NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will be in attendance Thursday night for the NFL Kickoff Game at Gillette Stadium, but he might be tough to spot.
Goodell, who most New England Patriots fans probably would consider their team’s greatest rival, won’t exactly make his presence known, Sports Illustrated’s Kalyn Kahler reported Thursday.
“Goodell will finish up his pregame duties on the field early and will be off the field before the majority of Patriots fans are inside the stadium,” Kahler wrote.
The Patriots don’t plan to show Goodell on the in-stadium video boards, and the commissioner won’t sit in team owner Robert Kraft’s suite, according to Kahler.
This will be Goodell’s second appearance at Gillette Stadium this summer. He previously had not been in attendance for a home Patriots game since the infamous 2015 AFC Championship Game that started Deflategate.
Though Goodell might not be spotted in the stadium, his likeness will. Barstool Sports made 70,000 turquoise rally towels featuring Goodell as a clown. The towels will be handed out to fans outside the stadium but off Patriots property.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
