Roger Goodell made nearly $29.5 million in 2011
Worth It?
Roger Goodell reigns supreme over the most lucrative sports league in the world. So it goes without saying that Goodell would be making a ton of money himself.
According to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Daily, Goodell took home a salary of $11.6 million in 2010. But in 2011, Goodell’s salary almost tripled to nearly $29.5 million in 2011 which made him the highest paid commissioner in professional sports.
So why the big jump in 2011? Kaplan cites the 10-year labor deal and lucrative new TV contracts that were signed after the lockout. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank defended Goodell’s lofty salary in a prepared statement.
“The NFL is the most successful and best-managed sports league in the world,” said Falcons Owner and Compensation Committee Chair Arthur Blank in a prepared statement. “This is in no small part due to Roger’s leadership and the value he brings to the table in every facet of the sport and business of the league. His compensation reflects that.”
NFL censors Bradley Cooper interview over gambling
Hypocrisy
The NFL pulled an NFL Network segment featuring actor Bradley Cooper because his new film contains references to NFL gambling.
The star of the Weinstein Company’s Silver Linings Playbook, with Jennifer Lawrence, was to headline [Friday's] Rich Eisen Thanksgiving Special with co-star Chris Tucker. But after the segment was approved, and taped, the net was abruptly told on Wednesday by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office to scrap it.
The reason? That Robert De Niro’s character in the film is a part-time bookie. The decision has left host Eisen and his team scrambling harder than Mark Sanchez to re-edit the show. An NFL Media rep confirmed, “The segment was pulled because the movie included content related to gambling on NFL games.” [...]
Until [Wednesday], the segment was promoted online as the pigskin special’s top interview, with a picture of a smiling Cooper, Tucker and Eisen. It was replaced on Thanksgiving by a picture of Eisen and another guest, John Slattery.
Harrison Smith Ejected For Shoving Ref
You're In Trouble
Minnesota Vikings rookie safety Harrison Smith should expect to hear from Roger Goodell’s office later this week.
The first-round pick from Notre Dame was ejected in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans after shoving a referee following a skirmish with Titans receiver Nate Washington.
Following an Antoine Winfield interception, Smith and several Titans players kept jawing at each other as officials tried to break up the group. Restrained by one official, Smith attempted to push him to the side to get back towards the fray.
It won’t help Smith that Goodell was in the audience at the Metrodome. Smith already received a $21,000 fine for an illegal hit earlier in the preseason.
Sign At Jonathan Vilma’s Restaurant Says Not To Serve Roger Goodell
No Shirts, No Shoes, No Service
If NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ever is looking for some BBQ in Miami there is one place he isn’t welcomed at, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ. The restaurant is owned in part by New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
A photo of Goodell is tape to a window at Brother Jimmy’s and in all caps surrounding the commissioner’s mug, the message reads: “DO NOT SERVE THIS MAN.”
The signs are indeed posted on all of the restaurant’s front windows and inside the dining room.
Brother Jimmy’s is also owned by Denver Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams, Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason all of whom are University of Miami alums.
Jeremy Shockey Rips Roger Goodell On Concussions
He Knows The Heimlich Maneuver
Late Sunday night, Jeremy Shockey tweeted a link to an ESPN story about the late Junior Seau, who sadly committed suicide in May. Shockey used it as a launching point to, among other things, accuse NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell of lying about the health effects of concussions.
“The no it all Rog goodell lied to every player and told us concussions will not effect us in life that a LIE!”, Shockey tweeted.
That wasn’t all the outspoken free-agent tight end, had to say about concussions.
“It would be great to give the health study on NFL players on a commercial during the games!! just want the fans and congress to know! FACT”, he tweeted.
There was also a somber note to Shockey’s rage when he tweeted this: “Science tells me I’ll be dead time in 54yrs old!! What would u do?”
