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).
