How a forgotten piece of NFL history pushed Roger Goodell’s No. 2 to golf

Former NFL executive Brian Rolapp explained that he left his position as Roger Goodell's top lieutenant to join the PGA Tour because he viewed the golf circuit's crisis as an opportunity to enact generational change. Speaking on a panel with Andrew Marchand, Rolapp stated that historic sports disputes, specifically the 1960s AFL-NFL rivalry, showed him that chaos often precedes lasting transformation and commercial prosperity in professional sports.

Rolapp noted similarities between golf's disruption and the AFL's rise, which ultimately resulted in the creation of the Super Bowl and modern broadcast formats. In his first year with the PGA Tour, Rolapp introduced a new championship format, altered sponsor exemption rules, stratified tour competition, and explored smaller, targeted broadcast packages with emerging streaming partners like Netflix.