Bud Selig is the Highest Paid Commissioner in Sports; Also the Most Clueless and Inept
Baseball February 3rd. 2009, 2:30pm
As the economy sinks into a depression, MLB players struggle to get paid on the free agent market (see Pettitte, Andy; Abreu, Bobby) and MLB.com cuts jobs significantly … commissioner Bud Selig gets a 22 percent pay increase to widen his lead over fellow commissioners Roger Goodell and David Stern.
Bud Selig, MLB: $18.35 million
Roger Goodell, NFL: $11.2 million
David Stern, NBA: $10 million
There’s an interesting chart here about what the commissioners make in regard to CEOs of major companies with similar market caps. If you’re wondering, Selig makes more than just three players in the league.
Also worth noting: In 1990, MLB commish Fay Vincent made a mere $500,000. In 1990, the highest paid player in baseball was Rickey Henderson at $3 million. The highest paid player last year was A-Rod at $26 million for a season. Hmmmm.
63 Responses to “Bud Selig is the Highest Paid Commissioner in Sports; Also the Most Clueless and Inept”
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February 3rd, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Until MLB starts suspending players for skipping the All Star weekend due to injury, NOBODY can take that title from Gary ‘Jackie Treehorn’ Bettman.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
talk about winning the lottery
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Agree with Mole, before we start throwing superlatives around Bettman needs to be included in the discussion.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
nothing really more to add.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Roger Goodell, NFL: $11.2 million
prorated?
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Wonder when Congress will step in?
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
nice to see tax cheats getting bounced from Obama’s dream team
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-03-daschle-withdraw_N.htm
btw, how bad were some of his picks? That’s 2 of 4 who cheated on their taxes, right?
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Hes off the Market just signed with the White Sox today.
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/02/a-halfpriced-abreu-works-for-me-and-apparently-the-white-sox-agree.html
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:42 pm
If you’re wondering, Selig makes more than just four players in the league.
Please read that again; you’ll want to edit.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:43 pm
The Yankees should sign him.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Ill take this over 4 more years of Bush.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Pettite rejected a $10 million offer, then signed for $5 million.
Those poor struggling free agents.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
what jimmy said.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Inept? MLB is doing pretty well under his watch, I think.
He lacks style, but substance – actually money – is what matters. And other owners arent complaining.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Ill take this over 4 more years of Bush.
You need to stop f’ing those Euro women.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Hasn’t he appointed a lot more than four people?
I love that everyone is so indignant about taxes now when there is no way that would have kept anyone out in the Bush or Clinton administrations.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:50 pm
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
The black part of the podium could easily be mistaken for Selig’s pants. The Ed Grimley look sits him well.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
geez, from that picture it looks like he shouldn’t have had that last chalupa.
Anyone know if there’s any truth that Bush might try his hand as MLB commish when Selig dies?
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Don’t forget about Richardson.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOBODY CARES ABOUT HOCKEY HAHAHAHAHA BRADY QUINN IS GAY HAHAHAHA
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
ha! I’d rather have a cabinet full or tax cheats than one full of war criminals.
put it into perspective. if that’s the only knock on his decision making, we’re doing ok.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Not a Bush as Prez fan, but I think it would be a good fit.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Labor peace, merch sales out the roof, record attendance numbers: yeah, Selig really reeks of unwiped asshole.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Sarah Palin…an excellent pick by the elephant party
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
just going to quietly slide this in here. please read it if you haven’t already. i nearly hurled shit at my TV when the clowns on CNBC today were like, ‘when is it time to buy?’
UHHHHH, NEVER?
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Labor peace, merch sales out the roof, record attendance numbers: yeah, Selig really reeks of unwiped asshole.
