Post by TheShadow on Feb 26, 2009 5:45:39 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com
Star News Services
The NFL trimmed its staff by 169 jobs through buyouts, layoffs and other staff reductions. It amounts to just more than 15 percent of the league’s work force of 1,100.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took a pay reduction of 25 percent from the $11 million salary and bonuses he was to receive in the 2008 fiscal year that ends March 31. He and other league executives are freezing their salaries for 2009.
Of the trims at the NFL office, 76 people took buyouts; 45 jobs were eliminated and 48 openings went unfilled. The moves affect NFL headquarters in New York, NFL Films in Mount Laurel, N.J., and NFL Network in Los Angeles.
The league estimates that 10 to 12 teams have laid off about 200 people total in the last few months. Still, the league is worried about the effect the downturn will have in many areas, notably on sponsors, with the auto industry hit especially hard.
NFL officials, including Goodell, have said that they won’t know the effect of the economic downturn on the league until later this year, and perhaps not even then. One factor is how well season tickets sell when they go on the market this spring — three-quarters of teams are freezing ticket prices for this coming season at their 2008 levels.
Trent Green released by Rams
Former Chiefs quarterback Trent Green was dropped from the Rams roster Wednesday, saving the team about $1.3 million in salary cap space. Green, 38, played in three games last season, completing 38 of 72 passes for 525 yards, no touchdowns and six interceptions.
•STUNNED: Derrick Brooks, the 11-time Pro Bowl linebacker, was released by Tampa in a purge of the team’s veterans by new coach Raheem Morris. Besides Brooks, who said: “I don’t even know what to think,” the Bucs trimmed wide receivers Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard, running back Warrick Dunn and linebacker Cato June.
•DEAL DONE: The Giants signed halfback Brandon Jacobs to a four-year, $25 million contract that includes $13 million in guarantees.
•HE’S FREE: Jets receiver Laveranues Coles restructured his contract, giving up a guaranteed $6 million next year to become a free agent and seek a long-term deal.
Star News Services
The NFL trimmed its staff by 169 jobs through buyouts, layoffs and other staff reductions. It amounts to just more than 15 percent of the league’s work force of 1,100.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took a pay reduction of 25 percent from the $11 million salary and bonuses he was to receive in the 2008 fiscal year that ends March 31. He and other league executives are freezing their salaries for 2009.
Of the trims at the NFL office, 76 people took buyouts; 45 jobs were eliminated and 48 openings went unfilled. The moves affect NFL headquarters in New York, NFL Films in Mount Laurel, N.J., and NFL Network in Los Angeles.
The league estimates that 10 to 12 teams have laid off about 200 people total in the last few months. Still, the league is worried about the effect the downturn will have in many areas, notably on sponsors, with the auto industry hit especially hard.
NFL officials, including Goodell, have said that they won’t know the effect of the economic downturn on the league until later this year, and perhaps not even then. One factor is how well season tickets sell when they go on the market this spring — three-quarters of teams are freezing ticket prices for this coming season at their 2008 levels.
Trent Green released by Rams
Former Chiefs quarterback Trent Green was dropped from the Rams roster Wednesday, saving the team about $1.3 million in salary cap space. Green, 38, played in three games last season, completing 38 of 72 passes for 525 yards, no touchdowns and six interceptions.
•STUNNED: Derrick Brooks, the 11-time Pro Bowl linebacker, was released by Tampa in a purge of the team’s veterans by new coach Raheem Morris. Besides Brooks, who said: “I don’t even know what to think,” the Bucs trimmed wide receivers Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard, running back Warrick Dunn and linebacker Cato June.
•DEAL DONE: The Giants signed halfback Brandon Jacobs to a four-year, $25 million contract that includes $13 million in guarantees.
•HE’S FREE: Jets receiver Laveranues Coles restructured his contract, giving up a guaranteed $6 million next year to become a free agent and seek a long-term deal.