Vincente Padilla Says Mark Teixeira Better Off Playing Women’s Sport
Shots Fired
On the surface, a little trash talk between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees may not seem like anything new. However, the latest verbal jabs surrounding baseball’s biggest rivalry, actually has very little to do with the teams themselves.
When Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira expressed his feelings toward Red Sox pitcher Vicente Padilla after Friday’s game, he ignited an old fire that has been burning between the two for quite some time now.
“The guy throws at people, fact of the matter,” Teixeira told reporters after their 10-8 win. “I’m not saying anything that is news. It is what it is. I’ve always been someone who wants to play the game the right way. You play hard, but you don’t play cheap. I’ve always lived that way, too. Some guys decide to take matters into their own hands. In the NFL, he would probably be suspended by Roger Goodell eight games or a whole season. This is baseball.”
Teixeira’s comments came after the Yankee slugger hit a go-ahead two-run triple off the Red Sox reliever in the seventh inning.
It took until Sunday for Padilla to respond to the remarks from his former Texas Rangers teammate. In a Spanish-language interview with NESN.com, he responded with a few choice words of his own.
“In this sport, as competitive ball players, we get pretty fired up,” Padilla said in a translation by NESN. “So I think, maybe, [Teixeira] picked the wrong profession. I think he’d be better off playing a women’s sport.”
The two haven’t exactly stayed close after spending two seasons together in Texas. Since they’ve switched jerseys, Teixeira has faced Padilla 18 times. The slugger, who was rewarded with a huge deal to join the Yankees, has hit two home runs, walked four times, and been plunked three times.
Padilla explained that the feud goes beyond just what’s happened on the field between the two.
“The problem is he talks about all the wrong things that others have done, but the things he’s done against the Latinos (on the Rangers) he doesn’t open his mouth about,” Padilla told NESN. “He once threatened me and said he was going to hit me with a bat, and that’s when we were playing on the same team.”
NFL Creates Anonymous Tip Line To Report Bounties
Bounties? We Don't Need No Stinking Bounties
While the denials that there was never a New Orleans Saints bounty program continue to get louder and louder, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell continues to stay the course of ridding the league of bounties.
After meeting with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Goodell announced that the NFL would be creating a tip line for players to report infractions. The tip line would allow players to anonymously inform the league of the existence of bounties and bounty programs.
“We’ve taken very strong action to make sure they’re not part of sports going forward,” Goodell said. “And that the integrity of our game and the safety of our players is paramount. And that we’re going to take very aggressive steps to protect that.”
Along with the tip line, the NFL will send out communication to its teams “making it extremely clear that we have a policy, we’ve had a policy, and we will enforce our policies against bounties if violations occur.” They will also add a “bounties” section to player handbooks and hang posters promoting the tip line in locker rooms.
WTF: New Orleans Saints Fan
Pay Me The Money
The New Orleans Saints are going through football hell ever since the season ended. Their team lost their head coach for a year, their general manager and assistant head coach for six games all because of bounties and lying to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Now new revelations have come up in the past couple of days about their general manager Mickey Loomis tapping visiting coach conversations for three years. All this has gone on and their fans have yet to find out which players will be suspended or for how long.
So what is a Saints fan suppose to do in this time of misery? Turn to comedy.
Senator Calls Hearing To Examine Bounties In NFL
Bounties? We Don't Need No Stinking Bounties
The Senate wants to grill the NFL about bounties. And the NBA, NHL, NCAA and Major League Baseball are invited, too.
Sen. Dick Durbin is setting up a Judiciary Committee hearing about bounties in professional football and other major sports in the wake of news that New Orleans Saints players received extra cash for hits that hurt particular opponents.
The assistant Senate majority leader, an Illinois Democrat, said Thursday he wants to examine whether federal law should make such bounty systems a crime.
“Let’s be real basic about it here. If this activity were taking place off of a sporting field, away from a court, nobody would have a second thought (about whether it’s wrong). `You mean, someone paid you to go out and hurt someone?’” Durbin said in a telephone interview before raising the issue on the floor of the Senate.
