Roger Goodell - Pro Football Rumors

Roger Goodell Earned $35MM+ For 2013/14

February 13th, 2015 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earned a salary of $35,017,000 for the 2013/14 league year, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. The figure was revealed on the NFL’s tax return, which Rovell and ESPN got their hands on in advance of this Tuesday’s deadline for the league to file it to the IRS.

It’s been a miserable, controversy-filled season for Goodell, but this $35MM+ figure reflects his salary for the year ending on March 31, 2014, so we don’t yet know what sort of salary he earned for his work these past few months, as he dealt with scandals involving Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and underinflated footballs.

What we do know is that 2013/14’s figure is roughly in line with the commissioner’s 2012/13 salary — as we wrote last February, he received $44MM+ that year, but about $9MM of that total was made up of deferred pay, putting his actual salary for the year in the $35MM neighborhood.

“The Commissioner’s total compensation in 2013 is a fair reflection of his leadership and contributions during the year,” said Falcons owner and chairman of the compensation committee Arthur Blank in a statement. “Compensation packages for Roger and other senior executives are reviewed annually; accordingly, the compensation committee will conduct a thoughtful review and make a determination of 2014 compensation in March.”

While Goodell’s annual salary had been steadily on the rise since his first year on the job, from $4.5MM in 2006 to $35MM+ in each of the last two seasons, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that figure decline a little for 2014, after all the negative publicity the league received.

Latest On Adrian Peterson Hearing

February 6th, 2015 at 8:24pm CST by Rob DiRe

Adrian Peterson’s hearing began today, with NFL and NFLPA attorneys arguing to U.S. District Jude David Doty over whether the ruling to suspend Peterson – and to extend that suspension through to April – was just.

Union representative Jeffrey Kessler argued that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acted outside of his power in suspending Peterson under the personal conduct policy put in place in late August. The NFLPA also believes that arbitrator Harold Henderson was biased in his decision to uphold the suspension, according to Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.

NFL attorney Daniel Nash was present to counter the NFLPA’s testimony, and reiterated that the NFL believes that the suspension was warranted.

Peterson was upbeat after the first day of the hearing. “Felt good. Felt like I got a fair hearing,” said Peterson, according to Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter).

The 30-year old running back was asked if he would like to return to the Vikings in 2015, replying simply, “Of course,” writes Murphy (via Twitter). However, Peterson did not address whether he would consider taking a pay cut to remain with the team.

In a video on Bleacher Report, lead NFL writer Jason Cole explains that while Peterson is looking to resolve this matter quickly, the NFL would prefer to drag this along. With free agency beginning on March 10, Peterson would like to be reinstated by that date in order for him to return to the Vikings, be traded, or be released and allowed to sign freely with another franchise.

The NFL wants to have this last past that date, to ensure Peterson does not get the full advantages of free agency, and in part helping the Vikings retain leverage over their face-of-the-franchise running back.

East Notes: Kraft, Revis, Cowboys

February 1st, 2015 at 10:55am CST by Rory Parks

As the Patriots prepare to represent the AFC East in the Super Bowl tonight, let’s take a look at some notes regarding the Pats, their division rivals, and a few items from the NFC East:

