Take a stab at what Bud Selig made last year. Do you have a number in mind? If your guess was the same as mine, you'll need to double it to even get close. According to the Sports Business Journal (via The Biz of Baseball), Selig raked in $15.06 million last year, making him the highest-paid commissioner in all of sports. You hear the owners complain about player salaries being out of control, and yet Selig made more than all but 10 players last year. Think about that: the man took home more money than Albert Pujols, and for what? The Mitchell Report? An All-Star Game that "means something?"
I'm not as down on Selig's legacy as some people are, but there's no chance at all that he's the top commish in all of sports. Just to put it in context, the NFL's Roger Goodell made $6.5 million in his first eight months on the job, putting his annual salary right around $10 million, which is roughly what the NBA's David Stern reportedly makes. The NHL's Gary Betteman makes around $6 million, which seems about right given his sport's standing below the Big Three.
Here's what I don't get: the reason why companies pay their CEO's big bucks is so that they won't bail for another company, right? But where could Selig possibly go? What other job in the world could he reasonably expect to make $10 million a year at?
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. maybe you forget that he owned the Brewers!? He paid out no high price salaries, put a terrible product on the field and raked in tons of millions from TV contracts, concessions, parking, etc. Why do you think he stands behind the two Florida teams, but despised Jerry Colangelo when he owned the Diamondbacks for spending money to win a World Series??
Posted at 7:43PM on Mar 10th 2008 by RW
2. Sure beats selling used cars.
Posted at 7:44PM on Mar 10th 2008 by Panger
3. How do I get a job like that?
Posted at 9:55PM on Mar 10th 2008 by Duff
4. How is this clown still employed? Honestly, how?
Posted at 9:50PM on Mar 11th 2008 by mike morgan
5. I figured out how to get a job like this, you have to have no education, be a complete idiot, and figure out a way to annoy 30 owners and millions of fans
Posted at 10:24AM on May 29th 2008 by Jared