“It goes way beyond the rules of any sporting contest, at least team contest, to intentionally inflict harm on another person for a financial reward,” he said.
His announcement came a day after the NFL took a harsh stand on bounties, suspending Saints head coach Sean Payton for all of next season, and indefinitely banning their former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was barred for half of 2012, an assistant coach got a six-game ban, and the team also was docked two second-round draft picks and $500,000.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell still needs to decide what penalties to give players who were involved in the Saints’ scheme from 2009-11.
“I am encouraged by what the National Football League did. What they came down with as a penalty on the New Orleans Saints was decisive and historic,” Durbin said, adding that he thought the league was “taking this very seriously.”
But moving forward, the NFL and other leagues must “come up with standards to make sure this isn’t going to happen again,” he said. Otherwise, lawmakers will need to “at least explore whether it is necessary to have federal legislation in this area.”
One possibility, Durbin explained, would be to extend federal sports bribery laws to cover bounties, so that “if someone offers in a team sports situation some sort of value, money or otherwise, to intentionally hurt another player, that, in fact, would be a crime.”
In an email to the AP, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote: “Commissioner Goodell has taken strong action to ensure that bounties are eliminated from the NFL. We have not heard from Senator Durbin but would be pleased to discuss the matter with him.”
Under the bounty system overseen in New Orleans by Williams – who was hired in January by the St. Louis Rams – the targeted players included quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. “Knockouts” were worth $1,500 and “cart-offs” $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.
According to the league, Saints defensive captain Jonathan Vilma offered $10,000 to any player who knocked then-Vikings QB Favre out of the 2010 NFC championship game.
Durbin isn’t sure when the hearing will happen, but he said it could be two to three weeks from now.
Roger Goodell Says Pro Bowl Could Be Done With
Your Watch
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he is disappointed in the quality of last week’s Pro Bowl and changes must be considered, perhaps even dropping the game altogether.
Goodell said this year’s Pro Bowl wasn’t “the kind of football we want to be demonstrating to our fans, and you heard it from the fans, the fans were actively booing in the stands.”
Goodell made his remarks on ESPN Radio on Sunday, hours before the start of the Super Bowl. Goodell has spoken to the NFL Players Association about his disappointment, adding,
“We are going to either have to improve the quality of what we are doing in the Pro Bowl or consider other changes, or even consider eliminating the game if that is the kind of quality of game we are going to provide.”
Ndamukong Suh Suspended 2 Games After Stomp
One Bad Dude
The NFL has suspended Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for two games without pay for his stomping incident in last Thursday’s Week 12 home loss to Green Bay Packers, FOX Sports Jay Glazer first reported via Twitter. According to Glazer, the Lions were informed of that decision by Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday.
Pending appeal, it means Detroit will be without Suh for Sunday’s night critical game in New Orleans against the Saints. He would also be in line to miss Week 14′s home division game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Suh was ejected in the third quarter of the frustrating Thanksgiving defeat for stepping on Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. He apologized for the incident after the game and reportedly reached out to Goodell on Monday night to appease the Commissioner. But as a repeat offender and with an offense that had a precedent in a similar incident involving fellow defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, there was little chance that Suh wouldn’t have received a multiple-game ban.
Ndamukong Suh Requests Meeting With NFL
One Bad Dude
Ndamukong Suh will meet with NFL officials during Detroit Lions bye week to get a better understanding of the rules he’s been breaking. Detroit’s second-year defensive tackle asked Commissioner Roger Goodell for the meeting to talk about all the flags he keeps drawing for roughing up quarterbacks.
“To me it’s just an opportunity to go out there and have good dialogue, see what I can take from that meeting,” Suh said after the Lions’ 45-10 win at Denver on Sunday. “If it’s nothing it’s nothing, if it’s something good, then it’s something good.”
