hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington. 6:00 p.m. in london. 8:00 p.m. in jerusalem. 9:00 p.m. in riyadh, saudi arabia. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we begin with a major announcement today that could potentially have a significant impact on the 2016 presidential race here in the united states. republican mitt romney says he will not, repeat not run, make a third run for the white house. he revealed his intentions to stay out of the race in a conference call with supporters just two hours ago. he also gave the reasoning for his decision. listen to this. >> i believe that one of our next generation of republican leaders, one who may not be as well-known as i am today, one

who has not yet taken a message across the country one who's just getting started may well emerge as being better able to defeat the democrat nominee. in fact i expect and hope that to be the case. >> joining us here in washington kevin madden cnn political commentator, former romney campaign adviser and spokesman, also with us, cnn's dana bash and gloria borger. kevin, i was surprised given the body language the statements the activity he was doing for the past month or so. >>. i was surprised. publicly and privately, it had all the indications that he was moving towards a direction that he would do it. if you look at the san diego speech from a week ago and the mississippi state speech all of those had the trappings of a presidential candidate. complete with sending out the excerpts of a speech beforehand. and even privately, governor romney said, in conversations that he had with me when he confirmed that he was thinking about it he said if you want to be president, you have to run for president.

so i thought that that really -- that deep-seeded belief that he's right for the job would ultimately trump all the other considerations that he was -- >> why do you think he decided not to run? >> i think this had a case of the head versus the heart. i think the heart told him that he's right for the job and that he would do a good job. but i think the head all of the things that it would take to run a campaign, the odds would be stacked against him this time it wouldn't be as open a field as it has been in his previous runs. i think all those considerations, and even some of the remarks that he made that this is a party that doesn't need that type of commotion, that should look towards the future all that outweighed it. >> he was encouraged by all the early polling, of course which showed him doing so well. but the staff had a big meeting with him, they laid it all out beforehand. and romney is someone that looks at the metrics of everything.

i think there was an issue of splitting funders with jeb bush splitting staff. and i just think he felt it was going to be a tough slog that he might not triumph at the end and that that would be very difficult to put his family through again. >> yeah -- >> we are told by the way, there was some division among his family his sons others -- his wife apparently was on board, ann romney. but there were some issues as far as the family is concerned. but that's by no means the only reason he decided not to run. >> no, obviously. i defer to kevin because he knows mitt romney and worked for him more closely on one of these elections and campaigns. and i actually think just what i'm hearing from people who are talking to him now, you're dead-on-that yes, he's a metrics guy, a data-driven guy, that's how he operates. and he got that back. but people who i'm talking to insist that it's not that he couldn't raise money. certainly he wouldn't probably raise as much as jeb bush.

not that he couldn't attract talented staff. he could. at the end of the day, it wasn't as you said in the heart, it didn't feel right for him. but i will say, taking our viewers behind the scenes about how this unfolded for us this morning, when i first reported at 7:00 a.m. eastern, i think, that he was having this call and that he had made a decision because of what you were saying that he had these campaign of like speeches pictures going out on twitter, an instagram photo he hadn't done since 2012 these kinds of things all signs were pointing to go. then i talked to some people after i was leaning into that strongly suggesting with a wink and a nod to roll back a little bit, that it wasn't necessarily a done deal. >> kevin, he says he's not running. but he had one intriguing little -- tiny little loophole there. let me play the clip. >> i've been asked and will certainly be asked again if there are any circumstances

whatsoever that might develop that could change my mind. accordingly, i'm not organizing a pac or taking donations. i'm not hiring a campaign team. >> he used the word "unlikely." is he leaving the door slightly slightly open? >> unfortunately, yes. this goes back to the remark that governor romney made earlier which is that no matter how many times he says that he's not running or sends an indication that he's not, there is always that possibility that something may happen that may change his mind. a one in a million chance. so you're telling me there's a chance? but i think there would be very little credibility left were he to change his mind again. and there was going to be another round of consideration. i think we can accept with a certain level of finality that mitt romney is not running -- >> you know what in september, that was the thesis that mitt romney would be the white

