Paul Tagliabue: I think so.

Eisen: Oh boy. There's a lot to get to. Let's start with the news of the day; the announcement that you made today to start things off. And that is the big four games that are on the schedule already. And you announced them, starting with the kickoff game in New England in an AFC title game rematch. Can you talk about this matchup and how this sort of stuff comes about, that New England gets the kickoff game?

Tagliabue: Well, we try to get both of the Super Bowl teams in theng weekend in national games. And we felt that the Super Bowl winner was probably the one who had earned it. And New England would be a great place in the country at that time of the year to start playing football. And of course, bringing the Colts back in there, it'd be a big match, and we thought it was wonderful. And then we go to Monday night, and we have Brett Favre and Jake Delhomme, the two Louisiana guys up against each other, so we think it's a really positive start.

Eisen: Then Sunday night, a big AFC West battle between Denver and Kansas City in mile high, right there where a lot of additions have taken place for the Broncos. That should be exciting, with Dallas and Minnesota, also.

Tagliabue: Dallas and Minnesota. The Vikings made it clear here today that they thought they should've been in the playoffs, so they're ready to start off the season as a playoff contender.

Eisen: Let's talk about a couple of issues that are going to be on the docket. Starting with the NFL Trust, which calls for equal distribution of marketing and merchandising dollars. There's been a lot of talk about how important this really is, and the fact that it does not talk about revenue share and doesn't deal with revenue sharing from television dollars, is a large chunk. But a lot of people also think that if it no longer calls for an equitable distribution of the marketing dollars that could lead to a slippery slope of signing bonuses, etc. Where do you feel this issue falls in the level of importance?

Tagliabue: Well, I think it's more important as a promotional set of arrangements as a way for teams in their markets to build partnerships with local businesses and companies and employees of companies with sponsorships and things like that. At the league level, it's very important with our Gatorade relationship, our Pepsi relationship and some of our youth programs that some of those sponsors will invest in. So it's important, mostly for those promotional reasons. Of course, there's some money associated with that. But in the big financial picture, it's not that big a deal, to put it in simple terms.

Eisen: Okay, let's talk about some of the Competition Committee issues that have been forwarded by the committee, and that is instant replay. How do you think this vote is going to turn out, in your mind?

Paul Tagliabue is happy that some important rules and regulations were passed.

Eisen: When is that vote going to come down, do we know?

Tagliabue: Probably (March 30), it could be late morning, early afternoon.

Eisen: Competition Committee also calls for a 15-yard penalty on celebrations that a referee deems as a group premeditated celebration. Where do you think a vote on this matter is going to fall?

Tagliabue: I think it'll pass. I think the coaches, in particular, are fed up with things that they regard as outside the bounds of the game. The Players Association's been the leader on this issue. It goes back four or five years; we put fines in, four or five years ago, maybe three years ago. Now, when we spoke to the Players Association at the combine, they were on board on getting this out of the game. It sends a powerful message to our fans and to young football players.

Eisen: And I'm told the Chiefs have tabled their proposal to add playoff teams, so that's not going to be up for a vote here this time around?

Tagliabue: Yes. It will not be up for a vote. We discussed it at some length last year and there really was lukewarm support at that time. And this year, the playoffs were so great, why tinker with something when it gives you the best playoffs, perhaps in the history of the league?

Eisen: And perhaps the same idea can be said for overtime format change. But that is still going forward. The Chiefs' idea of allowing each team to touch the football at least once in overtime. That's going to go forward, in terms for a vote?

Tagliabue: It will go forward to discussion. It's the type of thing that before we get through with it that may be tabled as well. But there again, we had so many games where both teams had their hands on the ball. Of course, we had the double overtime game in the playoffs. So, some of the edginess of that debate has gone by the boards as well.

Eisen: The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the union and the league, where does that stand? I know that you were mentioning in your speech about moving forward and getting this extended.

Tagliabue: We're working on it very hard. We've had a number of meetings with Gene Upshaw, some larger meetings, some small meetings. He's with his players this week at their convention out in Hawaii. We're going to be meeting in mid-April when he gets back, and we just want to keep it moving along. Our goal is to put something together that could be presented to the players for a vote this fall, perhaps late in the season.

Eisen: Thanks for coming on the show.