The fact that the NFL is a nonprofit organization simply sounds strange. Profits are soaring. In 1966, when the NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League, Congress gave the NFL certain antitrust exemptions and the same benefits as business trade groups and chambers of commerce not organized for profit. The National Hockey League, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, and other sports groups have similar status. Apparently all of the money that goes into the NFL goes straight to the 32 NFL teams. While the NFL might be nonprofit, the commissioner of the league is definitely making a nice profit.
I recall a Chris Rock routine in which he differentiates between the rich and the wealthy. By Rock's definition, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is rich. Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is wealthy. The NFL is a runaway success. Everyone is making money. 23 of the 32 franchises are worth more than $1 billion dollars. Every team is profitable. If the owners weren't wealthy, by Rock's definition, when they entered the league they likely are now. The old football families like the Halas', Mara's, and Rooney's weren't too wealthy when they bought into the struggling NFL of the 1920s and '30s. The Bidwill's were a little closer to sitting pretty when they joined in the fun. Back then they only needed the kind of money that their descendants now might keep in their wallets. All of the those football families that survived the tough early days were richly rewarded when football exploded all over the nation with television. The owners are simply rewarding Roger Goodell for all of the riches coming their way and the resulting stability of the league. The NFL gets stronger each year. Everyone involved is benefiting.
Goodell's income for 2012 may have been $44.2 million but $9.1 million of that was in the form of a bonus and pension payment that he deferred two years ago. So, his total compensation for just 2012 was just $35.1 million. I don't think that he struggled mightily those two years. His total compensation was nearly all performance-based. His base salary is $3.5 million. Sometimes it seems that everyone could sit back and watch as the NFL could run itself. There's really no way of knowing if anyone else could lead the league quite as well as Goodell. The most remarkable thing about the NFL is the fact that they have had the perfect person in charge at every step of its history. Joe Carr's passion and vision was perfect for the difficult early years. Bert Bell guided the league to the level of baseball and college football in popularity. Pete Rozelle introduced the NFL and television. Paul Tagliabue effectively led the league through a player-owner minefield and the introduction of free agency. Roger Goodell is taking the league to ever-dizzying heights. If any one of those men was off of his game in the decade plus that they led the league, we likely have a less strong league now. If Carr was off, we might not have an NFL at all. The owners are extremely happy and Roger Goodell is benefiting from that happiness.
For some reason, I can't believe that Roger Goodell has been commissioner since 2006. He's signed an extension to remain in office through 2018. I think that he has the job for as long as he wants the job. Personally, I'd be quite happy to run the league for much, much less than $44.2 million, let alone $35.1 million. All things considered I think that Goodell is doing a fine job. There's no doubt that he has the best interest of the league in all that he does. Unfortunately, that interest is often measured in dollars rather than football. The NFL is a business so the bottom line is the most accurate measure of success for him and the people that pay him. I just wish that he would stop saying that the fans want the changes that he proposes. He talks of the interest in expanding the regular season to 18 games. He says that the fans want it. The fans don't want it. The fans that I know are overwhelmingly against it. The only thing that the fans are for in that discussion is the cutting of the exhibition games down to two. I actually don't mind four exhibition games but I don't think that the league should charge regular season prices for those games. The players are definitely against 18 games. Their vote should count. I don't think that the playoffs should be expanded. Playoff games are fantastic. That doesn't mean that we have to force more games into them. The most important aspect of the playoffs is that the teams involved are the elite of the league. Adding more teams only dilutes that. The NFL grows every year simply by being great. The play on the field is the selling point. Why jeopardize that. How much is enough?
I recall a Chris Rock routine in which he differentiates between the rich and the wealthy. By Rock's definition, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is rich. Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is wealthy. The NFL is a runaway success. Everyone is making money. 23 of the 32 franchises are worth more than $1 billion dollars. Every team is profitable. If the owners weren't wealthy, by Rock's definition, when they entered the league they likely are now. The old football families like the Halas', Mara's, and Rooney's weren't too wealthy when they bought into the struggling NFL of the 1920s and '30s. The Bidwill's were a little closer to sitting pretty when they joined in the fun. Back then they only needed the kind of money that their descendants now might keep in their wallets. All of the those football families that survived the tough early days were richly rewarded when football exploded all over the nation with television. The owners are simply rewarding Roger Goodell for all of the riches coming their way and the resulting stability of the league. The NFL gets stronger each year. Everyone involved is benefiting.
Goodell's income for 2012 may have been $44.2 million but $9.1 million of that was in the form of a bonus and pension payment that he deferred two years ago. So, his total compensation for just 2012 was just $35.1 million. I don't think that he struggled mightily those two years. His total compensation was nearly all performance-based. His base salary is $3.5 million. Sometimes it seems that everyone could sit back and watch as the NFL could run itself. There's really no way of knowing if anyone else could lead the league quite as well as Goodell. The most remarkable thing about the NFL is the fact that they have had the perfect person in charge at every step of its history. Joe Carr's passion and vision was perfect for the difficult early years. Bert Bell guided the league to the level of baseball and college football in popularity. Pete Rozelle introduced the NFL and television. Paul Tagliabue effectively led the league through a player-owner minefield and the introduction of free agency. Roger Goodell is taking the league to ever-dizzying heights. If any one of those men was off of his game in the decade plus that they led the league, we likely have a less strong league now. If Carr was off, we might not have an NFL at all. The owners are extremely happy and Roger Goodell is benefiting from that happiness.
For some reason, I can't believe that Roger Goodell has been commissioner since 2006. He's signed an extension to remain in office through 2018. I think that he has the job for as long as he wants the job. Personally, I'd be quite happy to run the league for much, much less than $44.2 million, let alone $35.1 million. All things considered I think that Goodell is doing a fine job. There's no doubt that he has the best interest of the league in all that he does. Unfortunately, that interest is often measured in dollars rather than football. The NFL is a business so the bottom line is the most accurate measure of success for him and the people that pay him. I just wish that he would stop saying that the fans want the changes that he proposes. He talks of the interest in expanding the regular season to 18 games. He says that the fans want it. The fans don't want it. The fans that I know are overwhelmingly against it. The only thing that the fans are for in that discussion is the cutting of the exhibition games down to two. I actually don't mind four exhibition games but I don't think that the league should charge regular season prices for those games. The players are definitely against 18 games. Their vote should count. I don't think that the playoffs should be expanded. Playoff games are fantastic. That doesn't mean that we have to force more games into them. The most important aspect of the playoffs is that the teams involved are the elite of the league. Adding more teams only dilutes that. The NFL grows every year simply by being great. The play on the field is the selling point. Why jeopardize that. How much is enough?
No comments:
Post a Comment