knight. when you talked to the romney people in september, they said he's leaving the door open because if things fall apart, he'll be the one to the rescue. after this i don't think he can do that. >> this is a rubicon moment. >> at least in the short term this looks like a win for jeb bush the former florida governor. he will attract the establishment, big-money republicans on board -- >> and chris christie to a lesser degree. >> given some of the problems chris christie has had in new jersey -- but i think jeb bush emerges. what do you think? >> absolutely. who knows if this was part of his decision-making despite the fact that they say he would have attracted fine talent jeb bush was already starting to gobble up really important people in iowa -- >> but they were appealing to the same republican base. >> they were. and one thing i should say, i've confirmed that chris christie

and mitt romney are actually having dinner tonight in new york city. and maybe will feed into the speculation that maybe he's not totally closing the door. i'm told he won't endorse anybody for a long time -- >> the other day with jeb bush in utah, too -- what do you think? nice win for jeb bush? >> he won't have an early endorsement. he will let the process play out. and it was competitive for that fund-raising network. that is also i think, to the benefit of jeb bush and chris christie. but this becomes the first big test between both of those candidates, those prospective candidates. which one of them can quickly move to lock down those donors? it's a very successful a very large fund-raising network. it's going to be an important asset for any candidate if they can get some of those donors. >> one of the things romney was looking at i'm told is that he looked at the field and said i'm the only one who's actually been to the super bowl before. and when he looked at jeb bush,

he didn't think he was a fabulous transactional politician. he thought chris christie perhaps had been damaged by bridgegate or whatever we call it. so i think he looked at the field and said i'm the only one who's been through this. he thinks jeb will have problems with wall street vetting, et cetera -- >> and that matters. >> it matters. >> but i think that's absolutely right. at the heart of that was this deep-seeded belief that i know the governor probably still has. but it was overrun by some of the other considerations that he would have been the right president. >> and he still believes that. >> big story here in the world of politics in the united states. the republican presidential nominee. the former governor of massachusetts, mitt romney is not, not going to run for president, once again. kevin, gloria dana, thanks very much. and this important note dana will be hosting "state of the union" sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. eastern.

we're two days away from one of the most watched sporting events in the entire world. we're talking about the super bowl here in the united states. and this season there's been a lot more talk about off-field issues than what happens on the field. in just about 20 minutes from now, we expect to hear from the national football league commissioner roger goodell who will give a so-called state of the game address and then answer reporters' questions. one of those reporters in the room will be our own rachel nichols who joins us live from phoenix right now, the site of the super bowl. rachel, a lot of issues out there right now. give us a little preview. what do we expect to hear from the commissioner? >> reporter: this is an annual address that the nfl gives at the super bowl. he'll talk about the good things in the league and there are certain a lot of metrics trending in their favor. viewership is extremely high. of the 30 fall programs that were most popular on television 28 of them were nfl games. the super bowl last year the

most watched television program in american history ever. so popularity is very high. but, of course there's plenty of issues within the nfl. there's the mishandling of their player conduct issues. domestic violence when ray rice punched his wife in the face, when adrian peterson was brought up on charges of beating his son and how the nfl responded to that. goodell will be under pressure on those issues. and there are going to be questions about deflategate, the investigation into the new england patriots because there's been criticism on all sides, even from the players here. seattle seahawks corner richard sherman brought up that there's a huge conflict of interest. robert craft, the owner of the new england patriots not only technically employs goodell but they're very close friends. so there will be questions to see just how stringently the nfl is looking into this. on the other hand the patriots think they're looking into it from too much. >> rachel i know you'll be in

that news conference. we'll carry the commissioner's news conference in about 20 minutes or so. it's scheduled to begin from phoenix at the super bowl. and tomorrow 4:30 p.m. eastern, for our north american viewers, be sure to watch rachel and the hall of fame quarterback dan marino, 4:30 p.m. eastern tomorrow saturday. up next fierce fighting between isis militants and kurdish peshmerga forces over the oil-rich city of kirkuk in iraq. and new developments on the hostage crisis. lots of news happening today. begins with the cloud. this is "titanfall," the first multi-player game built and run on microsoft azure. empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never thought

