NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell emailed fans today to thank them for their passion, saying that he regrets that the league was not able to secure an agreement sooner in the process and avoid the unfortunate distractions to the game.

"The National Football League is at its best when the focus is on the players and the action on the field, not on labor negotiations," Goodell said in the email communication. "You deserve better.

The NFL reached an agreement three days after a controversial end-zone call by replacement referees that decided the fate of a Monday night's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. The NFL and the NFL Referees Association have agreed to the terms of a new eight-year collective bargaining agreement that immediately returned the game officials to the field.

Goodell said the new agreement gives long-term stability to an important aspect of the game - officiating and said officiating will be better in the long run. He said beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option of hiring a number of officials on a full-time basis to work year-round, including on the field and will have the option to retain additional officials for training and development purposes, and may assign those additional officials to work NFL games.

Goodell said the league is focused not just on what happens on the field but what the game will be like in another decade or two.

"The NFL has always tried to look ahead, to innovate, and to constantly improve in all we do," Goodell said. "We recognize that some decisions may be difficult to accept in the passion of the moment, but my most important responsibility is to improve the game for this generation and the next."

Goodell admitted that the negotiations wasn't an easy process for anyone involved and commend the replacement officials for taking on an unenviable task and doing it with focus and dedication in the most adverse of circumstances.

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