(Eisen) What are your thoughts on the Pro Bowl leading up to the Super Bowl, and what is the league thinking about it?

We want to wait and see what happens at the end of the event. So far it has been a great success. We have a sold out stadium, we have more people attending this year’s Pro Bowl than we have in 50 years.

The reaction has been very positive about it. There are things we obviously want to do better as we look forward, but we concentrate on how we can make each event better. This is a way to make this event better and create a bigger platform for our players.

(Faulk) One person who was unhappy was Bill Polian with the traveling situation. Do you see any way you can tweak it so that those players on Super Bowl teams find it more conducive to stay with their teammates?

It’s interesting because the reason the players are here is because they asked to be here. When we went through the process of deciding about moving the Pro Bowl, the players said ‘we would like to be there and be honored with our teammates, so we would like the Super Bowl players to come in early.’ We are responding exactly to what the players wanted by having them here.

(Eisen) Is it feasible as the event shifts back to Hawaii for the next few years that you still have it before the Super Bowl?

We have the option to do that. That is one of the things we want to analyze after this is over. We want to talk to the players, we want to talk to the coaches, and we want to talk to the event people and found out the positives and negatives.

(Eisen) Well factor this in commissioner, I don’t know if I could cover the Pro Bowl in Hawaii and the Super Bowl [laughs]. Does that factor into your thinking?

That is actually first on our list, Rich, to be honest with you [laughs].

(Eisen) As you get ready for Super Bowl week, you are obviously going to get a lot of CBA questions at your state of the state address on Friday. Can you give us an idea of what you are going to say?

As you know, most of the questions I am taking from the media, so I am sure there will be a lot of questions on the future of our collective bargaining agreement. The real core message here is that we all want to get a fair agreement for the owners and the players to allow the game to continue to grow. There are conversations going on, and that is a positive step, but we are all frustrated that there is not more progress. We all have to work harder to get there.

(Eisen) Is there a ticking clock that there is a deadline coming up this particular March, or [is the bigger concern] next March? Are there conversations with the players about that right now?

I don’t think you can artificially create deadlines. We will go into an uncapped year in a month if we don’t have an agreement. It is looking virtually certain that we will get to that point. The real issue is to get the right kind of agreement. The timing is not as important. We will get an agreement; it is just a matter of when.