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we're following several major developments in the fight against isis under way right now. relatives of two hostages held by the terror group are pleading for their loved ones to be released but there's still no word on the fate of that jordanian pilot or the japanese journalist both of whom are being held by isis. isis has demanded the release of a female terrorist held by jordan in exchange for at least releasing the japanese journalist. but they have shown no proof of life that the jordanian pilot, an f-16 fighter pilot, is still alive. the latest deadline passed more than 24 hours ago. the isis militants have launched an assault on the oil-rich city of kirkuk and attacked a hotel used by police. but peshmerga raided the hotel, took control from the militants. a senior kurdish peshmerga general has been killed in heavy fighting against isis.

the brigadier general was the highest ranking operational commander in the peshmerga brigade in kirkuk. let's get more on what's going on throughout the middle east congressman adam schiff of california is the top democrat of the house intelligence committee and joins us from philadelphia right now. congressman, thanks very much for joining us. let's get the latest on this prisoner exchange if you will the two hostages held by hostage, maybe in exchange for that woman who's a convicted terrorist in jordan. what's the latest? what are you hearing about that? >> well, we're staying on top of it. i was just briefed this morning through the intelligence committee. there's nothing that i can report yet. it's still very murky and obviously all of us are very concerned about the well-being and the livelihood of both the jordanian pilot and the japanese journalist. unfortunately, the track record of those that isis parades in the yellow suits has not been very good. and a lot of what isis is trying

to do is trying to recruit more followers, trying to terrorize people and that makes them a very difficult group to have any confidence they're going to release these people unharmed. so no word yet and a lot of anxious families in jordan and japan. we're watching and trying to be of help in any way we can. >> jordan which as you know is a very very close friend of the united states king abdullah works closely with the u.s. they have been asking isis through indirect channels for at least proof of life that the jordanian fighter pilot is alive. do you know whether or not he is alive? is there any evidence that this pilot is still there? >> wolf i can't comment in particular. we're obviously trying to help jordan in every way possible. and i think the situation is still murky. jordan is in a very difficult position. they have to ensure they take every effort to get their pilot back alive. but it's very hard. and i think without proof of

life jordan can't possibly move forward. the worst case scenario would be for jordan to release this woman only to find out later that isis has either killed the pilot or kills the pilot thereafter. so i think jordan very sensibly is going to insist on proof of life. and i'm not sure that much progress has been made along that front. so i think we have to respect whatever decision jordan makes. they're a key partner -- and this will put a lot of pressure on their willingness to continue in the campaign against isis. >> the last i heard, correct me if i'm wrong, is that isis was maybe, maybe willing to exchange the japanese journalist for the convicted female terrorist in jordan. but isis was never going to include, at least the indications i was hearing, include the jordanian fighter pilot as part of the deal. i don't think jordan is going to

accept the deal to free this terrorist in exchange only for the japanese journalist. but tell me if isis is even willing to think about releasing that fighter pilot. >> i don't know the answer wolf. and i think you're right. in terms of the public reporting on this i haven't seen any public statements by isis that they're willing to exchange the pilot for al rishawi. if they're not, though, i don't think this goes forward. i don't see how jordan can possibly make any deal that doesn't include their own pilot. and we can certainly understand that situation. if this were an american captures service member we would be doing everything possible and there would be no deal without their release. i don't think isis has made that offer, certainly not publicly anyway. and i don't see how anything could go forward unless the jordanians can get their pilot back. >> we certainly hope the japanese and the jordanian hostages being held by isis are released and released quickly. very quickly on kirkuk what's going on in that oil-rich town

in northern iraq right now? we have been getting reports that isis was launching some sort of attack there. >> i think isis is feeling a lot of pressure. they've lost ground in the kurdish area. they had the symbolic loss in kobani. at the same time they're very lethal. but they are worried, i think, about pressure being put on mosul and supply lines cut off to mosul. this may be an effort not to reclaim territory around kirkuk but as to put pressure on the peshmerga, relieve some of the pressure they're starting to feel in mosul. the other significant development we have to keep an eye on too, is this allocation of a massacre of sunnis by a shia militia in the presence of iraqi troops. if that proves to be correct, it would be a tremendous setback to us and to the iraqis on the political front, which is just as important as the military front because it may lead sunnis elsewhere to believe that they can't part ways with isis and expose themselves to the dangers of the shia militia.

