NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took a moment during Thursday’s Super Bowl XLVIII news conference in New York to address what he considers the top issue facing the league.

“Player health and safety is always top of mind for us and the highest priority,” Goodell said.

Goodell added that the league continues to look for ways to make not only professional football safer but extend those protections across sports in general.

The commissioner also discussed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the family of the late Junior Seau’s lawsuit against the NFL in connection with the Hall of Fame linebacker’s suicide last year.

“We are saddened by the tragic circumstances surrounding Junior Seau’s death,” Goodell said.

The commissioner went on to mention the NFL’s efforts to learn more about the disease, including $1 million spent to specifically focus on CTE. Goodell also mentioned $30 million invested with the National Institutes of Health to learn more about brain injuries and $100 million written into the league’s collective bargaining agreement aimed toward more research about player health and safety.

– Marcas Grant, contributing editor