![]() Rozelle presided over massive growth, and the advents of the Super Bowl and "Monday Night Football," for which at his peak in 1974 the owners rewarded him with a handsome $200,000 a year, the equivalent to $1 million in today's money. Pete Rozelle was a superb promoter, but owners never let the financial relationship with him get this far out of whack. Goodell's contract is profoundly out of line with previous commissioners, who did far more for their money. Ask the same execs what they think of Goodell. Now Bowlen was a unique talent and formidable dealmaker, as any TV exec who had to write the check will tell you. The NFL's revenue is around $13 billion, and the main portion of this is a gift from the titanic TV packages negotiated in 20 by the owners' broadcast committee, which was chaired by the Denver Broncos' Pat Bowlen. The mechanisms of the league's revenue are driven by the owners, the entrepreneurial dealmakers such as Jones and Bob Kraft. Goodell's hazy, vague role as NFL commissioner meets none of the criteria. There is only one legitimate rationale for compensating an executive on this level: When he or she is a one-of-a-kind business talent, who spearheads strategic acquisitions and drives sales, and can demonstrate some connection to the value of the company. Again, for what? He's never taken a hit, or had an idea. He makes more by several millions than the CEOs of Ford, Prudential, General Electric, Morgan Stanley and Goodyear. He makes 15 times more than the average NFL player. Goodell makes twice what Tom Brady makes. This, in a league in which NFL players have health benefits for just five years, yet face lifetime neurological damage. In addition to a raise, Goodell reportedly has asked for a private jet in perpetuity, and lifetime health insurance for himself and his entire family. ![]() Does anyone seriously believe Goodell should make anything close to what Bob freaking Iger makes? The only reason the NFL is even contemplating such a thing is slackness by the compensation committee members, who are so used to dealing in huge sums that they have forgotten what a sensible scale looks like - and have lost their ear for what is offensive. Jones is no different from any other upset major shareholder. Jones has every right to demand consideration of this question, even if it means infuriating some of his more complacent fellow owners by dragging the NFL's dealings into the light. ![]() It is a serious question whether Goodell, who has no accomplishments and presides over tanking TV ratings, has earned a pay cut or even firing, rather than a raise. Bob Iger acquired Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilms for Disney, so the stomach doesn't rebel quite as much at his $41 million package. ![]() But at least the CEOs referenced above can be said to have created some value for their companies or shareholders. firms now make 271 times more than the average worker, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and 74 percent of Americans believe they are overpaid, a conviction that cuts across party affiliations. But go ahead, gentlemen, give the commissioner a deal that appears to be written by Marie Antoinette, while quibbling over settlements for your players' head injuries.Įxecutive compensation is an emotionally charged subject: CEOs at the largest U.S. The NFL is courting audience disaffection with oversaturation, the concussion crisis drags on, and the fan perception is that the league has dug too relentlessly into their pockets. To restore that perspective: Goodell already makes $30 million, more than Steve Wynn, and the CEOs of AT&T, Microsoft, Exxon, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson, Aetna, and Dow Chemical. While the owners fight among themselves, the rest of us can only sit around slack-jawed with wonder at their total loss of good sense, and perspective. Small wonder Jones threatened to sue the compensation committee, and wants more transparency on Goodell's contract. Goodell has made a bid to raise his salary to $49.5 million a year, according to ESPN, which would pay him more than the CEOs of IBM, Time Warner, Hewlett Packard, Disney, Nike, Oracle, Yahoo, and J.P. For what? What exactly does this NFL commissioner do, other than wrinkle the vast expanse of his forehead over the public relations disasters he creates, provoke fan rage, and refuse to fly commercial? If Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ goal is to restore some fiscal sanity to his fellow owners, then well done. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently thinks he should be paid twice as much as the chairman of Goldman Sachs. ![]()
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