The New Orleans Saints have created the worst kind of headache for the NFL at the worst possible time.
Football has been known as a physical sport since the game was first invented. Defensive players are taught to hit opposing players hard in an effort to prevent the offense from gaining yards, scoring points, and to wear down their opponents. Some teams make no bones about trying to intimidate the opposition. But the Saints have taken that concept to an unacceptable extreme.
A number of Saints players and officials have admitted to a bounty program that rewarded players for intentionally injuring their opponents and knocking them out of the game. The timing of the disclosure has created a public relations nightmare for the NFL, coming as it does when an estimated three hundred former players are suing the league for ignoring, if not encouraging, injuries that have left them with brain damage that will lead to dementia, affect their quality of life, and reduce the number of years they live on earth.
At the center of the Saints’ pay-for-injury scheme is former defensive coordinator Greg Williams, who currently holds the same position with the Saint Louis Rams. Williams was also the head coach of the Buffalo Bills and a former defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins, prompting the NFL to expand its inquiry of Bountygate to those teams as well. A number of current and former players have confirmed that Williams implemented his seek and destroy program everywhere he’s been.
When the NFL first inquired about a bounty system, Williams and other Saints officials, including head coach Sean Payton, denied any knowledge of such a scheme. However, after a number of players recanted and confirmed the details of the program, including the amounts awarded to players for each big hit, defined as "knockouts" and "cartoffs," Williams and others came clean and admitted their guilt. Knowing that his judgment day was nigh, Williams issued a belated apology for his actions, although based on his earlier denials and arrogance regarding his activities, it’s fair to question how contrite he really is.
Bountygate is the worst public relations disaster for the NFL since the infamous Spygate incident involving the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick. In response to an admission that one of its employees taped a New York Jets practice, the league fined the Patriots $500,000 and docked the team a first round draft pick. Belichick was also fined $250,000.
But Spygate pales in comparison to Bountygate and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should mete out punishment accordingly. In addition to hefty fines to individuals who knew of the scheme and lied about it to league investigators, a loss of draft picks and stiff suspensions should apply. It wouldn’t be excessive to suspend Williams and Payton for at least a season. Anything less would amount to a slap on the wrist and leave the league vulnerable to charges of failing to protect the players from themselves.
NFL bylaws, along with the CBA between the teams and players’ union, prohibit noncontract pay for performance bonuses, specifically because they violate the league’s salary cap. While the amounts in question are relatively insignificant – ranging from as little as $200 to as much as $1,500 for injuring a player sufficiently to put him on the sidelines – the integrity of the game and player safety are paramount. Clearly, knocking a star quarterback out of a game increases the chances of winning (see the Colts’ record in 2011 without Peyton Manning). Team success should be based on outplaying your opponent, not injuring them.
Football is a violent sport and injuries will always be a part of the game. But there is a distinct difference between injuries that are inherent to playing the game and the specific intent to cause harm to another player, not to mention the collateral damage of potentially ruining his livelihood. The players’ apparent willingness to inflict permanent damage on each other is nothing short of shameful, and may even benefit the NFL in defending the concussion suits against it.
Jordan Kobritz is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network. He can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. He is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University and teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming.
Prior to the Super Bowl, NFL owners announced that Commissioner Roger Goodell had received a five-year contract extension through 2019. In the last years of the extension, the commissioner’s current salary will double, to $20 million per year.
Reaction to the news was mixed. The media were almost unanimous in their belief that Goodell had earned his huge paycheck and would continue to do so. A number of players, on the other hand, were outraged.
Goodell is the CEO of a $9 billion per year business that, like the commissioner’s salary, will likely double by the end of this decade. The NFL is not only the premier sports league in the U.S., it is also the most popular programming on television. Due in part to Goodell’s guidance, the league successfully weathered a labor dispute last year that resulted in no lost games and little, if any, lost revenue. Would the league be as successful as it is with someone other than Goodell at the helm? Perhaps, but that person would undoubtedly command a salary similar to Goodell’s.
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White was outspoken in his opposition to Goodell’s soon- to-be $20 million paycheck. White tweeted that, “The NFL is not a company it’s a nonprofit organization that makes a lot of profit.” That comment is further evidence of the dangers of Twitter and suggests that White majored in something other than business at Alabama-Birmingham. He should stick to playing the game on the field, not off it.
Goodell’s salary has mostly trailed the compensation of his counterparts with the other three Major League team sports, perhaps because he is both the youngest and shortest tenured of commissioners. Goodell is 53 and in his sixth year as commissioner. By contrast, MLB commissioner Bud Selig will be 78 in July and is rumored to earn in excess of $20 million. He was paid $18 million in 2007, the last time MLB was required to report executive compensation prior to changing its tax status to nonprofit. Selig has received two extensions since then, presumably including a raise in pay.
NBA Commissioner David Stern, 69, has been on the job for 28 years. Although his compensation has never been made public, it is believed to rival that of Selig. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be 60 in June and has held his post for 19 years. His total compensation was reported as $7.5 million for the 2009-10 season, for a league that generates roughly a third of the revenue of the NFL.
