NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took a massive pay cut from 2012 to 2013. The poor guy only made $35 million last year.
According to Ken Belson of the New York Times, Goodell’s compensation was released as part of the NFL’s annual tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service’s this week. The $35 million figure represents what Goodell made from April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014. His salary is paid by the 32 NFL owners.
During that span, the NFL signed a new $275 million contract with CBS and hammered out the details of a $1.5 billion deal with DirecTV, which is the exclusive provider of Sunday Ticket.
In addition to the new television deals, the NFL also settled a massive $765 million concussion lawsuit with former players.
Goodell’s base salary is $3.2 million, and the rest comes in the form of bonuses from the 32 NFL teams. He made $44.2 million in 2012, so his salary was roughly 20 percent less this time around. Most people believe it should be even *lower* in 2014 after the disastrous year the NFL had from a public relations standpoint.
The amount of money Goodell makes reminds us how hilarious that PR stunt was that he pulled back in 2011. While his base salary certainly isn’t peanuts, it represents a tiny fracture of the amount he makes during the course of the season.
The bottom line is this — as long as the NFL’s owners continue to make money hand over fist, they’re happy. Situations like the Ray Rice domestic violence case are mere minor blips on the radar. That’s one of the reasons so many people hate Goodell.
