# The Most Powerful Person in Sports is...? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 19, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796 "2013-02-19T14:44:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/1 "2013-02-19T14:44:45Z")
It is kind of a downtime in Sports right now, so I thought I would pose this query. Not wishing to start a great debate, but just wondering what Dopers opinion are. Looking to see if that person can be pigeon holed into a player, an administer, or someone else like a Coach. Although I am not really passionate about my choice, my knee jerk opinion is Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner. Looking at his Wiki entry, there is a blurb about it. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/2 "2013-02-19T15:01:56Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Although I am not really passionate about my choice, my knee jerk opinion is Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner. Looking at his Wiki entry, there is a blurb about it. Goodell’s power comes from the owners, and he is little more than a face to those owners. The owners are the real power, not Goodell. They make most of the decisions, and while Goodell is clearly powerful in player discipline, it’s the owners who make the big moves. I’d probably vote for Stan Kroenke, if he actually used his power more. He’s owner of many franchises, including the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, and English Premier League team Arsenal. With those many franchises, that much money (thank you Bud Walton!), and that much control, he could easily wield the most influence in the major sports of anyone. If not Kroenke, maybe Phil Knight, CEO of Nike. I hate him with a passion, but he certainly has a great deal of power in sports. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/3 "2013-02-19T15:12:20Z")
Since television provides most of the money, I’d say Bob Iger (head of Disney and therefore of ESPN) and Jeffrey Immelt (head of General Electric, and therefore of NBC) are the most powerful men in sports. THEY are the ones who can tell the Olympic Committee what events to hold and which ones to scrap. They’re the ones who can tell the NFL and the NBA when to schedule their games. When they speak, commissioners listen and obey ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/4 "2013-02-19T15:36:40Z")
So who was the last commissioner of any sport that had real power? Mountain Landis? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/5 "2013-02-19T16:39:16Z")
NBCUniversal is 51%, soon to be 100%, owned by Comcast, not GE. So that would make Brian Roberts the choice, not Jeff Immelt. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/6 "2013-02-19T16:48:00Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > NBCUniversal is 51%, soon to be 100%, owned by Comcast, not GE. So that would make Brian Roberts the choice, not Jeff Immelt. Okay, then. I think I stand by my larger point- that TV execs are often more powerful than the people supposedly running their sports. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/7 "2013-02-19T16:54:11Z")
Oh, absolutely. That’s where the money, and therefore the power, all comes from - the US TV audience. NBC is the power in the US and the IOC. The only rival worldwide might be the head of FIFA. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/8 "2013-02-19T19:13:24Z")
I like the answers of Iger, Knight, and Roberts, much better than the one I had in mind. Before I heard them though, the name I was thinking of was Bernie Ecclestone, but F1 is hardly all of sports. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/9 "2013-02-19T23:10:58Z")
I’m not sure about the TV execs. They have the contract now, but just as easily might lose it next time, and some other network will have it. The NFL is the product and the monopoly is there’s. They have more power in the relationship to dictate terms. I agree with Goodell, at least in America. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/10 "2013-02-19T23:47:42Z")
Sepp Blatter of FIFA is far more powerful than anyone associated with the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/11 "2013-02-20T00:04:54Z")
Isn’t the argument against Roger Goodell (he’s merely the agent for the owners) the same one you could use against TV executives? They don’t wield any power beyond what the network itself wields. I’m not sure who is the most powerful person in sports who comes by their power naturally rather than through their office. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/12 "2013-02-20T00:22:21Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Sepp Blatter of FIFA is far more powerful than anyone associated with the NFL. +1 Add some others off the usual UScentric radar IOC President Jacques Rogge WADA President John Fahey ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/13 "2013-02-20T02:29:14Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Sepp Blatter of FIFA is far more powerful than anyone associated with the NFL. I was going to say Sepp Blatter. I might even rank Michel Platini (head of UEFA) above Goodell. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/14 "2013-02-20T03:49:41Z")
Though Rogge is a good call, 1 question: how big is the US economy v. the EU economy? ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/15 "2013-02-20T04:06:41Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Though Rogge is a good call, 1 question: how big is the US economy v. the EU economy? Well, the World Bank has the nominal GDP of the EU at about $17 trillion. US is at $15 trillion. EU population is about 500 million vs 300 million for the US. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/16 "2013-02-20T04:32:32Z")
TY **chizzuk**! I thought the economies and pops were comparable. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/17 "2013-02-20T04:41:10Z")
Factor in the EUs economic millstones of the PIGS ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/18 "2013-02-20T14:08:16Z")
The IOC and FIFA are immensly powerfull. They get to organize a huge tournament every 4 years. During these tournaments high-ranking officals and their guests are treated better than royalty, streets get closed of in London so they don’t have to deal with traffic. Idiotic tax exceptions are in place and there is absolutely no oversight as to how they spend the money. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/19 "2013-02-20T14:54:59Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I’m not sure about the TV execs. They have the contract now, but just as easily might lose it next time, and some other network will have it. The NFL is the product and the monopoly is there’s. They have more power in the relationship to dictate terms. Agree with this. The TV executives are at the mercy of the NFL owners. If they don’t play ball, Goddell takes his ball and goes to one of the other networks. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796/20 "2013-02-20T18:02:11Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Well, the World Bank has the nominal GDP of the EU at about $17 trillion. US is at $15 trillion. > > EU population is about 500 million vs 300 million for the US. And it must be mentioned that if we’re talking about UEFA, that the population cover by UEFA is actually over 900 million as it covers the whole of geographical Europe, the whole of any country where a portion of land area is in Europe (e.g. Russia and Turkey), plus a few countries outside of Europe (e.g. Israel and Kazakhstan). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-powerful-person-in-sports-is/650796.md?page=2)