Asked what the league doesn’t get about him, Suh said, “I have no clue, that’s why we’re having a meeting. I’m not changing my game. My game has gotten me to where I am right now. I’m only planning on building off of things I have accomplished.”
The former Nebraska star will meet Tuesday with those NFL staffers responsible for enforcing the rules. The get-together will include football operations consultant Jeff Fisher, along with Ray Anderson, Merton Hanks and Carl Johnson. Suh can bring along a coach if he wants.
“It’s disappointing that one came to light,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “I like to keep conversations between myself and players to myself, I like to keep conversations with the league to myself. It’s probably inappropriate for me to talk about that.”
One thing Schwartz didn’t mind talking about was a headline on NFL.com this week previewing the Lions-Broncos game as a Good vs. Evil encounter. The article included a picture of Suh and Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate at all for anyone associated with the game to bill it that way,” Schwartz said. “It was especially disappointing coming from the arm of the NFL, NFL.com. It wasn’t a rallying cry but it’s not appropriate.”
Suh shrugged off the matter mostly.
“The league did do that for whatever reason. Evil prevails,” he said. “Hopefully we’re going to continue to keep it that way if that’s the way they want to perceive us as. For me personally, it means nothing to me. I’m going to continue to be me, I know who I am, I’m not an evil person. I may not be a good person in some people’s eyes. I’m going to continue to play hard.”
NFL Thinking Of Adding 2nd Game In London
Calvin Casey Is All for This
If commissioner Roger Goodell has his way, the NFL could play two games in London during its 2013 season. That idea is subject to a vote of owners on October 11 where owners are scheduled to meet then to decide whether to continue having games in Great Britain.
This season’s game at Wembley Stadium pits the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 23. NFL teams have been playing in London since 2007′s game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants. Earlier this summer, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher gave London games a thumbs down.
“No, I’m not excited to go to London,” he said in a radio interview. “I don’t understand why they do that. … I am not excited to go to London, I will say that. I can’t imagine many players would be, considering the travel involved and disruption to their weekly schedule.”
Last season, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 24-16 at Wembley.
NFL Reveals New Super Bowl Logo
Jinx?
The NFL is embracing the chance of a frosty Super Bowl with their new Super Bowl XLVIII logo. The 2014 logo for Super Bowl XLVIII is to be played in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the shared home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, prominently features a snowflake. It’s set along with an image of George Washington Bridge, which links the host committee states of New York and New Jersey.
There has been a lot of concern over playing a Super Bowl outdoors in frigid temperatures with a strong chance of icy precipitation. That potential for a chill isn’t keeping Goodell from greeting the design with a warm welcome.
“A little snow would be great for us,” Roger Goodell said. “But whatever comes our way, we’re going to be prepared for it. We’re coming and playing in the winter, and I think that would be great. Some of our most memorable games were played in unusual weather circumstances. Winter and cold are part of football, and snow is also.”
Chad Ochocinco Tells Roger Goodell He’ll Reimburse Opponent’s Fine
Needing A New Forever Link
After Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mason Foster delivered a huge hit on New England Patriots Chad Ochocinco in last Thursday’s preseason game, the star wide receiver tweeted that he would reimburse Foster if he gets fined. The NFL, however, said that Ochocinco can’t reimburse Foster and fined the Buccaneers linebacker $20,000. Ochocinco doesn’t appear to care.
Taking to Twitter last night, Ochocinco told Roger Goodell, referring to him as “Dad,” that he still plans on reimbursing Foster.
“Dad no disrespect but I don’t agree with @mason_foster fine n I’ll be reimbursing him personally.Please feel free to contact me”
Kenny Britt & Aqib Talib To Meet With Roger Goodell
Your In Trouble
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt and Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib will meet Tuesday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss their arrests during the lockout and hoping they don’t face a ban or suspension.
