TAMPA - In an annual state-of-the-NFL address highlighted by the effects of the economic crunch, commissioner Roger Goodell delivered a verbal counterpunch to the players' union, setting the stage for what will likely be a yearlong labor battle.

Goodell's strong response came after a union-commissioned study released Thursday showed the average value of NFL franchises has grown from $288 million to $1.04 billion in the last decade, and that teams averaged $24.7 million in profit in the last year.

"There is a lot of fiction in that," Goodell said. "That report is not accurate."

The uncertain labor future dominated the discussion yesterday at the Tampa Convention Center - headquarters for Super Bowl XLIII - much like questions about "Spygate" and the Patriots' videotaping procedures did last year.

The collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2010 season, although the key deadline comes next February or March.

If an agreement isn't reached by then, the 2010 season would be played without a salary cap, which could dramatically alter the competitive balance that has helped the league thrive.

The sides have yet to start negotiating, partly because the union has yet to hire a new executive director following the death of Gene Upshaw.

After listening to Goodell's hourlong question-and-answer session yesterday, Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Matt Birk - a longtime player representative who attended Harvard - compared the situation to politics.

"It's just like an election," he said. "You start throwing the jabs early."

There is no bigger Football stage on which to do so than the Super Bowl.

Goodell expressed concern about how the economic downturn is affecting the NFL, mentioning how some of its business partners are being stretched and the disposable income of some fans is shrinking. He also noted how owners are assuming more risk with stadium projects.

As a response to the economic downturn, Goodell said about three-quarters of the teams will hold their ticket prices flat. The league is also planning to cut staff, having previously announced that about 150 employees will be slashed, and individual teams have also reduced staff.

"It's a difficult period of time," Goodell said. "There is uncertainty out there and we have to cut our costs so we can continue to keep this business a successful business and grow this business at some point."

In the end, despite the verbal back-and-forth of the last two days between Goodell and the union, Birk believes owners and players will find a way to hammer out their differences and extend the collective bargaining agreement.

"The bottom line is that the league and the game is very strong and everybody involved in the game today is making money," he said. "I don't think anybody that is going to be involved in negotiations at the end of the day is going to be dumb enough to throw that away."

Toss around ideas

Goodell addressed one of the hottest on-field topics from the 2008 season - the overtime coin toss. He expects it to be studied by the league's competition committee this year, with all potential alternatives analyzed.

"What we've seen in our statistics is that historically about 30 percent of the games in overtime are decided with a team who wins the opening flip scoring on the first possession, and that number has risen to 47 percent, and I think that's significant," he said. "When you couple that with the fact that our field goal kickers are much more accurate than they've been in the past, that is a danger."

On the health of players, Goodell believes the game was safer over the second half of the 2008 season, in part because of penalties and fines from the first half of the season that eliminated certain techniques.

One area of concern for Goodell was what knocked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady out for the season, as he noted that he spoke to the competition committee about low hits to quarterbacks. He also expects further discussion on protecting defenseless receivers, the possibility of not allowing defenders to launch themselves, and potentially making all blows to the head illegal (a blow to the head with a shoulder is legal).

"These take a lot of study to consider and they take a lot of time and energy," he said. "For the competition committee, the No. 1 priority will be player safety, for all players."

In other issues, Goodell noted that Detroit and Dallas will retain Thanksgiving games in 2009, although he left open the possibility that owners could discuss rotating those games to other teams.

Goodell also expressed confidence that an international game will be played in Mexico in 2010.

Healthy news

The health of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was speared in the kidney area during the AFC Championship game, has been in the spotlight. Coach Mike Tomlin said Roethlisberger is "fine" and that receiver Hines Ward (strained right knee) was "great." ... The Steelers and Cardinals had their final major practices yesterday, and will have walkthrough sessions this morning.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com

SIDEBAR:

Hall of Fame set to name names

Today, 50 sports journalists will select the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class for 2009. A minimum of four finalists and a maximum of seven will be chosen. The nominees:

- Wide receiver Cris Carter

- Center Dermontti Dawson

- Defensive end Richard Dent

- Guard Russ Grimm

- Wide receiver Bob Hayes

- Defensive end Claude Humphrey

- Guard Bob Kuechenberg

- Guard Randall McDaniel

- Defensive tackle John Randle

- Wide receiver Andre Reed

- Tight end Shannon Sharpe

- Defensive end Bruce Smith

- Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue

- Linebacker Derrick Thomas

- Bills owner Ralph Wilson

- Defensive back Rod Woodson