It definitely pays to be an enigmatic figurehead for one of the most controversial and popular brands in the world. Just ask NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The highly visible head of North America’s most lucrative professional sports league reportedly earned a whopping $32 million during the 2015 calendar year.
NFL paid Goodell $32 mil in 2015, tax filing shows, first full year of comp disclosed since player misconduct scandal. Story in @sbjsbd
— Daniel Kaplan (@KaplanSportsBiz) June 30, 2016
Interestingly enough, this is a decrease from the $34 million Goodell earned the previous year.
It’s still a whole heck of a lot of cash for a “leader” many believe shouldn’t occupy one of the most-powerful positions in the entertainment world.
Goodell’s salary is more than three times what NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hauled in ($10 million) last year. It’s also $14 million more than Rob Manfred earned as MLB’s commissioner in 2015.
Despite all the controversy surrounding Goodell, one thing is clear. The National Football League has turned some absurd revenue numbers under his watch.
The NFL earned a total of $12 billion in revenue for the 2014 season (2015 will be released in July). That’s up from the $6.2 billion in revenue the NFL took in back in 2005, the year before Goodell took his current post.
For the purposes of no disclosure, this is the last year the NFL will have to publicly disclose Goodell’s salary after it gave up tax-exempt status last year (more on that here).