Roger Goodell Calls for Pay-Scale Change

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

I attended a “conversation” with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today and one of the more interesting topics he discussed was rookie salaries. If you recall back on April 22, Michigan OT Jake Long signed a five-year, $57.75 million contract (complete with a hefty $30 million guarantee) with the Miami Dolphins. This not only made him the #1 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, it also made him the highest-paid lineman in the NFL without having played one down of football. Commissioner Goodell sees this as a problem:

“There’s something wrong about the system. The money should go to people who perform. He (Jake Long) doesn’t have to play a down in the NFL and he already has his money. Now, with the economics where they are, the consequences if you don’t evaluate that player, you can lose a significant amount of money. And that money is not going to players that are performing. It’s going to a player that never makes it in the NFL. And I think that’s ridiculous.”

Players like Jake Long or Matt Ryan (or whomever) should not enter the National Football League as one of the highest paid players. There’s most definitely a flaw in the system and I expect that Commissioner Goodell will do something about it sooner than later. I believe a rookie salary cap is the answer. Rookies should make the league’s minimum salary for a period of time (maybe a year or two) and then it’s a land rush as far as I’m concerned. They can then make their money because they’ve earned it. Some will say a player “earned it” in college — by not making a dime for what is essentially considered by many a full-time job. But this isn’t college. College football is unfortunately nothing more than an unpaid internship. If you’re lucky enough to make it onto an NFL team, you’ll get a great starting salary. But you’ll really cash-in when you’ve proven you deserve it.

NEW MEDIA AND THE NFL: I took particular interest in Commissioner Goodell’s comments about the role of “new media” and the NFL. Being part of one of the world’s largest new media networks (b5media Inc.), I know I play a role in this burgeoning category. Roger said, “I don’t think there’s a better time to be a fan because of the different media opportunities we have to get closer to the game. There are no secrets with the NFL. We’re out there with a tremendous amount of exposure and I think that’s great for the fans. They have an opportunity to use this technology to get closer to the players — to understand what makes the game so great. There couldn’t be anything better for the future of the game.”

BUFFALO BILLS IN TORONTO: The Commissioner assured Buffalo Bills fans the team would not be relocating to Toronto even though they are playing two games there (one preseason and one regular season) this year. He believes the team’s future is more secure with the additional revenue it generates from playing an annual game north of the border and said, “The Buffalo Bills are doing terrific. I think their step to Toronto has helped strengthen that. And I see the Buffalo Bills being in western New York for a long time.”