 The salaries of any executive within the N.F.L. making over $150,000 would be made public under a new I.R.S. law set to go into effect this year, unless the league can get an exemption. Currently, the N.F.L. headquarters in New York is deemed a non-profit. Currently, only Commissioner Goodell must file a I.R.S. Form 990 as a “key employee.” Goodell made nearly $10 million dollars last season. But, according to the New York Times, many more executives could have their salaries published, and the N.F.L. is looking to make sure that doesn’t happen: The league is asking Congress for an exception to the requirement of publicly disclosing the names and salaries of employees at N.F.L. headquarters who make more than $150,000 a year. The I.R.S. and some outside experts on nonprofit law say there is a public interest in disclosing top salaries for all tax-exempt groups, partly to assure that they are not excessive. The N.F.L. argues that it is not a charity that receives public donations, but rather it is a trade association financed by the 32 teams; the team’s owners can ask for the salary information at any time. The league benefits from tax-exempt status by being able to sell hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds at a reduced rate that are then lent at cut rates to clubs building new stadiums.
How many more employees at the N.F.L. headquarters would be listed, if the N.F.L. were not to be granted an exception? According to league VP for public relations Greg Aiello, about 25. Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa believes that the change keeps non-profits from over paying. “Disclosure helps keep everyone honest,” Grassley said in a written statement the Times. “If, as requested, professional associations like the N.F.L. are allowed to keep salary information from the public, other tax-exempt groups would ask for the same treatment. This would be contrary to the goal of increasing transparency and accountability from tax-exempt organizations to the public.”
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