SI Names Roger Goodell The Most Powerful Person In Sports

NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL tops SI's list of the 50 most powerful people in sports, and as the “de facto CEO of the King of All Sports Leagues," he wields "considerable influence by dint of job title alone.” But Goodell has “consistently pushed, and sometimes trespassed, the boundaries of that authority.” He is “akin to the boxer who has more than power -- he has reach too.” Either you “approve of him or … you disapprove of him.” But like “his league, his supremacy is unmistakable” (SI, 3/11 issue).

RANK	EXEC	TITLE
1	Roger Goodell	NFL Commissioner
2	David Stern	NBA Commissioner
3	Phil Anschutz	AEG Owner
4	John Skipper	ESPN President
5	Bud Selig	MLB Commissioner
6	Stan Kroenke	Kroenke Sports Enterprises Owner
7	Mark Lazarus	NBC Sports Group Chair
8	Jacques Rogge	IOC President
9	Phil Knight	Nike Chair
10	Hedge Fund Dude
11	Mark Walter	Dodgers Chair
12	Robert Kraft	Patriots, MLS Revolution Owner
13	Sean McManus	CBS Sports Group Chair
14	Michael Dolan	IMG Chair & CEO
15	Eric Shanks	Fox Sports co-President & co-COO
16	Sepp Blatter	FIFA President
17	Mike Slive	SEC Commissioner
18	Adam Silver	NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO
19	Jerry Jones	Cowboys Owner
20	Larry Ellison	Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Oracle Racing Owner
21	Richard Scudamore	EPL CEO
22	Bernie Ecclestone	F1 CEO
23	Scott Boras	MLB agent
24	Kevin Plank	Under Armour President, Chair & CEO
25	Tim Finchem	PGA Commissioner
26	Jim Delany	Big Ten Commissioner
27	Gary Bettman	NHL Commissioner
28	David Levy	Turner Broadcasting President of Sales, Distribution & Sports
29	Glazer Family	Buccaneers, EPL club Manchester United Owner
30	Carlos Brito	A-B InBev CEO
31	Donald Fehr	NHLPA Exec Dir
32	Herbert Hainer	adidas Chair & CEO
33	Bob Bowman	MLBAM President & CEO
34	Casey Wasserman	Wasserman Media Group Chair & CEO
35	DeMaurice Smith	NFLPA Exec Dir
36	Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan	EPL club Manchester City Owner
37	Travis Tygart	USADA CEO
38	Mark Emmert	NCAA President
39	John Riccitiello	Electronic Arts CEO
40	Brian France	NASCAR Chair & CEO
41	Alison Lewis, Sharon Byers	Coca-Cola Senior VP/Marketing, Senior VP/Sports & Marketing Partnerships
42	Al Haymon	Boxing promoter
43	Ed O'Bannon	Former UCLA basketball player
44	Barack Obama	U.S. President
45	Dana White	UFC President
46	Cindy Davis	Nike Golf President
47	Tom Condon	CAA Football co-Head
48	Mark Cuban	Mavericks Owner
49	Stephen Espinoza	Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM
50	Michael Jordan	Bobcats Owner

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE LIST: ESPN’s Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic went over the list this morning and Greenberg said of Goodell, "It's hard to argue right now that he isn’t the most powerful man in sports.” He noted there were "two glaring omissions" to the list, one of them being the fact there are "no current athletes” named. Golic said if an athlete had been picked, it has "got to be LEBRON." Golic: "I think LeBron has, in sports, become the guy.” But he added, “Just to understand this list, there are 13 CEOs, there are numerous presidents, other commissioners. So it’s that kind of list.” Greenberg suggested MARK EMMERT should not be on the list, saying, "It’s been fairly well documented at this point that he doesn’t have any idea what’s going on at the NCAA and the NCAA doesn’t have any idea what’s going on anywhere else. So I think we have more power than them” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 3/7). Meanwhile, several Golf Channel on-air personalilities debated Finchem's legacy. Damon Hack said it is the "focus on charity, the fact that every tournament event helps a local community when the PGA Tour visits.” Hack added that it is not only what Finchem has “done in terms of tournaments and growing the PGA Tour schedule,” but also the “focus on charity that helps a lot of people beyond the game of golf.” Gary Williams noted charitable dollars have "remained very robust ... in a time in which everybody has been affected by what has happened in the global markets." Williams: "The fact is that they never saw a significant dip at all in terms of the type of purses they were playing for or the charitable dollars that were given back into the local communities” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 3/7).

BREAKING IT DOWN: SI’s writers came up with their individual lists of the top 10 in their respective beats. Tom Verducci ranks the 10 most powerful people in baseball, while Don Banks ranks the NFL. Ian Thomsen ranks the NBA, Grant Wahl ranks global soccer, Andy Staples ranks college sports, Stu Hackel ranks the NHL and Richard Deitsch ranks sports media (SI.com, 3/6). ESPN's BILL SIMMONS was named the most powerful media figure, and CBS Sports Network’s Allie La Force said, "He sort of reaches a large platform of people with podcasts, obviously known for his award-winning writing, now he’s on television and he makes appearances. He has his Grantland website and he sort of approaches it from a fan's point of view, a guy covering sports who is also a sports fan.” CBS Sports Net’s Doug Gottlieb said, "I’m going to say it’s MIKE TIRICO, and maybe this is more for TV media and it’s just kind of the world I live in.” Gottlieb listed all of the sporting events Tirico hosts and said, “He’s incredibly well-rounded. I think he’s actually better in-studio as a studio host. ... He’s also good at play-by-play." La Force: "When I think of breaking news right now in multiple different sports, its ADAM SCHEFTER. Not only does he have over 2 million Twitter followers, he’s constantly breaking news on Twitter and he’s constantly on ESPN doing updates, giving reports on multiple teams.” Gottlieb: "I would say he and JAY GLAZER are 1-A and 1-B as far as covering NFL stories” (“Lead Off,” CBSSN, 3/6).