The delay in getting a new contract extension done for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is due in part to the issue of the player protests during the playing of the national anthem, reports ESPN.com's Adam Schefter.

According to the report, the deal is already on the table and is expected to be signed, but getting the deal done has been slowed by other issues the league is dealing with, mainly the anthem protests.

Sports Business Journal had reported in August that the 58–year-old Goodell was close to receiving another contract extension.

But the new ESPN report says that during the owner's meeting last week in New York, the competition committee spent less than half an hour discussing the topic.

Goodell's current contract ends in 2019 and his new deal will extend him until the year 2024.

The new deal is expected to be similar to his past deal with compensation exceeding $30 million.

Goodell made $44 million in the 2013–14 fiscal year and $34 million the next year. His salary and bonuses do not have to be reported anymore as the NFL dropped from being a tax-exempt, not-for-profit company in 2015.