Bud Selig Is Not Hurting For Cash

There are a lot of players in baseball whom fans would argue are incredibly overpaid. Whether you think Alex Rodriguez makes too much money for a guy who seems to disappear at the most vital times, or Carl Pavano made way too much in New York for all nine of his starts in Yankee pinstripes, there are plenty of options for you.

Still, if you were to think of the job Bud Selig has done as commissioner of baseball, overseeing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series, ignoring the steroid explosion that was so obvious to anybody with half a brain, and generally making sure the owners made a ton of money while not really caring about the fans, how much would you think Bud should make annually? What's that? $18 million? Wow, good call.

Selig received a raise of about $3 million to nearly $17.5 million [in 2007], according to Major League Baseball's latest tax return.

His compensation was listed at $17,470,491 for the 12 months that ended Oct. 31, 2007, according to the return, which is available at guidestar.org. That was up from $14,515,071 in the prior 12 months.

MLB's contribution to Selig in its benefit plan was $461,540, an increase from $400,999 in the previous return. He got $422,590 in expense account and other allowances, up from $140,603 in the previous fiscal year.

Bud's total compensation in 2007 was $18.35 million, and that was two years ago. That's nearly $5 for every bad idea he has! Who knows how much he made last year? Also, in case you were wondering who the next highest paid commissioner in sports is, it's the NFL's Roger Goodell, who made $11.2 million last year. The NBA's David Stern made about $10 million.

Oh, and by the way, George W. Bush made $400,000 in 2007, further proof that running a country is not as important as running a sport.