Goodell Contract Extended After $270b Team Value Gain Since 2006

Roger Goodell reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension, the league announced Sunday. The deal runs through March 2031 and would mark 25 seasons with Goodell in charge, if he completes the contract.

The compensation committee headed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft informed the full ownership regarding the extension. The memo, reviewed by Sportico, said the committee worked with a third-party compensation consultant and outside counsel to “structure a deal that aligns Roger’s compensation with the League’s long-term interests and success.” The value of the deal was not disclosed, but the memo stated that it is bonus heavy with more than 95% of the total compensation tied to Goodell’s and the NFL’s performance measured against certain metrics.

“We believe we are very fortunate to have Roger at the helm for the next four years,” read the memo. The committee also includes John Mara (New York Giants), Shad Khan (Jacksonville Jaguars), Jimmy Haslam (Cleveland Browns), Michael Bidwell (Arizona Cardinals) and Greg Penner (Denver Broncos).

This is the fifth extension for Goodell, who took over for Paul Tagliabue in September 2006 after prevailing over Gregg Levy in what was a tight vote in the initial rounds of ballots. Goodell will be 72 when his new contract expires.

A major part of commissioner’s role is to absorb the criticisms directed at the league and make ownership money. Goodell has checked both boxes during his career, including the 2011 lockout, a concussion settlement, the national anthem kneeling controversy and more.

On the financial front, the average NFL team was worth about $900 million, or $29 billion collectively, when Goodell took over in 2006. Sportico’s NFL team valuations last month had the average at $9.34 billion and $299 billion total.

The least valuable NFL team is the Cincinnati Bengals at $7.4 billion. There are only six sports franchises on the planet outside the NFL that are worth more than the Bengals. The list includes three from the NBA, two in MLB and LaLiga’s Real Madrid. The NFL’s TV might is unmatched, with the latest round of media deals worth $125 billion over 11 years.

Investors have significantly re-priced how they look at sports teams, including those in the NFL. They are an asset class now, with the blessing of institutional investors that have poured into sports, seeking non-correlated assets, AI-proof investments, and one of the last things that broadcasters can command big dollars for from advertisers

The average NFL team was valued at a revenue multiple of 4.7 when Goodell became commissioner. (Revenue multiples are the standard valuation metric most bankers and investors use.) The multiple was 12.7 in Sportico’s recent NFL valuations.

Goodell’s compensation totaled $212.5 million during his first 10 years at the helm when the NFL was registered as a non-profit and had to disclose executive pay. Goodell’s salary has not been disclosed since, but he made nearly $128 million combined for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, according to the New York Times.

If Goodell’s yearly comp dipped after that to an average of $55 million, his total earnings from the NFL would reach roughly $1 billion by March 2031.

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