RailBoss

1) Robert Kraft: "The assistant commissioner"

Sherman said Kraft and Goodell spend time at each other's houses and take pictures together, but the friendship between two of the NFL's most powerful men looks like it goes even deeper than that.

According to GQ, Kraft lobbied owners to issue statements publicly backing Goodell in the wake of TMZ's leaking of elevator footage showing Ray Rice striking and knocking his then-fiance unconscious. Kraft is called Goodell's "fiercest advocate and defender" by GQ, but one NFL executive has a different name for the Patriots' owner:

So large is Kraft's sway with Goodell that one veteran NFL executive likes to call him "the assistant commissioner."

Kraft also reportedly called and pushed for Goodell to go on the air with CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell and throw a blanket on the fire that was building around the Rice story before it got out of control.

2) Some owners resent Goodell's favoritism

While many of the owners have been publicly supportive of Goodell, he isn't everyone's favorite. New Orleans Saints' owner Tom Benson resigned from three league committees in 2013 due to the league's harsh punishment for the team's bounty scandal in 2012 as well as Goodell's pay package.

The owner of the New York Jets isn't Goodell's biggest fan either, and that's due to the "preferential treatment" given to Kraft and others that are close to the commissioner:

It's also an open secret in league circles that some owners, especially Woody Johnson of the Jets, resent the preferential treatment Goodell is perceived to extend to his inner circle.

According to GQ, Goodell prepared himself well for the job as commissioner of the NFL before even getting the job by understanding the shifting balance of power among owners. Goodell understood the relationships and the culture of the league and rose to power as the "old guard ceded influence to a new generation" or powerful owners, including Kraft, Jerry Jones and Jerry Richardson.