>> that's a very potentially disastrous development. do you know how many people were massacred? >> i don't know. i've just seen the public reports on this. obviously we're trying to get confirmation. this is of utmost seriousness to the al abadi government. it's going to be a tremendous setback for the cause. >> certainly is. it will undermine the new iraqi government and make matters so much worse. congressman, thanks very much for joining us. >> you bet. >> we'll be following this story and staying on top of the potential for a swap. let's see if that happens and all the other dangerous developments unfolding right now in iraq syria, elsewhere in the region. on a very different note only minutes away from roger goodell's annual state of the nfl address. coming up our panel of experts will discuss a long list of

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a home fire or other emergency. you can help. please donate now. we're just moments away from hearing from the national football league commissioner roger goodell. he's scheduled to give his so-called state of the nfl address and then answer reporters' questions. rachel nichols is in the room. she's joining us on the phone. what do we expect, rachel? set the scene a little bit for us. what's it like in there? >> reporter: i've been to a lot of these over the years. i have to tell you, this is the biggest room, as big a set-up as i have ever seen. there are more than 800 chairs in this auditorium for roger

goodell's press conference. and most of them are filled. you remember that very controversial press conference he gave in september where he was not able to answer a lot of the media's questions in the league's handling of the domestic violence incidents they had had. there was a relatively small group of people. roger goodell did not have time to prepare for that the same way. this is a press conference where there is media from all over the globe. and goodell and his staff have been prepping for this for weeks. so it has a very different tone. >> stand by, rachel. i know you'll hopefully be asking some questions of the commissioner. he's come under a lot of fire several times this season. first the ray rice affair the baltimore ravens player caught on camera beating his then-fiancee. the nfl suspended rice indefinitely. and the running back adrian peterson was suspended for off-field violence and now what's called deflategate, the less heinous act of deflating

footballs involving the new england patriots. it's been an unwelcomed distraction for the league during the lead-up to the premier sporting event, the super bowl this sunday. this is a game that last year was seen by more than 111 million people worldwide, was broadcast in 198 countries in more than 25 languages. the national football league is the world's number one league. it generates more than $10 billion a year in revenue. that dwarfs the top european football league and the english premier league that makes about $4 billion. that financial success earned roger goodell more than $44 million last year alone. joining us today is christine brennan, our cnn commentator lz granderson and gabriel sherman who's written an excellent article about goodell for "gq" magazine. christine, what's the biggest

challenge facing the commissioner right now? >> wolf i think it is sounding honest sounding truthful sounding like he cares and like there are results coming. and i think that's as rachel pointed out, what didn't happen in september. he has had all this time now to prepare. my sense is he will come out here and be stronger and more forceful. he will be facing a lot of tough questions. and i hope it's not all about deflategate as you alluded to. so much of a minor story, even though it's important, compared to domestic violence the personal conduct policies. huge issues involving the nfl. the nfl is a mirror of our society. >> hold on. here's the commissioner. >> good morning. before getting to your questions, let me make a few comments. first, congratulations to the seahawks and the patriots. they emerged as the best of the best in a terrific year of

football. a season of amazing competition and plenty of challenges, learning and real progress. we know when we meet our challenges effectively, we are a better league and a positive contributor to society. it's on us. i truly believe that we will continue to make progress. because the nfl is made up of good and caring people. i'm realistic about the work that lies ahead and confident that we will do what is expected of us and even more importantly of ourselves. looking to the off-season we will focus on innovation and technology in three key areas --

the game player safety and the fan experience. we are doing more to protect our players from unnecessary risk. hits to defenseless players this season were down 68%. and there were similar decreases in other areas per tangtaining to the safety of the game. we reported yesterday that concussions were down 25% this past regular season. continuing a three-year trend. since 2012 concussions in regular season games have dropped from 1973 to 111. a decrease of more than one third. the real credit goes to the players and coaches. they have adjusted to the rules and the challenge of creating a culture of safety for our game.