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes that the league’s handling of “Deflategate” has thawed the relationship between Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who has been one of the commissioner’s biggest supporters and who publicly backed Goodell during the Ray Rice fiasco. Reiss notes that, if Goodell were to lose Kraft’s support, his hold on the commissioner’s job could become a bit more tenuous.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Patriots star corner Darrelle Revis will be courted not only by his current team this offseason–after New England inevitably declines his 2015 option–but he expects the Bills and Jets to be in on Revis as well. Joel Corry tweets that Revis will have a great deal of leverage, as the Patriots cannot put the franchise tag on him if they decline the 2015 option.
Jets owner Woody Johnson received the Steinberg DeNicola Humanitarian Award on Saturday, and before receiving the award, he provided a few clues to his team’s offseason plans. In response to criticism he received earlier this week, when he announced that the Jets would be aggressive in free agency, Johnson stated that although he was not afraid to spend money on free agents, he would not waste money. He specifically mentioned cornerback and strong safety as positions that could be addressed in the free agent market, and he also touched on a possible extension for Muhammad Wilkerson and the team’s quarterback situation (article via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
If Washington is to become competitive again in the NFC East, Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com says new GM Scot McCloughan must move away from the team’s historic reliance on big-ticket free agents.
After hearing that the Seahawks have offered Marshawn Lynch a lucrative extension, Joel Corry tweets that the Cowboys will have to substantially increase their offer to DeMarco Murray if they are serious about keeping him.
Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News looked at the Cowboys linebacker situation in 2015, both with and without impending free agent Rolando McClain. Fortunately for Dallas, Anthony Hitchens showed that he can play any of the linebacker spots in his rookie season. If McClain comes back, he’ll play in the middle and Sean Lee will be on the weakside. If McClain doesn’t come back, Machota thinks it will be Lee in the middle with Justin Durant/Hitchens on the weakside.
More from Machota, who writes that he’d be surprised if Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley, a restricted free agent, gets plucked away by another team. Linebacker Bruce Carter, however, is a different story. Carter has freakish athleticism and he was a projected first round choice in 2011. There could be teams out there that believe they can better utilize his abilities than Dallas has, perhaps by making him an inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

Zach Links contributed to this post

Mueller Releases Report On Rice Investigation

January 8th, 2015 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Investigator Robert Mueller released his full report on the NFL’s investigation into the Ray Rice incident today, and concluded that no one from the league possessed or watched the in-elevator footage of Rice hitting his then-fiancée prior to it becoming public.

“We found no evidence that anyone at the NFL had or saw the in-elevator video before it was publicly shown,” reads the press release from Mueller. “We also found no evidence that a woman at the NFL acknowledged receipt of that video in a voicemail message on April 9, 2014.

“We concluded there was substantial information about the incident – even without the in-elevator video – indicating the need for a more thorough investigation,” the statement continues. “The NFL should have done more with the information it had, and should have taken additional steps to obtain all available information about the February 15 incident.”

While Mueller chides the league for not pursuing information and evidence more aggressively, the report clears commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff of any more serious violations, and casts doubt on an Associated Press that suggested a female league employee confirmed receipt of the video in April. In the wake of the report’s release, Giants co-owner John Mara and Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who were overseeing the investigation, issued a statement reiterating their support of Goodell.

“This matter has tarnished the reputation of the NFL due to our failure to hand out proper punishments,” the statement reads. “It has been a wake-up call to all involved and we expect the changes that have been made will lead to improvements in how any similar issues are handled in the future…. It is clear to us that Commissioner Goodell was forthright in the statements he made to the owners about this matter, and we have every confidence that Roger Goodell is the right person to lead the league as we move forward.”

While it may come as no surprise that an NFL-led investigation conducted by a former NFL employee exonerates the league from any serious wrong-doing, it further strengthens Goodell’s position as a commissioner who isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Extra Points: Chargers, Goodell, Peterson

December 30th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Eric Weddle, a Pro Bowler at free safety, is the Chargers‘ only starting defensive back under contract for 2015. He badly wants to see fellow safety Marcus Gilchrist and cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Shareece Wright return to San Diego next year, Tom Krasovic of U-T San Diego writes. “Hopefully we’re not starting with three new guys,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get them all back because they all played extremely well this year. We’re a tightly-knit group, and we played well with each other. So, hopefully, they can figure it all out and get them back.” More from around the NFL..

Michael Freeman of Bleacher Report sat down with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss 2014, a year he’d probably like to forget.
Joel Corry of CBSSports.com looked at notable players who cashed in on performance bonuses in 2014, including Elvis Dumervil of the Ravens.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer‘s comments earlier today on Adrian Peterson were rather non-committal, notes Michael Rand of the Star-Tribune.
The Jets have received permission to interview Texans director of college scouting Mike Maccagnan, Browns personnel executive Bill Kuharich, and Eagles director of pro personnel Rick Mueller for their GM spot, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). All three men, along with Trent Kirchner, will interview in the next five days.
Penn State offensive tackle Donovan Smith has decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and will enter the draft, according to a press release from the Nittany Lions. Smith’s 31 career starts are tied for second-highest on the 2014 squad. The announcement comes as a surprise since Smith has had very little draft buzz surrounding him.

