The President of the United States makes $400,000 per year. Commissioner Roger Goodell makes a lot more than that. The current American president has noticed the disparity.
Asked in a GQ interview by Bill Simmons whether Barack Obama would like to be the commissioner of football, baseball, or basketball, Obama said this: “Well, I’m best suited for basketball. But I cannot believe that the commissioner of football gets paid $44 million a year.”
Technically, Goodell doesn’t make $44 million per year. His annual compensation package, made public because of the league office’s now-abandoned non-profit-status, varies based on a number of factors. For 2012, the year after a lockout that accomplished most of the owners’ financial goals, Goodell was paid $44 million. In 2013, the total dropped by $9 million, to $35 million.
The last year to be reflected in the relevant federal filing will be 2014, which should be interesting in light of the Ray Rice scandal. How much less will the Commissioner make based on his handling of one of the most embarrassing episodes the league has seen in recent years? (Unfortunately, the public won’t have access to Goodell’s compensation for 2015, the Year of #Deflategate.)
Simmons, a Boston native who has strong negative feelings about Goodell due in part to the perceived persecution of the Patriots, then tried to bait Obama into saying something more inflammatory. But Barack didn’t bite.
After Obama attributed Goodell’s pay to the fact that the league’s owners are making a profit, Simmons asked if Obama believes the owners like having Goodell in the position.
“You’re not going to drag me into your fights, man,” Obama said. “Come on — I’ve got enough fights of my own. This is between you and Roger.”
It’s actually between plenty of people and Roger, who has become one of the most polarizing figures in all of sports. Actually, “polarizing” isn’t the right word, because it implies that folks either love him or you hate him. When it comes to Goodell, most fans either hate him or they don’t care.
But that’s one of the reasons why Goodell makes so much money. He provides cover for owners who, through Goodell, run the league the way they want to run it, and Goodell takes the arrows on their behalf.
If Goodell is ever replaced, the next person also will make a lot of money — because the next person will also be expected to become the pin cushion for those who don’t like the way the league operates. It operates at the wishes and whims of the owners, who realize that it’s much easier to do that if there’s a figurehead who catches the flak for it.
Meanwhile, the NFL has no comment regarding Barack Obama’s opinions regarding the Commissioner’s compensation.