The NFL paid Commissioner Roger Goodell $44.2M in the 12-month period that ended March 31, 2013, the league told SportsBusiness Journal earlier Friday. That figure includes $9.1M of deferred pension and bonus earned the previous year. The league expects to file its tax return, which will include the pay figures, with the IRS on Tuesday. That return will show Goodell earned a $3.5M salary and a $40.36M bonus, though $5M of the bonus was earned the prior year. Disclosure of Goodell’s nearly $30M compensation at this time last year reverberated through the industry. Sean Gilbert, a contender for the top spot at the NFLPA, penned a book called the “The $29 Million ‘Tip,’” arguing Goodell’s pay was gratitude from owners for what the former player contends is a pro-management labor deal struck in ‘11. Even Congress has brought up Goodell’s pay as part of attacks on the league’s non-profit status. Prior to the '11 labor deal, Goodell’s top pay was $11.5M.
The league stressed that $9.1M of Goodell’s pay came from deferred bonus and pension from the ‘11 lockout period and that his true pay is around $35M. “Goodell’s compensation reflects our pay-for-performance philosophy and is appropriate given the fact that the NFL under his consistently strong leadership continues to grow,” NFL owners Arthur Blank, Robert Kraft and Jerry Richardson wrote in a letter to their fellow owners that is scheduled to be e-mailed Friday afternoon. The three owners comprise the league’s compensation committee.
The pay almost assuredly makes Goodell the highest-paid sports exec. MLB in recent years changed its tax status to for-profit, so it no longer is required to make public its return, but when Commissioner Bud Selig signed his latest two-year contract in ‘12, ESPN reported the final year would pay him $22M, though other sources placed the figure north of that in the $30M range.
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“Bud Selig has historically been the highest-paid commissioner,” said
Marc Ganis, a sports consultant with strong ties to both leagues. “These numbers put Roger and Bud in the same league. A number of NFL owners feel Roger should be the highest-paid commissioner based on performance.” Among other leagues, the NBA has never publicly disclosed exec compensation, and with
Adam Silver now at the helm, it is unlikely a new commissioner would make more than a long-standing commissioner in a richer sport. The NHL paid
Gary Bettman $8.3M in the FY ended June 30, 2012, according to that league’s most recently available tax return.
“Based on performance and success, it is logical to pay our commissioner competitively relative to other commissioners,” Kraft, Richardson and Blank wrote. The compensation information sent to owners today also will show outgoing NFL Network President & CEO Steve Bornstein with pay of $26M for the year-ended March 31, 2013. The trio of owners also wrote in the letter that the pay includes “a one-time final contractual payment” of $19.6M related to the long-term appreciation in value of the NFL Network. Bornstein is scheduled to leave the NFL this spring.
