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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who earlier this week was invited to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing to examine whether the Sports Broadcasting Act has been used “to harm consumers,” declined the invitation.
And it’s probably a wise choice by the commissioner, given his past history testifying before Congress.
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Goodell declined the invitation to appear at the June 10 hearing “due to ongoing litigation related to the subject matter of the hearing,” NFL General Counsel Ted Ullyot wrote in a letter Wednesday to committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
The ongoing litigation Ullyot referenced is likely the NFL’s Sunday Ticket competition case, which remains in trial and appeals.
All of this is tied to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which provides limited antitrust relief for collective sales of over-the-air broadcast rights. The SBA does not clearly protect cable, satellite, streaming or subscription products whose rising costs have prompted consumer complaints and government scrutiny.
According to the Associated Press, Ullyot repeated in his letter the well-chronicled NFL narrative that 87 percent of its games will be available over the air this season and that every game in the competing teams’ home markets is on television.
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference following Super Bowl LX at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California on February 9, 2026. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)
“The NFL’s decision to license a few more games to widely used streaming services is simply a reflection that these platforms now offer significantly more reach than the current pay-TV ecosystem and that broadcast television remains the foundation of our media distribution,” Ullyot wrote.
The NFL’s stated rationale for not putting Goodell before Congress is legitimate, but the league’s advisers almost certainly took Goodell’s past performance into account before lawmakers. The NFL has declined to comment on Goodell’s decision despite multiple requests from OutKick and Pakinomist.
And how has Goodell fared before Congress in the past? “Debacle,” was the word one congressional source used to describe it.
Obviously anyone’s opinion is up for debate, but it’s fair to say that when Goodell has appeared on Capitol Hill, it hasn’t been a smooth ride. His appearances have historically served as platforms where lawmakers have aggressively targeted the league’s business models, safety protocols and multibillion-dollar accountability.
Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell look on as a football is presented to President Donald Trump during an event announcing the 2027 NFL Draft will be held on the National Mall in the Oval Office of the White House on May 5, 2025 in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Goodell has testified before Congress on two previous occasions: in October 2009 about the league’s concussion crisis at the time and in June 2022 about the Washington Commanders workplace investigation.
In 2009, the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing with the title “Legal Issues Regarding Football Head Injuries” following independent research and media reports linking repeated football head trauma to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
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Representative Linda Sánchez (D-CA) blasted Goodell for the league’s refusal to acknowledge independent medical data. She famously compared the NFL’s stance to Big Tobacco executives denying the link between smoking and lung cancer in the 1990s. Goodell sat in silence as she blasted the league’s “general denial.”
Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) pressed Goodell with a simple question: “Is there a medical connection between playing football and long-term brain damage?”
Goodell refused to say “yes.” Instead, he deflected by saying, “I’m not a medical expert.”
Washington Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks celebrates a touchdown against the Denver Broncos with running back Jeremy McNichols and wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the third quarter at Northwest Stadium on Nov. 30, 2025. (Peter Casey/Imagn Images)
In 2022, the House Committee for Oversight and Reform held a called hearing “Combating Toxic Workplaces,” investigates decades of widespread sexual harassment, verbal abuse and structural misconduct within the Washington Commanders organization under former owner Dan Snyder.
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Goodell testified via Zoom, but the virtual format did not protect him.
Lawmakers hammered Goodell over the NFL’s refusal to release a report authored by attorney Beth Wilkinson’s independent investigation into the commanders. Members of Congress and former employees pointed out that the NFL released a more than 200-page public report investigating whether Tom Brady deflated footballs, but chose to keep the findings of a 20-year sexual harassment culture secret and provided only a “verbal report” to Goodell.
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Goodell’s defense — that they withheld the written report to protect the victims’ privacy — was dismissed by some committee members as a hollow excuse to protect Snyder.
Goodell tried to paint the NFL as both powerless and an ally that had successfully “held Snyder accountable,” which obviously didn’t fly.
He pointed out that the league fined Snyder $10 million and forced Snyder to step down from day-to-day operations, but also reiterated, “I don’t have the authority to remove [Snyder]”, which was panned by the legislators in frustration.
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