“I guess they finally found me,” Britt said Monday with a laugh. “But yeah, I heard from coach Mike Munchak, and we’ll meet tomorrow and see what happens.”
The 2009 first-round draft pick Britt has had seven incidents with police since being drafted. He made lots of headlines during the NFL lockout with two arrests in New Jersey and surrendering himself on two arrest warrants in Tennessee for giving inaccurate information on driver’s license applications.
Britt was arrested April 12 in his hometown and charged with eluding an officer and hindering apprehension when police accused him of driving his Porsche 71 mph in a 50-mph zone before leaving the officer. Britt later was found walking on a side street away from his car. Charges were reduced to a misdemeanor and a fine.
A day later, two plainclothes officers at a Hoboken car wash smelled marijuana and accused Britt of holding a rolled cigar they thought was the source. Britt was wrestled to the floor and handcuffed, and police believed a man with Britt may have disposed of the cigar. Britt’s charges included resisting arrest.
Talib was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas in March with his trial set for 2012. Talib fired shots at his sister’s boyfriend and hit him with the handgun, according to Garland police. He already was suspended one game to start the season last year after he punched a taxi cab driver in 2009.
Titans right guard Jake Scott and the players representative, said he anticipates a legal fight if Britt is suspended or fined for anything that happened during the lockout because players received letters confirming they were not part of the team.
Anthony Gonzalez Says NFL Players Are Using HGH
Pandora's Box
Indianapolis Colts receiver Anthony Gonzalez told The Indianapolis Star the use of human growth hormone by NFL players is happening. The 26-year-old admits that he doesn’t know how much HGH use is in the NFL, but concedes that “to say that it’s not being used, that’s wrong.”
He also revealed that people not affiliated with the Colts organization have suggested he use HGH. Players ratified the new collective bargaining agreement last week, which is reported to eventually allow the league to use blood testing for HGH. According to the Associated Press, players would be subject to random testing in addition to annual checks.
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark was upset by the decision to allow blood tests and told the Los Angeles Times that he thinks that part of the new deal was overlooked because “people wanted to get a deal done so badly.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said that he expects the HGH testing program to begin during the opening week of the season.
No Pay For David Stern During NBA lockout
i said, no, no, no
NBA commissioner David Stern will not be paid as long as the league and players union remain mired in a lockout. While Stern’s compensation is not known publicly, it is estimated at $15-16 million roughly about $500,000 annually per franchise. However the The New York Daily News in February cited sources who hint that Stern made $23 million the previous season while Yahoo! Sport reported that many NBA owners don’t even know what Stern makes.
Earlier this week Philadelphia 76ers center Spencer Hawes called out Stern for being paid during the lockout by tweeting
“23 million a year for stern huh. Weird no rumblings about a pay cut for the commish while he asks every single player to do so. “commish wants his annual compensation to trump new max salary by nearly double. Interesting thought.”
But Stern did say during All-Star Weekend in February that he would not be paid during a lockout. When asked whether he, like NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, would reduce his salary to $1, Stern said,
“Well, I would say that last time (during the NBA’s 1998-99 lockout) I didn’t take a salary. I think a dollar would be too high in the event of a work stoppage.”
James Harrison Says His Words Were Twisted
You Go Ahead & Mess With This Dude
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison attempted some damage control last night in the wake of comments attributed to him in a interview with Men’s Journal. ESPN reports that Harrison told network analyst Merril Hoge, a former Steelers running back, that he told quarterback Ben Roethlisberger some of his comments were “twisted” by the article’s writer Paul Solotaroff and that it was not his intention to criticize the two-time Super Bowl winner.
In the interview, Harrison was quoted as criticizing Roethlisberger’s performance in Super Bowl XLV, a 31-25 Steelers loss to the Green Bay Packers.
“Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again. Or hand the ball off and stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain’t that and you know it man; you just get paid like he does,” Harrison was quoted as saying.
