NFL boycott
I genuinely don’t understand how the NFL can generate billions of dollars every year, yet so many of the corporate and behind-the-scenes positions pay salaries that are barely competitive.
Everyone sees the players making millions, but there are thousands of employees in ticket sales, marketing, partnerships, events, operations, guest services, HR, IT, creative, and other departments who keep these organizations running. Many of these roles require degrees, years of experience, and working nights, weekends, and holidays—yet the compensation often doesn’t reflect that.
The biggest problem is that the NFL has a constant pipeline of people willing to work for less simply because it’s “the NFL.” Teams know there will always be applicants who dream of having the logo on their résumé, so there’s little incentive to raise pay.
At some point, employees need to stop accepting low salaries just for the prestige. If qualified candidates started turning down underpaid offers—or current employees collectively pushed for better compensation—the market would eventually have to adjust.
People deserve to earn a fair wage for the value they bring, regardless of how exciting the employer’s brand is. Working in professional sports shouldn’t mean accepting below-market pay.
Curious what others think. If you’ve worked for an NFL team or another professional sports organization, what has your experience been with compensation compared to the workload?
I believe as a whole, there needs to be a boycott once the season starts to make sure there’s reasonable pay.