Extra Points: Bears, Stanton, Draft, Conduct

December 12th, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Last week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that the Bears are having serious doubts about Jay Cutler going forward. In a bizarre twist, offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer confessed to the team that he was the anonymous source for parts of the report and apologized for his actions, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. One source said that Cutler shook his head during Kromer’s apology and two players that spoke with Biggs were stunned by what they had witnessed. Head coach Marc Trestman, Kromer, and others on the staff could be on the hot seat this offseason.

Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton has been diagnosed with a sprained ACL and MCL, according to Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 in Arizona (Twitter link). As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, the injury isn’t expected to end the 2014 season for Standon, who is considered week to week. That’s good news for the Cards, who will hope to have the QB back in time for their first playoff game.
Three NCAA underclassmen – Tulane cornerback Lorenzo Doss (Twitter link), Syracuse safety Durell Eskridge (Instagram link), and Virginia defensive end Eli Harold (Twitter link) – announced via social media this week that they’ll leave school early to enter the 2015 NFL draft.
The NFLPA and its leaders may not like the league’s new, more “robust” conduct policy, but they only have themselves to blame for ceding so much power to Roger Goodell and the NFL, writes Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
Giants co-owner John Mara tells Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com that the new conduct policy is “a step in the right direction” for the NFL, and also answered questions regarding the Ray Rice case and the pending Robert Mueller report.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Conduct Policy, L.A., Playoffs

December 10th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Ben Levine

The NFL owners approved a new conduct policy earlier today, but there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the guidelines. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com explains, many players and owners are questioning the specifics of the “paid-leave” protocol.

Most players have incentive bonuses/escalators built into their contracts, but that portion of money would be impossible to earn if a player is suspended. As Florio writes, many of these bonuses are based on playing time or compiled stats, and a player won’t be able to reach any of those milestones if he’s sitting at home.

Meanwhile, Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo tweets that there’s also concern from the owner’s side, as the check-writers don’t want to be paying money for zero production. Furthermore, the teams currently get no cap relief for their suspended player, which is an added concern of the owners.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello briefly spoke about the issue with Florio:

“That is the type of issue we would be prepared to discuss with the union if the union were interested in engaging in discussions. They had no interest in discussing anything at the last meeting.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the league as we wrap up this Wednesday night…

Garafolo tweets a remark from commissioner Roger Goodell, who says there’s been “progress” on a Los Angeles franchise, but nothing’s “imminent.” “We continue to work to see if there’s a solution,” Goodell said.
The owners will not discuss playoff expansion during this week’s meeting, but PFT’s Michael David Smith writes that Goodell plans on addressing the subject during March’s gathering. The league is reportedly interested in adding a seventh team from each conference.

Extra Points: Goodell, Raiders, JPP, Browns

December 10th, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

On the same day the NFL announced that its owners have approved a new personal conduct policy for the league, Outside the Lines reporter Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com has published a story suggesting commissioner Roger Goodell‘s testimony during Ray Rice‘s suspension appeal hearing was inconsistent with his public statements.

On September 10, Goodell wrote a memo to the league’s 32 owners in which he said that “on multiple occasions, we asked the proper law enforcement authorities to share with us all relevant information, including any video of the [Rice elevator] incident.” However, the 631-page transcript of Rice’s appeal hearing, a copy of which was obtained by Outside the Lines, suggests that the NFL never actually formally requested the elevator video from the one law enforcement agency that actually had it, the Atlantic City Police Department.

With Goodell and the NFL once again under scrutiny for questionable handling of investigative and disciplinary matters, let’s round up a few other notes from around the league:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Raiders have “a much better chance” of moving to Los Angeles in 2015 than he had realized, adding that the possibility of the team relocating from Oakland to L.A. is “very legitimate.”
While NFL teams rarely let their starting quarterbacks reach the open market, the early returns for the teams that locked their QBs up this year haven’t been good, writes Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead. The Bears (Jay Cutler), Bengals (Andy Dalton), Chiefs (Alex Smith), and 49ers (Colin Kaepernick) likely aren’t thrilled with the new deals for their respective signal-callers, considering all four teams project to finish with worse records in 2014 than 2013.
Asked about his impending free agency, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said he’d “love to be a Giant for life,” but isn’t sure yet how things will play out (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).
Although Browns kicker Billy Cundiff missed another key field goal on Sunday against the Colts, head coach Mike Pettine says Cundiff remains the team’s kicker, but “he knows he has to pick it up” (Twitter link via Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald).
Adrian Peterson is still awaiting arbitrator Harold Henderson’s decision on his suspension appeal, and the Vikings running back continues to hold out hope that he’ll be able to return the field this season, NFLPA executive George Atallah tells Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion will be represented by Athletes First agents Andrew Kessler and Dave Dunn for the 2015 NFL draft, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal.

