National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell is asking for a raise to the tune of nearly $50 million per year, a lifetime use of a private jet, as well as lifetime health insurance for himself and his family, according to ESPN.
This request comes off the heels of one of the most boggled public relations stories of all time – the NFL’s failure to properly address players who choose to kneel during the national anthem as a way to highlight police brutality. While certain players maintain that demonstration is not about disrespecting the military, hundreds of thousands of fans see it differently.
Today, a Facebook group alone had a quarter of a million people pledge to protest the NFL by refusing to watch games in honor of Veterans Day weekend.
According to ESPN, Roger Goodell currently makes $30 million per year. Roger Goodell has typically been surrounded by a bevy of pencil pushing yes-men losers most of his career who have allowed some of his other outrageous actions to stand. One example is his tarnishing of the league’s greatest of all time quarterback, Tom Brady, during the phony deflate-gate scandal. Yet, it seems most owners reject his outlandish request for a raise this time around.
One NFL owner told ESPN that there are "several owners in this league who don't make $40 million a year." The owner was referring to the salaries that owners take, which does not include the increase in valuations that each NFL franchise has undergone.
"That number for Roger just seems too much," the owner said. "It's offensive. It's unseemly."
But, other NFL owners anonymously stated that Roger is adamant he gets that money.
"Roger is defiant," one NFL owner told ESPN this weekend. "He's not going to resign; he's not going to take a pay cut. He can stand to show some humility, but he won't listen to staff."
Those around Goodell do not believe he will leave the job, despite the protestations of a handful of owners.
"I don't sense that at all from him," one source who is regularly around Goodell told ESPN. "He has said he's committed to it. He feels there are important issues he has to deal with."
It really should not be that big of a surprise to these owners that Goodell is asking for an exorbitant out of money. He is used to getting his way in the league.
Take for instance during the bogus deflate-gate trial. A federal judge ruled that Goodell was allowed to suspend the aforementioned GOAT, Tom Brady, because the commissioner’s contract allowed him what equates to limitless power. In that case, Goodell was allowed to suspend Tom Brady for allegedly deflating footballs during Brady's then 6th AFC championship victory on route to his 4th of 5 Super Bowl rings. In the NFL, game used footballs must have a certain air pressure. Brady and the Patriots were accused by the mediocre Indianapolis Colts of purposefully letting air out below the required pressure in order to gain a competitive advantage. Contradictory evidence, such as the ideal gas law, showed that the cheating never occurred. But, Goodell’s power to suspend Brady for 4 games stemmed from the judge's ruling that “the Commissioner was authorized to impose discipline for, among other things, "conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence, in the game of professional football.”
Goodell and his lawyers argued that Brady's alleged actions harmed the integrity of the game and thereby hurt the public confidence in professional football. This allowed Goodell to punish Brady. Essentially, the only thing that mattered was Commissioner Goodell's opinion on what was best for the league.
As for what is best for the the game of professional football, one could argue that Goodell should be focused on resurrecting the NFL’s ratings this year instead of his salary. The NFL has had dismal viewing performance in 2017, with league wide ratings slumping below the MLB and NBA this year.
Due this drop in ratings, one could even further argue that Goodell should take his power to punish “conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence, in the game of professional football” by forcing NFL players to stand for the National Anthem. Many experts and polls show the direct correlation and causation between the anthem protests and the ratings drop.
Ultimately the NFL is a private business, league owners can give Goodell a raise if they choose to do so. Or better yet, the League could take that money that from Roger Goodell's paycheck and instead use it to start some type of charitable fund for Veterans and their families.
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