but there's more to do on player health and safety. carefully reviewing and improving our concussion protocols will be a focus of our medical committees this off-season. and we are establishing the position of a chief medical officer. this individual who we expect to have in place very soon will oversee our medical-related policies. ensure that we update them regularly and work closely with our medical committees our advisers and the players association. there's more work to do on other fronts. while the quality of the game continues to improve, fans want every play to have suspense. but the extra point has become virtually automatic.

we have experimented with alternatives to make it more competitive play and we expect to advance these ideas through the competition committee this off-season. we are looking at expanding the use of technology and innovation for our football and medical staffs as well as our fans. last year, technology improved officiating. for the first time it enabled us to directly involve officiating supervisors in our office in instant replay. and for officials to use wireless communications on the field. replay and other officiating decisions took less time. that's important. fans don't want to delays. coaches don't want delays. they want action and accuracy. we are looking at other ways to

enhance replay and officiating. that includes potentially expanding replay to penalties. if it can be done without more disruption to the pace of the game. and we are discussing rotating members of the officiating crews during the season as a way to improve consistency throughout our regular season and benefit our games in the postseason. in officiating, consistency is our number one objective. the possibility of expanding the playoffs has also been a topic over the last couple of years. there are positives to it, but there are concerns as well. among them being the risk of diluting our regular season and conflicting with college football in january. in in the important area we are

continuing our work to uphold the highest standards of responsible conduct so that we represent our fans and communities in a way that will make them proud. yesterday we held the first meeting of our new league conduct committee chaired by michael bidwell. the committee reviewed our current personal conduct policy. it emphasizes ongoing education, prevention support services and raises the standards for all of us in the nfl. most importantly, it is clearly more effective. on the issue of footballs used in the afc championship game we have been hard at work conducting an objective and thorough investigation. as you would expect we take seriously anything that

potentially impacts the integrity of the game. we are focusing presently on two questions -- why were some footballs used in the game that were not in compliance with the rules and was this the result of deliberate action? i want to emphasize, we have made no judgments on these points. and we will not compromise the investigation by engaging in speculation. when ted wells has completed his investigation and made his determination based on all relevant evidence we will share his report publicly. finally, on steps to grow the game and serve the fans we are excited about the success of thursday night football and the extension of our agreement with cbs.

we have the best partners in media. and together we will continue to develop new platforms, expand fan interaction and deepen fan engagement. technology great football and our fans, that's a winning combination. how our fans especially younger ones connect with the game is changing every day. to that end, we are aggressively pursuing the streaming of a regular season game with our first over-the-top telecast. it would be carried on broadcast stations in both team markets, but it would also reach a worldwide audience including millions of homes that do not have traditional television service. let me finish with this. football's popularity is

extraordinary. the credit goes to the players, coaches and the fans. we know the nfl's impact is far reaching. it is most dramatically seen on super bowl sunday. it means we have enormous responsibility to lead every day by example. it is what our fans deserve. we are humbled by and grateful for their passion. they are the ones who inspire me our owners and coaches and men like our walter peyton award finalists who are with us today. and we know we must earn the trust of our fans every day. i know you have a question on these and many other issues, so let's get to it.

>> from the "associated press," in light of what you just finished -- your statement, with such a focus on off-the-field issues dating back to the saints bounties as well as problems on the field that you just referred to what do you plan to do specifically before next reason to restore faith in the league and in the "shield"? >> yes. we've already begun that process, barry. we have already begun to process of adding additional resources in terms of individuals that can bring an expertise to our office an expertise to investigations. as you know last fall i announced that we would hire a special council for investigations in conduct. we are in the search process and hope to conclude that in the very near future.

we have great people working for the nfl. and we are adding resources, adding assets that will make sure that we have a thorough and fair process. we are also as but demonstrated with ted wells, not afraid to go outside and to get outside perspective that can be valuable to us a professional perspective that will give us the kind of outcome we want which is a fair, with the truth being clear. >> roger, jim thomas "st. louis post dispatch." two-part question for you. what is the league's level of commitment to keeping a franchise in st. louis, especially given the region's efforts to build a new stadium for the rams for the second time in 20 years? and secondly rams ownership by all appearances seems to be more interested in the l.a. project than the st. louis stadium project. how does this meet relocation guidelines which call for teams to exhaust every opportunity in their own market before moving? thank you.

