Roger Goodell
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell delivers a commencement address honoring his late father, former Senator Charles Goodell, and shares career and life advice structured around three questions posed by students. He discusses persistence in launching his NFL career, the importance of gathering diverse information and remaining open when making decisions, and the value of lifelong learning and embracing change. He closes with reflections on his father's integrity and a letter urging him to create his own pressure.
Key moments
- 01 Recounts writing 40+ letters and driving overnight to secure an NFL internship
- 02 Advises creating a vision and plan rather than simply dreaming
- 03 Describes his decision-making process: gather credible facts and listen to differing views
- 04 Shares his father's letter urging him to 'feel your own pressure' and stand by principles
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Roger Goodell at UMass Lowell, 2010
A commencement address about voice, good information, humility, courage, integrity, and the legacy made by how you work.
Speech arc
- 01UMass Lowell
Opening move
- 02Class of 2010
Speech beat
- 03Marty Goodell legacy
Speech beat
- 04Let your voice be heard
Speech beat
- 05Good information
Speech beat
- 06Listen widely
Speech beat
- 07Principles under pressure
Speech beat
- 08Make a difference
Final charge
Legacy: Make things better wherever you stand
Goodell frames commencement through the example of his father Marty: passion, energy, leadership, and the habit of leaving institutions stronger.
Inheritance
Family, mentors, and community become the first model for public character.
Service
Leadership is measured by whether people and places improve because you were there.
Voice
Graduates are asked to use their own voice instead of waiting for permission.
Goodell frames commencement through the example of his father Marty: passion, energy, leadership, and the habit of leaving institutions stronger.
Information: Good decisions begin with credible facts
The speech treats the information age as both gift and test: access is abundant, but judgment depends on checking what deserves trust.
Facts
Get the information straight before turning certainty into action.
Credibility
The hard task is not finding data; it is knowing which information can guide a decision.
Process
Better outcomes come from disciplined preparation, not impulse.
The speech treats the information age as both gift and test: access is abundant, but judgment depends on checking what deserves trust.
Humility: Listen long enough to find solution C
Goodell urges graduates to hear people who disagree, resist premature decisions, and stay open to answers better than the first two options.
Disagreement
Opposing views are useful because no one carries all the answers alone.
Patience
A good process leaves room to revise the first position.
Synthesis
The best answer may be neither A nor B, but a more durable solution C.
Goodell urges graduates to hear people who disagree, resist premature decisions, and stay open to answers better than the first two options.
• Key takeaways •
Let your voice be heard
Connects to integrity.
Start with credible facts
Connects to leadership.
Listen to disagreement
Connects to decision-making.
Stay open to solution C
Connects to humility.
Build legacy through integrity
Connects to courage.
Closing charge
The close returns to pressure, principle, and courage: careers can change, but character is built by the way choices are made.
Legacy is how you do the work
Pressure
There will be voices pulling and pushing in different directions.
Principle
Standing for belief matters most when the cost is visible.
Charge
Do what you believe in, do it well, and do it with everything you have.
The close returns to pressure, principle, and courage: careers can change, but character is built by the way choices are made.
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Transcript
The previously catalogued transcript link is no longer live and is queued for re-sourcing. A video of the address is available above.
Machine transcript available for archive analysis; it is unverified and may contain transcription errors. Machine transcript source ->
Provenance
BROKEN transcript link (checked 2026-06-26): graduationwisdom.com repurposed into lifestyle blog; speech pages gone. Provenance: Imported from NPR commencement archive
NPR archive last updated in 2015; destination availability has not been exhaustively rechecked | Transcript URL dead (graduationwisdom.com repurposed into lifestyle blog; speech pages gone); video fallback present
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