Contrary to White’s belief, Major League sports are a business, big business. Their goal is to maximize revenue and profits. Companies around the world are tripping over themselves to throw money at the NFL, and it’s likely that none of them have ever heard of White. But they all know who Goodell is and they know his business is successful.
Goodell’s salary is approved and paid by the 32 team owners, most of whom are billionaires and none of whom are losing money on their NFL investments. If they think Goodell is worth $20 million per year, that’s their decision, not White’s, not yours and not mine. If White wants to complain about excessive compensation, he should focus on executives in the financial sector who were paid more than Goodell to run their companies into the ground and then accepted a trillion dollar bailout from taxpayers. Worse still, many of those executives continue on the job today.
Despite the financial success that motivated owners to reward Goodell, all is not rosy at NFL headquarters. While revenue from new media deals alone will exceed team payrolls, one major concern looming on the horizon is the spate of concussion lawsuits brought against the league by former players. While plaintiffs have a steep burden of proof to overcome in order to prevail against the league, the NFL is facing potential payouts in the billions of dollars. What effect that may have on the league’s finances is unknown.
As for White and other players who object to Goodell’s compensation, they should remember that their salaries are based on a percentage of league revenue. The more revenue Goodell can generate for the league, the more the players will earn. From that perspective, there is no salary figure that is unreasonable for the commissioner.
Jordan Kobritz is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network. He can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. He is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University and teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming.
Whether it was "the rematch", the fact that it was New England vs New York, what have you, America loved Super Bowl XLVI, not just a little bit, but at an epic level.
The 2011 NFL season concluded with another television milestone as Super Bowl XLVI on NBC reached a total audience of 166.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched show in U.S. television history according to The Nielsen Company.
The Giants-Patriots championship game topped the previous record of 162.9 million total viewers set last year (Packers-Steelers in Super Bowl XLV) and marks the fifth consecutive record-setting total audience for the Super Bowl. Super Bowls account for the 21 most-watched programs in history in terms of total audience.
Most-Watched TV Programs, Total Viewers
Game
Total Viewers
Super Bowl XLVI (Giants-Patriots), 2/5/12
166.8 million
Super Bowl XLV (Packers-Steelers), 2/6/11
162.9 million
Super Bowl XLIV (Colts-Saints), 2/7/10
153.4 million
Super Bowl XLIII (Cardinals-Steelers), 2/1/09
151.6 million
Super Bowl XLII (Giants-Patriots), 2/3/08
148.3 million
Source: NFL, The Nielsen Company
In addition, a record average of 111.3 million viewers watched Super Bowl XLVI – topping the previous mark of 111 million for Super Bowl XLV.
Remember that thing called the NFL lockout? Neither do fans.
Numbers released by the NFL and Nielsen Media show an average of 36.6 million viewers watched the four playoff games last weekend, the most ever for an NFL Divisional Weekend and a four percent increase from last season’s previous record (35.1 million).
Sunday’s New York Giants-Green Bay Packers game on FOX drew and average of 45.1 million viewers to rank as the most-watched Divisional Playoff game ever topping the record set last year by Jets-Patriots (43.5 million viewers). Giants-Packers is the most-watched show since Super Bowl XLV.
Saturday’s New Orleans Saints-San Francisco 49ers on FOX (35.6 million viewers) and Denver Broncos-New England Patriots on CBS (34.2 million viewers) respectively ranked as the most watched Saturday early and late Divisional Playoff games ever.
All four Divisional Playoff games averaged more than 30 million viewers for the second consecutive year and accounted for the four most-watched shows on television last week (chart below).
Most-Watched Shows on Television, Week of Jan. 9-15, 2012
Program
Average Viewers
1. FOX Sunday Divisional Playoff (Giants-Packers)
45.1 million
2. FOX Saturday Divisional Playoff (Saints-49ers)
35.6 million
3. CBS Saturday Divisional Playoff (Broncos-Patriots)
You, I, or politicians, every decision we make comes with consequences. Good or bad, there are outcomes to what we choose to do. The big difference is, politicians are constantly being watched by the media and taxpayers for missteps.
Controversial subjects are often sidestepped, and the funding of new stadiums or arenas for professional sports teams are often in that category.
Whether it’s a new home for a sports team or some other topic sure to grab the headlines, what government leaders always look for is political cover, and a new home for the Minnesota Vikings is no different.
It starts with constant overtures by the Los Angeles area to bring back an NFL team after the Raiders and Rams left there in 1994, leaving the market devoid of an NFL franchise since. Then, last year the weather played its part when Minneapolis/St. Paul is pounded with a massive snowfall, which caused the Metrodome’s roof to collapse. Throw in that the Vikings lease on the Metrodome expires at the end of the season, and it’s all a politician likely needs.
The inference is clear by the NFL and many the cover them in the media: if the Vikings don’t get a new stadium, they’re relocating to LA. It’s leveraging, as it always has been in the new facility game.
Here’s where the political cover comes into play.