>> well jim, the first answer to your initial question is that we want all of our franchises to stay in their current markets. that's a shared responsibility. it's something that we all have to work together on. the league has programs including stadium funding programs that we make available. and we will work and have worked with communities, including st. louis. we also will make sure that we're engaging the business community and the public sector in a way that can help us lead to solutions that work in those communities and in your case st. louis, and make sure that it works for the community as well as for the team. so our teams can be successful over the long term. the second part of your question jim, was the interest and the ownership. you know stan has been working on the stadium issue in st. louis, as you know for several years. they had a very formal process as part of their lease.

that process -- they went through that entire process. it did not result in a solution that works either for st. louis or for the team. so i don't think the stadium is a surprise to anybody in any market that is having these issues. there's quite a bit of discussion about it. and the st. louis representatives seem determined to build the stadium. that's a positive development and something we look forward to working with them on. >> commissioner bob kravitz, robert craft said the other day that he felt that you and your office owed him an apology if nothing came out of the investigation, the wells investigation. what are your thoughts on that matter? >> well bob, my thoughts are, this is my job, this is my responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. i represent 32 teams. all of us want to make sure that the rules are being followed.

and if we have any information where the potential is that those rules were violated, i have to pursue that. and i have to pursue that aggressively. so this is my job. this is the job of the league office. it is what all 32 clubs expect. and i believe our partners our fans expect. and we will do it vigorously. and it is important for it to be thorough and fair. >> roger, "los angeles times," 2015 marks the 20th year without a franchise in the nation's second largest market. and coincidentally the 20th year that i've asked this question -- >> i do recognize it already, sam, you want me to finish it for you? >> should i drop the mike? earlier this month, as jim mentioned, rams owner announced plans for a stadium there.

considering he has the land the vast resources, both financial and political, can anyone else win this race? what's the criteria that the league is going to use to determine which team or teams are able to relocate to los angeles? and what if an owner decides to go rogue and without the nfl's blessing says i'm just going to move my team no matter what you say? >> well sam, several points that you made there, let me try to be responsive to all of them. first, let me start with your second question. the ownership takes very seriously the obligation for us all to vote on any serious matter including relocation of a franchise. there's a relocation policy that is very clear. we have shared it with our ownership over the last several years. we have emphasized the point in each of those meetings that there will be at least one vote

if not multiple votes if there is any relocation. we would have potentially the relocation itself potential stadium funding, potential super bowls. so a lot of things would likely be subject to a vote. and our ownership takes that very seriously and we take that very seriously. so any relocation will be subject to a vote. as it relates to the first part of your question there have been no determinations of us going to los angeles, any particular team going to los angeles or going to any particular stadium. we have several alternatives that we're evaluating both from a site standpoint. there are teams that are interested but are trying to work their issues out locally. and so as a league we haven't gotten to that stage yet. and it will all be subject to our relocation policy. there are requirements in that policy as you know particularly as it relates to cooperation and working to make

sure that they solve the issues in their local market. but i'm confident all of that will be covered within the relocation policy and with our membership approval. >> i realize this question might seem to some people petty, especially in comparison to some of the other things you'll be asked, but marshawn lynch's cooperation or lack thereof with the media has become a big story. since even before you were commissioner you concerned yourself with growing the game with marketing the game so what's your take on how he handled the media this week and has your office made a decision whether he'll be fined for a lack of position or for wearing a non-licensed hat? >> our staff will look at that following the super bowl and make a determination as they have in the past. i've been very clear that when you're in the nfl, you have an

