Sen'Derrick Marks knows what it means to earn a living. In his view, that's what he does in every practice and football game, when the Jaguars defensive tackle is taking hits from the opposing team and wearing down his body for the sake of the sport.
So when he found out what Roger Goodell gets paid as the league's commissioner, he couldn't help but object.
Roger Goodell has made $180.5 mill in his 1st 9 yrs as commish? And ppl say the players ask for too much cash. How many hits has he taken?
— Sen'Derrick Marks (@senmarks) February 16, 2016
Marks isn't off on the numbers: While a true figure isn't known, reports have pegged Goodell's career-long salary as exceeding $180 million, and that doesn't count his numbers from 2015. The most recent year for which figures are known, 2014, saw Goodell earn $34.1 million -- slightly down from his $35 million salary in 2013, and far below his $44 million in 2012 earnings.
Starting with the 2015 tax year, the NFL is no longer a tax-exempt entity, so it won't have to make public disclosures of how much Goodell and other employees make. It's likely that hard figures for his salary won't be available from this point forward.
Based on his 2014 numbers, Goodell's salary is more than any individual player in the NFL. It's nearly 10 times Marks' $3.45 million in base salary he's slated to earn in 2016, although he's set to earn another $1.25 million in bonuses.
Marks' comments have been echoed by other players and observers of the league, but his decision to air his grievances on Twitter was met with a lot of backlash, primarily from individuals who felt he shouldn't be complaining, given how much he earns in salary relative to the average American.
Eventually, he grew exhausted with the argument.
See why beastmode stopped talking
— Sen'Derrick Marks (@senmarks) February 17, 2016
Marks' comments won't be the last regarding Goodell's salary and whether he's overpaid, particularly in moments where his ability to run the league is a point of concern.
