While I do not expect people to “like” Roger Goodell, I have to disagree with some of the arguments being made.
The initial question is whether RG is overpaid. I would say probably but maybe not. The NFL is an entertainment business; they are not saving lives or providing a critical need to society. If you view it that way, then just about everyone in the league is overpaid. Then again, his salary is probably similar, if not lower, compared to some of the CEOs/COOs in Wall Street:
The Year's Highest Paid CEOs - WSJ.com
Is RG ruining football? That is a resounding NO. The success of the league is most likely measured in two manners: profits and popularity. As I mentioned before, the league is the most profitable compared to the other sports league and it is the most popular in attendance and TV ratings:
sports-recreation-leisure-market-research - Industry Statistics
When Tagliabue left the league in 2006, the NFL had a league revenue of $6 billion dollars, in 2012 that number is estimated at around $9.5 billion. If you think that a person who has increased revenue by about $500 million dollars per year (if my math is correct) is ruining your business, you are not a smart person.
American sports: In a league of its own | The Economist
Has RG been perfect as a commissioner in his tenure? No, and no one is making that argument. Under RG’s watch the following things have happened: Spygate, Bountygate, Capgate, Replacement Refs, the Decline of the Pro Bowl, the Lockout, and the Arbitrariness of Fines/Discipline. RG has been involved in some way, shape, or form in these issues; and has made his share of bad decisions in dealing with them.
Is RG solely to blame for these issues? No. OWNERS, Players, the NFLPA, and Greed has played a big part in these issues.
Who runs the NFL? THE OWNERS. Anything that happens or doesn’t happen in the NFL, is because a majority of the OWNERS agreed (or disagreed) upon it. In a lot of the cases, Goodell is the messenger or enforcer to these decisions. And because of naïve/uninformed fans, he solely takes the heat for it. I think The Lockout was the first time that people actually blamed someone else other than Goodell.
Finally, is he popular among the players? Definitely no, especially if you ask crybabies like James Harrison or Jonathan Vilma (who can b*tch about it on Twitter and Faceboo), who don’t own up to their mistakes and take responsibility for screwing things up (because they are looking out for their own profits). Thanks to Vilma, now every player is going to lawyer up and are going to get away with crap. In the end though, I am sure the OWNERS don’t care whether RG is popular with the players, as long as the profit and ratings keep coming in.
In the end, if you say that RG is overpaid you might be right, but it probably has more to do with how you “feel” about him. If you are saying that RG is ruining football, you are making an uninformed statement, once again based on “feelings” and not facts. I personally dislike a number of things Goodell has made in the past (sweeping Spygate under the rug, keep trying to push the Pro Bowl, and saying everything was okay during the Ref Lockout), but as I’ve argued it is likely that he wasn’t solely responsible for those actions. He is not a dictator.