Hoge also added that Roethlisberger was taking Harrison at his word and that their relationship is fine.
Harrison though did not take back any comments he said about commissioner Roger Goodell, whom he called “the devil” and a “crook.”
James Harrison Calls: Roger Goodell Is A Devil & A Crook
You Go Ahead & Mess With This Dude
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison calls NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “crook” and a “devil,” among other insults, in the August issue of Men’s Journal. The 2008 AP Defensive Player of the Year hasn’t been shy about ripping the league after he was docked $100,000 for illegal hits last season.
“If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn’t do it,” Harrison told the magazine. “I hate him and will never respect him.”
His other descriptions of the commissioner include an anti-gay slur, “stupid,” “puppet” and “dictator.”
If the Steelers had defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl, Harrison said, he would have whispered in Goodell’s ear during the trophy ceremony: “Why don’t you quit and do something else, like start your own league in flag football?”
Harrison also criticizes other NFL execs, New England Patriots turned commentators Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi “clowns”, Houston Texans Brian Cushing as “juiced out of his mind” and even teammates Rashard Mendenhall and Ben Roethlisberger for their performances in the Super Bowl loss. Harrison questions whether a black player is punished more for a hard hit on a white player than the opposite.
Pittsburgh Steelers James Harrison Calls NFL Owners ‘Idiots’
You Go Ahead & Mess With This Dude
In their continual effort to turn the NFL to a flag football league, the NFL has new policy in the works that has been immediately dubbed, “The Steelers Rule”. This rule would not only fine a player for a hit that is deemed illegal by the league, the team itself would be fined for it as well. That set off Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison.
“I’m absolutely sure now after this latest rule change that the people making the rules at the NFL are idiots,’’ Harrison wrote on Twitter.
The NFL owners, though, sent a clear message with their 32-0 vote on Tuesday: This is not Roger Goodell’s mission alone, it is the entire league’s intent to make the game safer if not softer.
Seattle Seahawks Players Prank Call NFL Commissioner12 Angry Mascots Channel
Tags: Atom.com | Funny Videos | Tournament |
12 Angry Mascots Channel
Tags: Atom.com | Funny Videos | Tournament |
If you’re wondering just how Seattle Seahawks Chester Pitts and Raheem Brock are spending their time during the NFL lockout, just take a look as they prank call commissioner Roger “Godfather” Goodell. The William Perry joke was sad in reality but was still hilarious.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Reaches Out To Angry Blogger
Your Watch
Indianapolis Colts blogger Nate Dunlevy received a call from NFL commissioner Roger “Godfather” Goodell after Dunlevy wasn’t happy about a recent conference call between Colts season-ticket holders and the commissioner. Following the conference call, Dunlevy expressed his disappointment on his blog, 18to88.com.
The league office tracked down Dunlevy in Argentina, where he lives. That led to a one-on-one conversation between Goodell and Dunlevy, during which the commissioner answered Dunlevy’s questions about the troubled labor negotiations.
Why can’t he get on the phone with DeMaurice Smith.
Minnesota Vikings Jared Allen Rips NFL Rookies
Mullet Mafia
Minnesota Vikings Jared Allen is fed up with the spending habits of the incoming NFL rookies as he told Doug and Wolf on KTAR in Phoenix.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “You haven’t played a down in the league yet and thousands and thousands of dollars on these kids arms and I’m like you guys understand you’re getting drafted into a lockout where you don’t know what rules you’re playing under or how much money you possibly might get.”
He also discussed how he was bothered by the rookies hugging NFL Commissioner Roger “Godfather” Goodell on the stage.
“I honestly think it would’ve been cool to see all of the players elect to not show up,” Allen said. “I think that would’ve given a really big sign to the NFL. You want us to appease you guys by coming to this show because that’s what the NFL Draft is on TV, it’s a show for their fans and a show for the league you want us to do that? Then let’s get this deal done, let’s quit locking us out, and let’s get back to work.”
