National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell was paid $34.1 million in 2014, ESPN reported on Tuesday citing public tax filings.

Goodell, widely believed to be the highest paid sports administrator in the world, received $4 million in salary with the balance being reported as "bonus income" according to ESPN.

The NFL meanwhile reported record earnings of more than $13 billion.

The level of Goodell's earnings has been a subject of debate for years, with the 56-year-old earning $44 million in 2012 and $35 million in 2013, according to public records.

Even President Barack Obama has weighed in on Goodell's salary, expressing shock at the numbers in an interview with GQ magazine last year.

"I cannot believe that the commissioner of football gets paid $44 million a year," Obama was quoted as saying. News of Goodell's multi-million-dollar pay package comes despite stinging criticism over the past two years for his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence and the Tom Brady "deflategate" saga.
Source :AFP