Keller @ Large: What Roger Goodell Deserves
BOSTON (CBS) - Regular listeners here may have noticed that I am not a huge fan of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, opaque corporate dissembler, concussion epidemic denier and quarterback of the ludicrous persecution of Tom Brady, among many other offenses.
But today I have to tip my helmet to Roger, for the sheer audacity of his reported contract demands.
According to ESPN, the commissioner, currently scraping by on a salary of $30 million a year, wants a big raise, to nearly $50 million. Because even that would be a tad too meager for his highness, Goodell also wants the league to pickup health insurance costs for him and his family for life, and no wonder – have you noticed how much health care costs these days?
Oh, and did I mention the lifetime use of a private jet? Because, come on! You don't expect an executive of this caliber to stand there at the gate amid the sweaty peasants, waiting for them to call Group Five, do you?
But let's face it, Roger Goodell is worth every penny.
Look at those fat TV contracts!
What's that?
Bob Kraft and other owners had more to do with those than Goodell?
Well, what about the overall success of the league, that's a Goodell triumph, right?
What?
The NFL was a license to print money before Goodell ever got there?
But let's be fair – Goodell can take credit for the extraordinarily bad run of publicity the league has suffered, from the concussion scandal to the botched disciplinary process to his silky-smooth handling of the recent player protests.
Come to think of it, the smart move would be to give Goodell his private plane – on the condition that he never leave it again.