo Bills new stadium is being built across from the current one, Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Aug. 24, 2024. Cranes at the construction site loom over the current stadium. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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