NFL Owners Approve New Conduct Policy

December 10th, 2014 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

1:33pm: The NFLPA has released a statement on the newly-approved policy, and the union predictably doesn’t sound happy about the league’s announcement. Here’s the statement, in full:

“Our union has not been offered the professional courtesy of seeing the NFL’s new personal conduct policy before it hit the presses. Their unilateral decision and conduct today is the only thing that has been consistent over the past few months.”

12:59pm: The league has issued a formal press release, touches on a few new details of the policy, and laying out how the investigative and disciplinary processes will play out in the event of a potential violation of the conduct policy.

For the initial discipline, the NFL will appoint “a highly qualified league office executive with a criminal justice background.” Goodell will handle appeals of suspensions. Additionally, a committee headed by Cardinals owner Michael Bidwil will review the conduct policy annually and recommend appropriate changes, with the help of outside experts.

12:29pm: After announcing earlier this season that he wanted to have a new personal conduct policy in place before the Super Bowl, commissioner Roger Goodell has beaten his self-imposed deadline by more than a month and a half. Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal and Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links) report that NFL owners voted today in Dallas on a new policy, approving the proposal. According to Breer (via Twitter), the proposed conduct policy was voted through unanimously.

As we noted this morning, the NFL Players Association was upset at not having been more involved in the creation of the new personal conduct policy, and the two sides had not reached common ground on a number of issues, so it will be interesting to see what the approved proposal looks like.

Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) have some early details, writing that some of the points of emphasis in the policy include prompt reporting of incidents, paid leave for those facing charges, and independent investigations of incidents (rather than relying on police investigations). Garafalo adds (via Twitter) that Goodell’s role under the new policy will be as an appeals officer only — a newly-created special counsel will oversee initial disciplinary rulings.

While some of those aspects of the policy should be good news for the NFLPA, the union intends to immediately study the new policy in search of provisions and topics that would be mandatory subjects of collective bargaining, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote earlier today. According to Florio, if there are terms in the policy that require collective bargaining, the NFLPA will file a “system arbitration” proceeding under the labor deal or initiate an action with the National Labor Relations Board, or both.

In other words, while the league’s owners may have unanimously approved the league’s proposal, the issue likely won’t be put to rest immediately. We’ll await further details on the intricacies of the policy and the union’s reaction.

Latest On NFL Personal Conduct Policy

December 10th, 2014 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

The latest round of NFL owner meetings are set to take place today in Dallas, and one of the main topics on the agenda will be the creation and implementation of a new personal conduct policy for the league. While some reports have suggested that the NFL won’t be ready to vote on the proposal quite yet, Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) hears that the league could push for the adoption of the new policy today.

The league appears to be moving forward with the new policy despite objections from the NFL Players Association. NFLPA president Eric Winston called recent meetings between the two sides a “farce,” claiming that the league had already finalized its policy before meeting with the union, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.

The NFL fired back by listing several objections to the NFLPA’s proposed policy, and many of those points of contention center around whether or not players should be punished in certain scenarios. Those scenarios include: after acquittal or when charges are dropped; when players are accused or convicted of misdemeanors (rather than felonies); and when the legal process is still playing out.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), the issue of paid leave when a player has been charged with a felony is still up for discussion. Additionally, commissioner Roger Goodell is willing to remove himself from the initial discipline process, creating a new special council for investigations and conduct. Despite that concession, the NFLPA is unlikely to be happy if a new policy is approved by owners today without any collective bargaining, so we’ll have to wait and see whether a vote actually takes place.