obligation obligation, an obligation to the fans. it is part of your job. and there are things that we all have to do in our jobs that we may not necessarily want to do. i think marshawn understands the importance of the super bowl the importance of his appearance and the importance of him hz an individual in this game. and fans are curious, fans want to know. the media would like to make the story clear to our fans. i understand it may not be on the top of his list. but everyone else is cooperating, everyone else is doing their part because it is our obligation. as i say, there are a lot of things we don't like to do in our jobs but it comes with the territory and it comes with the privilege of playing in the super bowl. >> commissioner goodell, darren mckee, speaking of jobs it's been a tough year for you in your job this year. many people in america, if they

went through the year you've had, probably would have resigned or been fired. can you envision any set of circumstances which would lead you to resigning or being fired as your job as commissioner? >> no, i can't. does that surprise you? listen it has been a tough year. it's been a tough year on me personally. it's been a year of what i would say humility and learning. we obviously as an organization have gone through adversity. but more importantly, it's been adversity for me. and that is something where we take that seriously. it's an opportunity for us to get better. it's an opportunity for us -- for our organization to get better. so we've all done a lot of soul searching, starting with yours truly. and we have taken action. a lot of the concerns that we had back in august where we didn't have a policy that

addressed a very complex issue, we didn't have answers for that. we didn't fully understand those issues. well now we have experts in the field. they're in our office. they're helping us understand this. advisers that have given us a better understanding of the issues and how to deal with these complex issues. we went on the road. we've spoken to -- last count i had was well over 150 experts, whether they're former players, college university presidents, law enforcement officials. how can we do a better job of managing these complex issues? and we set out to create a new personal conduct policy, which was unanimously approved by our 32 owners in december. so we made enormous progress. the things we didn't know and the things where we were in august are not where we were today. we're in a good place in knowing and learning and being more -- having a lot more humility. and as an organization and as an

individual it's been a tough year but a year of great progress. and i'm excited about the future. the second and probably important issue for us is we want to make a difference in this area not just internally but externally. we've done a great deal to bring more awareness to these issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. we are committed to that. we are working with various organizations to try to make sure that we as my advisers like to say, normalize the conversation, bring awareness, understand what victims and survivors are going through. one of the most compelling moments i had of this entire fall was going to shelters or going to a hotline center and being able to speak to the advocates and hear the fear the emotion, the economic consequences. that is compelling. and it will make you understand

this issue much more deeply. and we as the nfl and this commissioner understands it a lot better today than he did before. and i think we as the nfl want to make this an important issue where we can make a difference in society in general because this is a problem in the broader society. et means for the league largest attendance since 2005 league has had a regular season in mexico season. fans don't understand why. can you explain to them why? >> john we have tremendous fans in mexico. we had a great experience with the regular season game down there. as you know that was our first ever. it was a tremendous success for us. we want to get back there. we want to play more games from. it's a combination of stadium

availabilities, making sure we can doll it it at the standards and level we like to do it. when we do it we'll do it well. we've had success in london. we're looking at markets including mexico. we certainly hope to be back there soon. >> rachel nichols from cnn. roger, you have faced problems over the past year over a wide range. a lot of issues are conflicts of interests. when you add an outside investigator like ted wells, you're still paying him and craft who owns patriots still paying you. even when you do everything right in those situations it opens you up to credibility gap with public and most high profile players. what steps can you guys take in the future to mitigate those conflict of interest issues? >> rachel i don't agree with

you on a lot of assumptions you make in your question. robert mull lens who i think you asked me the same question last fall about the conflict of interest. integrity is impeccable. ted's integrity is impegableccableimpeccable. they bring in evidence and attempt to identify the truth. i think we have done an excellent job of bringing in outside uconn sul assistants in. somebody has to pay them. we have the responsibility to protect the integrity of the league whether we have an own her being investigated or a commissioner being investigated. they're done at the highest level of integrity and quality.