+10000 clown
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Under Bud’s ineptitude Major League Baseball has set attendance records, become more profitable and signed multiple television deals higher than the their previous ones, created their own network, web industry which shows games online, gotten their MLB Home Plate onto 90% of the Cable companies in America as well has staved off a labor stoppage since 1994 (15 years and counting) and gotten the union to fall into lock step with him on all sorts of drug issues, something that has historically been an issue as well as work towards competitive balance in the best way he could since the Union will never agree to the very flawed and unjustified Salary Cap…to bitch about the worth of a Man paid by billionaires to run their industry is stupid and juvenile but of course you go for a cheap headline. I am not Bud’s biggest fan but why do you give a shit what he is paid? The man runs a 7 Billion dollar industry not some small market business.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
The Joe Biden era will be outstanding however. Truly looking forward to it.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
you do realize that this country was founded by tax dodgers
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
true, but you could make a good argument baseball has thrived in spite of selig not because of him.
i’m trying to be objective here but i’m trying to think of one thing he has done that has been good for baseball — the game; not the bean counters.
possibly the luxury tax. i stress “possibly.” it really hasn’t slowed the free spenders down and it hasn’t helped the dregs of baseball (kansas city, pittsburgh et al) rise. if anything, it allowed the scumbags of the game (vince naimoli) to line his pockets with steinbrenner’s cash.
has the interleague baseball gimmick helped? maybe the two new york teams. maybe the two chicago teams. outside of that, it’s a joke. nothing like that vaunted texas-pittsburgh series or colorado-toronto series to get the juices worked up.
the all-star game? don’t even get me started about allowing an exhibition game to determine home field advantage in a world series.
i’m really trying to be objective and i can’t think of anything of substance selig has done that has benefitted the game.
but he sure knows how to whore out the game and stoop to the PC police.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
So is Selig WAAAYYY overpaid, or is Stern and Goodell underpaid? Probably a little bit of both?
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 pm
All while watching his sport be passed by the NFL
I’d say that baseball was passed by the NFL sometime in the 80s, well before Selig took over.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Stern only makes $10 million?
I would bet that he has that lying in the coin tray in his car.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
YYSA…So the NFL makes more money..they also have a limited quantity of games they charge a premium for..lost a team in LA and never got it back, are about to have a major labor issue..can’t get their league owned network on cable companies…your line makes no sense since MLB has not gone backwards and got passed..both leagues have grown leaps and bounds and both can get pointed out for failures as well as successes. But we only care what he makes since we have the right to say what an organization should pay their chief executive
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:05 pm
MLB is currently making a huge mistake with their post season under Selig, taking short term dollars and losing millions in the long term. With younger kids who simply can’t stay up that late to watch, they’ll become more interested in other sports/activities. It’s a very stupid and short-sighted move to have ALCS/NLCS/Series games that don’t end until well past midnight on the east coast.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I bet Stern makes more than that a year in speaking fees.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
It was so refreshing to have the superbowl done before eleven.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
i don’t consider capitulating to the cable thieves to be a positive. goodell has drawn a line in the sand to those SOBs and i salute him. if anything the nfl has exposed those bastards to be the frauds they truly are.
selig, on the other hand, caved to the threats of kerry like the weakass used car salesman he is.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
jay..the late postseason game argument is the most overblown completely fabricated thing..do you know when World Series games started in the 70’s? Game 6 1975 the Fisk game started at 8:30. The home run was at 12:40 at night. That was common place. The WS day game on a Saturday wouldn’t hurt but this idea game started earlier then is so overblown. If they are killing their young fans (an argument I have been hearing since I am a kid and I am 31) why is baseball bigger than ever?
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
That’s 2 of 4 who cheated on their taxes, right?
ha! I’d rather have a cabinet full or tax cheats than one full of war criminals.
put it into perspective. if that’s the only knock on his decision making, we’re doing ok.
