IRVING, Tex. — When the N.F.L. owners signed off on Commissioner Roger Goodell’s five-year extension, two important things happened: Goodell made it clear this would be his last deal with the league, and league owners took a moment to figure out exactly what they will get for the hundreds of millions they have committed to him during the next seven years.

In a word, continuity, numerous owners said, and the start of a smooth transition to new leadership, as Goodell begins the process of finding a suitable successor to take over when his deal expires in 2024, if he does not decide to leave sooner.

Goodell, the owners acknowledge, is hardly the perfect leader for North America’s most successful sports league. His tenure, they know, has been filled with missteps and controversies, unforced errors and self-inflicted wounds.

But he has worked for the league for 35 years, and he knows, better than anyone, the owners, their ancestors and their progeny. That is no small thing. He knows which ones he must listen to, and which ones he can pretend to listen to, and how to finesse them. The same goes for the media titans who have helped turn the N.F.L. into a $14 billion-a-year juggernaut. During his tenure as commissioner, which began in 2006, Goodell has helped team values skyrocket, and the owners are betting that will continue under his leadership.