Roger Goodell: 'All of us have evolved a little bit on gambling'

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seems to be softening his position on gambling conflicts after Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis pledged $500 million toward the building of a proposed $1.4 billion domed stadium in Las Vegas.

"All of us have evolved a little bit on gambling," Goodell said Friday on ESPN Radio on whether gambling in Las Vegas is an issue for the possible Raiders relocation. "To me, where I cross the line is anything that can impact on the integrity of the game. If people think it is something that can influence the outcome of a game, we are absolutely opposed to that."

Davis stopped short of guaranteeing a move to Las Vegas but made his intentions clear on Thursday with comments like turning "the Silver State into the silver and black state."

Davis' quest toward moving the Raiders to Las Vegas came during a meeting with the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee at UNLV.

Goodell touched on the topic the day before Davis made his bold move with the $500 million contribution offer.

"We don't have a proposal," Goodell said Wednesday. "Ultimately that is a decision of the ownership. There are owners who will feel very strongly about continuing to support our position on gambling, there will be owners that will have the view of whether that's the best market for us to be in, whether there's truly the fan support there, they'll look at obviously the stadium alternatives, and I think that's what you do in any relocation."

Davis believes the support for a move to Las Vegas will be there if the stadium is built.

"If we give them an offer they can't refuse and that's what we're talking about now, I don't see a problem," Davis said Thursday.

Also in attendance was Sands Corp. chairman Sheldon Adelson -- who is overseeing the charge for the 65,000-seat stadium project -- and soccer star David Beckham, who does promotional work for Sands.

In addition to the $500 million from the Raiders, the Sands is contributing $150 million. That would make up nearly half of the funding and the current plan is to raise the rest through tourism taxes.

Davis said the Raiders would continue to play in Oakland until a Las Vegas stadium is ready. He said they would play an exhibition game each year at Sam Boyd Stadium, the 35,500-seat facility that houses UNLV's football program.

The Raiders have signed a one-year lease to remain at the O.co Coliseum for the 2016 season and have two one-year options for 2017 and 2018. The Raiders will pay $3.5 million in rent to play at O.co Coliseum in 2016, an increase of more than triple what the team paid last year.