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As the work-stoppage rhetoric ramps up between the NFL and the NFL Players Association regarding how much profit individual franchises reaped in 2009, Friday's stunning disclosure of the salaries paid to the league's top executives last season should only add gasoline to the smoldering fire between the two sides.NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, whose initial five-year contract was extended 3 ½ years through March 1, 2015, will not see an increase in his base pay under his new deal. But the commissioner earned $2.9 million in base pay and $9.76 million in overall compensation, including bonuses and deferred pay, in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2009.
The figures were made available through the NFL's tax return, set to be filed next week, and were provided to SportsBusiness Journal.
The IRS' new disclosure rules require that the NFL reveal more of its executives' pay, rather than just that of the commissioner. And the total compensation figures are staggering.
--Steve Bornstein, head of NFL Media and NFL Network: $7.44 million.
--Jeff Pash, chief labor negotiator and general counsel: $4.85 million.
--Eric Grubman, executive vice president, marketing and sponsorships: $4.44 million.
--Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue (outside consultant): $3.3 million.
--Joe Browne, executive vice president of communications: $1.7 million.
--Ray Anderson, executive vice president, football operations: $1.12 million.
--Anthony Noto, chief financial officer: $853,000.
According to SportsBusiness Journal, an NFL memo given to the owners' compensation committee in April 2009 stated, "All of the above executives received no base salary increase in 2009 and received an annual bonus in April 2009 that was lower than the prior year. These decisions were made at a time when the NFL offered employees buyouts and eliminated other job positions."
NFL salary and compensation packages as well as employee benefits at NFL headquarters in New York City totaled $71.8 million as of March 31, a 53 percent increase over the previous year's total of $46.8 million, according to the IRS document released to SportsBusiness Journal. That document and these figures are made public once the tax return is filed with the IRS.
In addition, a tax return document set to be filed next week by the NFL Management Council -- the labor-negotiating branch of the league -- shows that former president Harold Henderson, who remains an NFL employee, was paid $2.09 million in the year ending March 31.
Asked about Goodell's extension and the executive pay disclosures, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told FanHouse: "Congratulations to the commissioner."
The NFL's collective bargaining agreement with its players' union expires at the end of the 2010 season. With extension talks at a standstill, both the NFL and its players have expressed resignation that 2010 will proceed without a salary cap.
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