The details of Roger Goodell’s contract extension with the NFL are still being ironed out, and some of the reported demands the commissioner is making are nothing short of mind-boggling. Not surprisingly, players around the league have some issues with the compensation Goodell is said to be seeking.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, Goodell wants a salary of $50 million a year in addition to the use of a private jet for life and lifelong health insurance coverage for his family. ESPN rounded up some reactions from NFL players, and there is a common theme.
“He wants guaranteed contracts. Think about the players and theirs also,” Steelers guard Ramon Foster said. “He wants lifetime medical. Think about the players and theirs also. The jet, he can have that one. I couldn’t care less. I can fly Southwest or Delta.”
“None of the players receive any of those type of compensations, and if a guy that’s not suiting up can demand those type of things, then I feel like the players should be able to demand those type of things and make as much money as a guy that’s not playing in the NFL,” veteran linebacker NaVorro Bowman said.
“Lifetime health insurance? And you don’t even play and we play and we can’t even get lifetime health insurance?” Lions safety Glover Quinn proclaimed. “Come on, man. … Definitely is a lot of money. Fifty-million bucks. Jeez. Maybe I need to go be commissioner.”
Other players seemed less concerned and even cracked jokes about the negotiations.
“Fifty million. Sounds good to me. That’s a lot of money,” said Panthers tight end Greg Olsen. “The private jet sounds better. I’d take less money and keep the plane. They didn’t ask me to be the commissioner yet. It sounds great to me.”
“I hadn’t seen that, but if you got that type of power and leverage, I would ask for it, too. It’s a multibillion-dollar industry and they say he’s done a great job. He gets $44 million now, right, so what’s six more million?” Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander asked. “At the end of the day, split up between 32 billionaires, it’s nothing. It’s a write-off for them. It’s a business expense. I would ask for it if I could. I’m not mad at it.”
Buccaneers defensive back Chris Conte said Goodell’s contract is no different from the way CEOs of other major corporations are compensated.
“It seems like any CEO position in corporate America — huge contracts that aren’t really proportionate to everyone else,” he said. “It seems kind of ridiculous to me but I guess it’s the way that our league is and the way corporations are in this country.”
There were plenty of other takes that are worth reading, but you get the point. While Jerry Jones may be getting all of the attention for his opposition to Goodell’s new deal, the Cowboys owner is not the only one with concerns. The situation between Jones and other team owners has turned ugly in a hurry, but it seems like more than a few players are unhappy as well.
