What Is Roger Goodell's Net Worth and Salary?
Roger Goodell is an American sports executive who has a net worth of $250 million. Roger Goodell earned his fortune as the Commissioner of the National Football League. He became commissioner ahead of the 2007 season. At the time he took over, the NFL's annual revenue was a little over $6 billion. Today the league earns $20 billion per year. Roger has been richly rewarded for his successful stewardship of the league. As we detail later in this article, when he first started out, his annual salary was $6 million. Today he earns around $65 million per year between base salary and performance bonuses. Between 2007 and the end of 2023, he earned $600 million.
After it was announced that Paul Tagliabue was retiring as commissioner, Roger was selected as a finalist alongside three other figures. In 2006, he won the title of commissioner after a close vote. Goodell also serves as the President of NFL Charities.
He is the son of the late Charles Goodell, former congressman and U.S. Senator for New York. Roger was a three-sport athlete in high school and was named the Bronxville High School athlete of the year during his senior year. Unfortunately, injuries prevented him from continuing his football career in college.
Goodell graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 1981 with a degree in economics, then entered the NFL as an unpaid administrative intern. He continued working his way up the ranks, becoming commissioner a quarter-century after entering the workforce.
Though the NFL has experienced a boom in popularity since the mid-2000s, Goodell has certainly had some rocky times since becoming commissioner. The league has seen several controversial topics arise, including player safety, the New England Patriots' Deflategate scandal, and the blatant pass interference that wasn't called in the NFC Championship Game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams. That last example actually resulted in a rule change, allowing coaches to challenge interference calls. Previously, those penalties were ruled as judgment calls and couldn't be challenged.
Salary
Today, Goodell earns around $64 million in total compensation (salary and bonuses). His pay is mostly made up of incentives, with more than 90% of his total earnings coming in the form of bonus money.
Early Life
Roger Stokoe Goodell was born on February 19, 1959, in Jamestown, New York. Born into a family with close ties to U.S. politics, Roger quickly became an avid athlete during his high school days. He was raised alongside four brothers. During these early years, Roger played on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. He served as captain for all three teams and was set to play college football. However, injuries prevented him from doing this. After graduating, he attended Washington & Jefferson College and earned a degree in economics.
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NFL Career
Roger famously began his NFL career in 1982 as an unpaid administrative intern in the league office located in New York. Although Goodell briefly joined the New York Jets as an intern, he returned to the league office in 1984. By 1987, Roger had been appointed the assistant to the president of the American Football Conference. He then spent more than a decade taking on a variety of roles under Paul Tagliabue, and eventually, Roger reached the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2001.
As COO, Roger was responsible for football operations, officiating, business functions, and NFL Ventures. During this period, Goodell was instrumental in creating the NFL Network and the collective bargaining agreement. After Tagliabue retired, Goodell was voted in as the next NFL commissioner.
During Roger's time as commissioner, he has made many notable actions. He has stated that his number-one concern is to protect the integrity of the league and the sport of football. Roger created the NFL International Series, which allowed a number of games to be played in Europe. He also created a new NFL Personal Conduct Policy after scandals began to mount in 2007. Several players were suspended as a result of this new policy – some without pay.
The year 2007 also saw the rise of "Spygate," a scandal that saw Patriots Coach Bill Belichick videotaping the defensive signals of the New York Jets. Belichick was fined $500,000 but was not suspended. In 2011, Roger's input was required during the 2011 NFL Lockout. His negotiating skills and ability to settle disputes allowed the situation to be resolved.
In 2012, Bountygate surrounded the NFL in controversy once again. This arose after the Saints allegedly imposed a bounty program that paid their defensive players bonuses for harming other players. According to the allegations, Saints defenders were encouraged to take opposing players out of the game by injuring them severely. If the opposing players had to be removed from the game as a result of their injuries, the Saints defenders were rewarded. As a result, Roger handed out some of the harshest penalties in NFL history. Coaches were suspended for entire seasons, and heavy fines were issued.
Other notable issues during Goodell's reign include the 2012 referee lockout and the growing concern about brain damage suffered by players. To deal with the latter issue, a $675 million compensation fund was set up to allow former NFL players to collect if they have suffered brain damage. However, a District Judge refused to accept the settlement. Deflategate was another notable issue, and in 2018, Roger famously created a new policy that required all players to stand during the national anthem. Those who didn't want to stand were given the choice to stay in the locker room. However, Goodell has backpedaled slightly on this position.
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Salary History
When Goodell first took the helm as commissioner, his 2007 earnings were $6 million. He hasn't made less than six figures since, taking home $12 million in 2008 and 2011 and $10 million in 2009 and 2010.
He signed a five-year extension in 2012, the same season as a four–and–a–half–month lockout—remember the replacement refs? During the lockout, Goodell's salary was just $1. That didn't mean he stopped earning money entirely, though.
He took home $29.5 million in 2012, and then his earnings skyrocketed. He made $44.2 million in 2013, $40 million in 2015 and 2018, and $45 million in 2014, 2016, and 2017.
Below is a rundown of Goodell's earnings throughout the years. As you can see, Roger's income fluctuates considerably, and it has now hit the $60 million mark. The NFL stopped reporting his salary in 2018, but he is believed to earn $64 million per year today.
2007: $6 million
2008: $12 million
2009: $10 million
2010: $10 million
2011: $12 million
2012: $29.5 million
2013: $44.2 million
2014: $45 million
2015: $40 million
2016: $45 million
2017: $35 million
2018: $40 million
2019: $50 million
2020: $50 million
2021: $64 million
2022: $64 million
2023: $65 million
Total: $621.7 million
The above total does not include his pre-2007 earnings, which aren't publicly available.
Contract History
In 2017, Roger signed a contract extension to maintain his position as NFL commissioner until the start of the 2024 season. Goodell has described the contract as the last he will sign with the league. Roger's contracts have always been majority incentive-based. For example, when he earned $65 million in previous years, 85% of his pay was incentive-based.
Under this new deal, his contracts are reportedly 90% incentive-based. The bonuses are tied to milestones based on the NFL's financial performance. When you take these incentives into account, the 5-year deal could easily be worth at least $200 million. This means that by the time he retires, Roger will have earned more than $500 million in salary and bonuses since joining the NFL as an unpaid intern.
During the 2017 contract negotiations, Goodell reportedly pushed for $50 million in annual earnings and lifetime use of the NFL's private jet for him and his family.
In 2023, a multiyear contract extension agreement was reached, keeping Goodell as Commissioner through the 2027 season.
Personal Life
In 1997, Roger Goodell married Jane Skinner, a well-known anchor for Fox News. In 2001, the couple welcomed twin daughters into the world.
Roger has four brothers. Among them are Tim, the Senior Vice President for the Hess Corporation, and Michael, who is married to Jack Kenny, creator of the NBC series "The Book of Daniel." Goodell's cousin Andy Goodell is a member of the New York State Assembly.