Peter King announced on NBC last night, and reiterated today in his Monday Morning Quarterback column that funding for a new stadium is likely in the offing due to the club being a “free agent” when the lease expires, and the threat of relocation to LA hanging over Minny/St. Paul’s head. King writes:
About six weeks ago, NFL CFO Eric Grubman went to Minnesota not to badger local politicians and the governor but to state a fact: If they waited until after the season to hammer out a deal with the Vikings, they'd risk losing control of the decision-making process. The implication was clear: The Wilf Family is not from Minnesota, and ownership had already pledged $425 million to the stadium effort, and if that wasn't going to be good enough to get a deal done, the family might have to look elsewhere. Now it appears the deal will get done in Minnesota, and as they should, the Vikings will stay in the great north.
The cost for a new stadium that would keep the Vikings in Minnesota would cost $870 million, if a roof is installed, something that will surely be sought (for those asking, the roof is projected to cost $100 million). If the Wilf family sticks to $425 million, taxpayers are on the hook for $445 million, possibly more depending on infrastructure costs.
Blogger Kevin Seifert, who covers the NFC North for ESPN writes, “King's report accurately depicts a growing sense of optimism that Gov. Mark Dayton's leadership on the issue will bring it to a successful conclusion in the coming months…. What a late Christmas present that would be for all involved. “
King had it right when he said the Vikings should stay in Minnesota. Seifert should have never added, “What a late Christmas present that would be for all involved.”
When the lion’s share of a facility for private enterprise is developed by the majority of public dollars, it’s never good for “all involved”. Remember, taxpayers just got dinged in 2006 for $320 million for the Twins new baseball-only stadium, Target Field. It’s “good” for the Vikings to stay. It’s “bad” for the taxpayers (again).
Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown!
Just how marketable is Tim Tebow and why the fascination with him? In this edition of the football podcast, Seth and Maury talk the sensation and ask why the Broncos' quarterback is so popular. They also delve into technology that could mean bringing your favorite game to your device so you can watch it anywhere, including air travel.
Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown!
The Sandusky sex scandal at Penn St. has Seth and Maury talking about how sports institutions could be covering up the truth in this latest edition of Bizball Radio. Seth has ideas on how to punish Penn St. while not hurting the kids in the football program. Along the way, the two talk about the timing of allegations of sexual abuse by Syracuse University assistant men's basketball coach Bernie Fine, the timing of it, and whether the accuser is looking for a money grab. As Syracuse is Seth's alma mater he has key insights.
Full disclosure: I'm not a lawyer. I did go to law school for a year, so I'm familiar with reading legal documents, looking for holes in stories and asking questions. While reading the grand jury report on Jerry Sandusky, I noticed something that hasn't been touched on by the mainstream media.
The following passage begins on page 6 of the grand jury report:
"He (McQueary) saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be 10 years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky...The next morning, a Saturday, the graduate assistant telephoned Paterno and went to Paterno's home, where he reported what he had seen."
"Paterno testified to receiving the graduate assistant's report at his home. Paterno called Curley to his home the very next day, a Sunday, and reported to him that the graduate assistant has seen Sandusky in the Lasch Building showers fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy."
See the distinction there? McQueary, whose testimony the grand jury found to be "extremely credible," testified that he told Paterno he had witnessed Sandusky having intercourse with the child. Paterno testified that McQueary told him Sandusky was "fondling or doing something of a sexual nature." If McQueary told Paterno that he saw Sandusky having intercourse with the boy, why would Paterno tell Curley that McQueary had seen Sandusky "fondling or doing something of a sexual nature?" Why didn't Paterno just tell Curley exactly what McQueary had told him?
At best, it was a needlessly vague relay of what McQueary had told Paterno the day before. Maybe Paterno simply misremembered (as Roger Clemens might say) what McQueary told him. At worst, it comes across as Paterno trying to shield Sandusky by making the accusations against him seem less serious than they actually were. I'm not accusing Paterno of trying to protect Sandusky. And just because the grand jury found McQueary "extremely credible" doesn't necessarily mean he is telling the truth, either. The legal process is far from playing itself out, no matter how anxious all of us are to get some answers. There's no way to know exactly what Paterno was thinking until he explains himself, which probably won't occur until he's in a courtroom testifying. But when he does, he needs to explain why he told Curley something different than what McQueary told him.
Welcome to a new edition of Bizball Radio with Seth Everett and Maury Brown!
A 62-7 beatdown didn't help, but it was worse than that: the World Series beat the NFL in the ratings on two consecutive games. To add, for the first time since the NFL began playing regular season games in London, the league didn't sell out the event (although, 76,981 is nothing to scoff at, capacity at Wembley Stadium is 90,000).
Seth and Maury talk about the ratings tanking on SNF and MNF, whether expansion into Europe is a good idea, and more
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Prior to the Super Bowl, NFL owners announced that Commissioner Roger Goodell had received a five-year contract extension through 2019. In the last years of the extension, the commissioner’s current salary will double, to $20 million per year.
Remember that thing called the NFL lockout? Neither do fans.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bizball-radio/id432019310
Full disclosure: I'm not a lawyer. I did go to law school for a year, so I'm familiar with reading legal documents, looking for holes in stories and asking questions. While reading the grand jury report on Jerry Sandusky, I noticed something that hasn't been touched on by the mainstream media.
