NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell earned $35M in ‘13, according to the league’s most recent tax return, a document the league made available to THE DAILY on Friday afternoon. That sum is essentially flat with the prior year, when Goodell earned $44.2M -- an amount that included $9M of deferred pay. The NFL plans to file the return with the IRS tomorrow morning. The ‘13 pay figure does not reflect the turbulent past year for the NFL, a year when the league’s response to domestic violence incidents received harsh criticism. Goodell often took the brunt of that heat. Next month, the NFL’s three-owner compensation committee is scheduled to set his pay for the time period that will include the ‘14 season. “The Commissioner’s total compensation in 2013 is a fair reflection of his leadership and contributions during the year,” Falcons Owner Arthur Blank, Chair of the Compensation Committee, said in a prepared statement. “Compensation packages for Roger and other senior executives are reviewed annually; accordingly, the compensation committee will conduct a thoughtful review and make a determination of 2014 compensation.” The Compensation Committee meeting typically occurs during the league’s annual owner’s meeting in March. The other two members of the compensation committee are Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson and Patriots Owner Robert Kraft. Most of Goodell’s pay is bonus-based. In ‘13, for example, the owners paid him a $31M bonus, with the remainder of his compensation in salary and other benefits. In ‘12, his bonus exceeded $40M (of which $5M was deferred pay) (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer). In N.Y., Ken Belson noted the $35M came in a year in which the league "signed major television and sponsorship deals and settled a landmark concussion lawsuit, and in which two teams began work on new stadiums" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/14).
TURN THE PAGE: The N.Y. TIMES' Belson wrote Goodell has "tried to turn the page, but the events of the last few weeks are a reminder of the stubborn problems that continue to plague the league." Some of those events "may force Goodell into the uncomfortable position of penalizing some of the owners who pay his robust salary." Goodell has "become such a piñata of sorts that fans, television analysts, columnists and women’s advocates continue to call for him to be replaced." Even when he "seems to have taken control of a situation, he is criticized for the way he handles it" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/15). THE MMQB's Peter King writes, "A man should be able to earn what he is worth in this country; far be it from me to limit what a person can fairly be paid. But to me, Goodell’s earnings package is tone-deaf" (MMQB.SI.com, 2/16). In N.Y., Bart Hubbuch wrote Goodell "definitely has been good for the owners' bottom line" (N.Y. POST, 2/14).
PAY FOR OTHER EXECS: After Goodell, the next highest-paid exec at the NFL in ‘13, according to the return, was General Counsel Jeff Pash. He earned $7.5M, though $1.3M of that included deferred pay earned in prior years. Steve Bornstein, who at the time was Executive VP/Media, earned $5.18M. Bornstein left the NFL in June ‘14. The NFL paid Eric Grubman, then Exec VP/Business Ventures, $3.8M. Grubman is still with the league as an Exec VP, but he no longer has business ventures in his title, carrying several responsibilities for the league, including the NFL’s L.A. considerations. Former Exec VP/Football Operations Ray Anderson earned $1.88M in ‘13, according to the return. He left the league last April and now is Arizona State AD (Kaplan). According to the NFLPA’s recently filed tax return, NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith earned $2.95M "in the union’s fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2014." That amount "is up" from $2.8M in the year-earlier period, the "second consecutive year that's been the case." For the year ended Feb. 29, 2012, the union paid him a $1.5M bonus, helping him earn $3.45M that year, his "high-water mark" since he took the position in '09. The "next highest-paid" at the NFLPA is Managing Dir Ira Fishman, who earned $790,731 in the most recent fiscal year (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/16 issue).
