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Roger Goodell Makes His Opinion of Caitlin Clark Extremely Clear

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke about Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark being present at the annual NFL Meetings.
Grant Young|
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on the field before Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on the field before Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Over the weekend, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark took part in a panel at the NFL's annual meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, about the league's interest and aspirations for women's flag football that was titled "The Changing Face of Sports and Its Impact on the NFL".

Clark sat alongside legendary NFL quarterback Eli Manning and tennis GOAT Serena Williams, with whom she also posed for a photo. While there's currently no video or audio of this discussion available to the public, there's no doubt that Clark offered valuable insights that will help the NFL decide how to get more involved in flag football and women's sports as a whole.

Of course, the figurehead of the NFL is commissioner Roger Goodell, who doesn't necessarily have the best reputation among football fans. But he might have won some women's basketball fans over with his sentiment about Clark when speaking with the media on April 1.

"We're always looking for perspective, and to learn something," Goodell said when asked about why Clark was invited to speak at the NFL Meetings, per an X post from The Athletic's James Boyd. "We have owners that are investing in sports, and in particular women's sports.

"[Clark is] already an icon at a very young age... Both of their perspectives were really valuable for our ownership to understand, to sort of learn from that," he continued, talking about Clark and Serena Williams.

"I think hearing from those two in particular... really brought to light a lot of the things that we're all thinking of as a league, and hopefully as clubs, to try and do things better."

Clearly the NFL commissioner thinks very highly of Clark.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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