How Much Money Does Roger Goodell Make

Roger Goodell is perhaps the NFL's most polarizing figure outside the players.

The NFL's commissioner has been in the spotlight many times before. From players unsatisfied with his inconsistency regarding NFL policies to owners mad at him because of those same policies, there's no denying that Goodell has done a much better job over the last three to four years regarding the league's administration.

Goodell took over as NFL commissioner in 2006 following Paul Tagliabue's retirement and he's never looked back. There have been some bumps along the road, such as the 2011 lockout, the nauseous sagas of Tom Brady's Deflategate and Ezekiel Elliott's suspensions, and the anthem policies, but the NFL's growing revenue is the number that matters for the owners at the end of the day, and the support for Goodell has been overwhelming.

Roger Goodell: " We don't see a competitive advantage for teams with fans compared to teams without fans."Translation: "You think I'm going to tell Jerry Jones he can't have fans?"
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) September 1, 2020

According to specialized web sites, Goodell's net worth as of today is $175 million. Let's take a closer look at how the commissioner grew his fortune.

Goodell's NFL career

Goodell became an unpaid intern in the league in 1982, and he went through a variety of jobs before settling in as Chief Operating Officer in 2001.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Super Bowl Press Conference

When Tagliabue decided to retire in 2006, Goodell was officially voted as the NFL's new commissioner, only the third person to occupy the job since 1960. His salary grew year after year, according to web sites specialized in celebrities' salaries:

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

Total: $428.7 million

Since 2018, the NFL stopped reporting his official salary, so his yearly salary is more of an estimative than actual facts.

It's worth noting that Goodell volunteered to reduce his base salary to $0 in April 2020 following the pandemic's spikes in cases and deaths. Other league employees who received more than $100,000 per year suffered a small pay cut last year, and employees who received less than $100,000 had no pay cuts.

Goodell will never be the most popular figure in the league - that's literally impossible in one of the four American Major Leagues unless you're named Pete Rozelle - but he got better at his job in public perception. At the end of the day, however, one can never forget when talking about Roger Goodell that his bosses are the owners, and not the fans or the players.

And, considering the NFL's growth in revenue over his tenure, you can be sure that most of them are incredibly satisfied with his performance as the commissioner.