>> roger, good morning. ron mott nbc news. a two part question. one, how do you describe your relationship with the league's players? how do you plan to strengthen that going forward? >> there's close to 3,000 players in the nfl. i communicate with players on a regular basis on every case privately. i seek their input particularly when making decisions that affect players, which are most decisions. we spend an awful lot of time talking to former players who are great input in personal conduct policy. we reach out to the player's association for their perspective. we are not going to agree on every matter. we understand that. no one has more respect for the

players, what they do in our communities, what they do on the field, their importance to nfl going forward. i've had the great privilege of working closely with them 30 some odd years. that's a privilege for me. their well being, their future are important to me. we spend a great deal of time on player health and safety. we want to make this game as safe as possible for them. we want to make sure we do everything while they're here and when they transition out of football we're helping them be successle. i'll continue to reach out to them, continue to have the input they're willing to give me. we'll also work with the player's association. when we disagree on matters such as personal conduct poll circumstances we're not going to compromise the nfl. we agree we need to raise standard miss the nfl. that's what our owners said. we agree we have to make sure

we're not completely reliant on law enforcement. owners agree. we don't want to wait until law enforcement concludes a process. that could take months. we had a fundamental difference with the player's association. we implimted personal conduct policy to make sure we have that ability. we'll continue to work with them, try to find ways to strengthen that policy and address issues raised. >> i'm jason. in the league's quest to keep inno it vaing technology and digital media, has there been discussion using both even better to persuade kids and parents about getting involved with kids about football rather than being dissuaded by it? >> absolutely. we spent a great deal of time with usa football helped the player association to create that to help us promote the game of football on all levels.

they've did done an extraordinary job. we created the heads up football program just two or three years old now. the adoption rate on youth level and high school level is extraordinary. it's teaching coaches how to teach safe techniques teach othering kids how to play the game safety. that's good for the long term future of the game. we'll continue to invest in it. we've committed $45 million to promote the game being played safely. the game of football and someone that played youth football through high school -- i think the values character from playing a team sport like football is extraordinary. i want kids to have that same opportunity. >> yes? >> hi. my name is bobby, i'm the nfl play super kid. >> just met you. nice to see you again.

>> well playing 60 is an important part of my life. how do you play 60? i told you it was a tough question. >> well bobby, i laid 65 this morning. i was in the gym quarter to 5:00 doing the elliptical. i believe in that. i believe in the importance of taking care of yourself from a physical standpoint emotional standpoint mental standpoint. that's a routine i have. i get in a routine and don't let it go. >> roger, fox 29 tv and sports radio 94wip philadelphia. when shaun was suspended he said ignorance was to excuse. will the same standards apply when you said to the integrity

of the game when you complete your investigation on footballs and if they were deflated by anybody, will the same standards hold true for bill belichick? one other question. richard sherman said if players should be available every week you as the commissioner should be available to fans and media on a weekly basis as well. can you address his question as well? >> well let me start with the second one. i understand the obligation of my job to meet with the media. i don't know whether i meet with them in a press conference every week but i'm available to media almost everyday of my job professionally. so we try to make ourselves available on a very regular basis. it's my responsible, my job, and i'll do that. the first part of your question. i want to make sure we don't mix issues. these are individual cases.

the saint's case was -- without getting into allegations -- we investigate had the a year prior and didn't find anything. later, information came to us that verified a bounty program was in place. at that point in time they were all on notice that bounty programs are obviously unsuspectableunsuspect unacceptable. i hold the head coach responsible. we don't know who's responsible or even if there was an infraction. when we get the case from ted wells, we'll take all that into account and make the decision to protect the integrity of the league. >> over here. amber dickson, las vegas. las vegas has long awaited a sports team whether nhl, nfl. do you think las vegas could sustain a professional team?

>> i can't speak to other sports. i can't even speak to nfl because i haven't had dialogue with officials in las vegas about how that could happen successfully for las vegas and the nfl. a stadium would be a big component to that. i'm not sure that exists now. i understand the passion from fans in las vegas and their interest in football. >> neil reynolds united kingdom. can you tell us the thinking behind the move to early kickoff times in games in london 2:15 and whether that moving to earlier time shot would enhance time slot or expanded package in uk? >> it's something we experimented with here. it was successful as our fans had a national window on sunday morning.