IT’S THE ONLY FUCKING DECISION HE’S HAD TO MAKE, OTHER THEN TO CLOSE GITMO….SOMETIME…IN…THE….FUTURE…WHEN WE….KNOW….WHAT TO DO…WITH ….THE…PRISONERS
I love the double standard here!
http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/540207
Looks like they did a great job
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
even more refreshing that schoolkids in pittsburgh got to sleep in monday.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
jimmy..the idea of a sports league is to make money and increase exposure…Selig did it with his network Tagliabue/Goodell has not with theirs…it is a failure
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Lucky little bastards. Half of my second class today was gone because they were all at the parade.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
When the NFL launched their network, I was working at a cable company. Let me tell you that the NFL Network was making unprecedented requests. Had the cable companies relented, it would have been a pretty bad precedent.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:14 pm
glad they could take a break from drinking paint thinner.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
btw, who cares that Selig made $18 million? The guy at Merrill Lynch made $83 million and ran it into extinction (or B of A…same thing). In ‘06, Steve Jobs made $537 million at Apple (taking a $1 “salary”, cute trick).
The CEO’s of the corporations that have fucked us until I have grandchildren and are age 30 are the ones we should be concerned about.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
hernia – if the yankees sign man-ram … how tough would it be to get a ticket?
can you imagine the middle of the order?
a-rod
manny
tex
you’re potentially looking at three guys over .330
three guys over 30 hrs
three guys over 110 rbi
and then you’ve got the pitching staff improved.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Two ways to look at Selig’s tenure.
Selig – Most Profitable and best financial health. Highest attendance. Job well done.
Anti-Selig – The game has changed radically since he’s been commissioner. The Wild Card, inter-league play and the all-star game, Steroids, lop-sided scheduling, a post-season controlled by the television networks. This has sold-out baseball to commercial interests, to its detriment.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
ty..I would put the Wild Card in the plus category..it is still the most exclusive of all the major sports in regards to teams making the playoffs and has given more markets an ability to make their Septembers meaningful
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Not to get all bottom line and anti-romance here, but isnt “Most Profitable and best financial health” the exact opposite of being to it’s detriment. It’s a business first and foremost.
Man I feel like I sold out just typing that.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
That’s a broad brush there jpq.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
selig may be the worst commish of the “major” sports, but tim finchem is the worst commissioner in all of sports, yes, including bettman.
the PGA is dependant on Tiger instead of relishing in “niche sport heaven” and the FedEx Cup hasn’t just hurt the PGA financially, it’s driven it’s best players overseas, limiting their appearances in the states, and sponsor’s willingness to pony up to get B-list golfers and vijay singh at their tourneys. and im not even going to get into the Ryder Cup woes, the “W”GC series (w should stand for world, not united states) and the rule regulations that have changed the game for the worse.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I didn’t like the Wild Card at first, but it’s made for some pretty good end-of-season races.
I hated inter-league play and still don’t like, but there are worse things to complain about.
I get the hatred about the all-star game deciding home-field advantage, but I don’t think home-field advantage is all that important in baseball and deciding it by record when schedules between the two leagues is incredibly inbalanced seems weird.
re: steroids. Like everyone else, I’m sure Selig thought it was the ball that was juiced. Remember that?
I like lop-sided scheduling and think the NBA should adopt a similar schedule. Otherwise, what’s the point of divisions?
I’m fine with prime-time starts during the week, but late weekend starts is pretty indefensible. If the Super Bowl were played on a Tuesday, it would start at 8pm.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
By the way, the MLB Network just signed Costas.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
otherwise known as iron city beer.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
that’s actually a positive. teams (usually) rake in more people with division rivals. for example, should the yankees/red sox play less games against each other so they can play more games against the rangers? should the cubs/cards play less games so they can play more against the marlins?
as someone else stated, what’s the point of divisions if you are going to have a balanced schedule?
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
The NBA should have you play each division foe 6 times, each conference foe 3 times, and each out of conference team twice. That would be 84 games.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I don’t like the Wild Card either, but I may save that for a post on a slow day.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
it’s feb. 3. there will be 25 more slow days.
february may be the worst month for sports.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:59 pm
July is the worst month in sports by a large margin. No Football, no Basketball(WNBA doesn’t count), Baseball is still a month away from being intresting and it’s too fucking hot to go to the games, no Hockey(it’s a sport, look it up), and it has 31 days to february’s 28. July sucks.
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
how pissed is manny that he is only worth 7 million more than bud