Roger Goodell Made 30 Million Dollars In 2011

Roger Goodell made 30 Million dollars in 2011 as indicated by a copy of the league's tax return. Goodell, who made 11.6 million in 2010, was essentially given an incentive based contract by the owners in order to avoid lost revenue from missed games and television contracts. 

From an objective standpoint Goodell represents the owners, he represents the business aspect of professional football and that side is ugly and unrelenting. He not only avoided completely losing a season in 2011, but he also increased the television ratings and completed a monstrous deal between CBS, Fox, and NBC for Superbowl rights. He is by definition, an employee of the owners. Therefore, from this standpoint, he has done a tremendous job and no one can argue that. He has focused on cleaning up the league by cracking down on criminal and inappropriate behavior by its players. He is the owners sheriff,  the man who wont allow the NFL's image to be smeared. 

Often times you will hear the saying, "protect the shield at all costs". For those of you unfamiliar with this saying, it means protect the NFL regardless of the lengths needed to go to maintain the success it has attained. Essentially, the NFL is a cash cow and its up to both the owners and players to not jeopardize that cash cow. So Goodell has to be the bad guy, he has to be the disciplinarian and his image from a popularity standpoint has and will continue to suffer. That's perfectly fine when your making 30 million dollars and remember that was 2 years ago. 

But looking at it from a more realistic standpoint. There is no league without the players. The Players are the reasons the fans come to games. They are the reason they spend money on tickets, tailgating essentials, jerseys, and concessions. So why does it seem that league is doing everything in their power to limit a players earning potential? Why is it that Goodell can suspend whoever he wants at any given point for simply being mentioned in connection to a criminal act? Goodell abuses his power when it comes to the NFL's personal conduct policy. It the NFL's version of the patriot act, it gives them the ability to do ANYTHING! 

Yet, the owners love him. He puts disgusting amounts of money in their pockets and so long as he continues to do so, he will be the commissioner. My message to the owners and Goodell, don't bite the hand that feeds you, the players need to be taken care of and not just with larger salaries. Ensure that even after there careers are over, that they have an ability to make a living and have access to medical care. Don't just throw them away like an old race horse, they may be the gladiators of our time, but they are still human beings.