FIFA Secret Pay Raises: Executive Committee Members Had Salaries Doubled, Report Says

Sepp Blatter approved a secret 100 percent pay raise for 25 of FIFA's top executives, according to a report.

Secret documents obtained by the Sunday Times allegedly revealed that 25 members of FIFA’s executive committee, or “Exco,” received a $100,000, or £58,800 increase in salary, effectively doubling their pay. The executives are also purported to have received amenities such as free flights and rooms in five-star hotels.

In addition, Blatter allegedly rewarded the executives with $4.4 million in bonuses after FIFA’s windfall at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the Sunday Times reports. Meanwhile, an unnamed member of the executive committee told Sky News that the secret raises were meant to serve as a replacement for discontinued bonus payments.

In the past, Exco members would receive bonuses ranging from $75,000 to $200,000 in World Cup years. However, FIFA stopped that practice amid allegations of corruption.

A FIFA spokesperson declined to address the situation, telling Sky News that the organization “cannot comment on every morsel The Sunday Times picks out of the hundreds of millions of emails they claim to have in their possession.”

FIFA’s executive committee drew intense scrutiny after a Sunday Times report revealed earlier this month that former member Mohamed Bin Hammam had bribed top soccer officials with $5 million to secure Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup. On June 13, German soccer legend and former executive committee member Franz Beckenbauer was suspended by FIFA for 90 days for refusing to cooperate with an ethics committee investigation into the allegations.

Despite its status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization in Switzerland, Blatter has admitted that the organization has more than $1 billion in reserve. A financial juggernaut, the organization is expected to clear $4 billion in revenue from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil alone, good for $2 billion in profit, Forbes reported.

But the salaries of FIFA’s top executive pale in comparison to that of Blatter, who admitted in 2011 to earning “$1 million, perhaps a bit more” in annual salary. Blatter’s exact salary is unknown, so it’s possible that he earns even more than reported.

Here’s how the annual salaries of Blatter and the FIFA executive committee stack up against the world’s top sports league executives, based on the most recently available figures.

Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner: $44 Million (as of 2012)

Bud Selig, MLB Commissioner: $17.5 Million (as of 2006)

Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner: $8.3 Million (as of 2012)

Don Garber, MLS Commissioner : $3 million (as of 2010)

Sepp Blatter, FIFA President: $1 million (exact figure unconfirmed)

Michael Whan, LPGA Commissioner: $636,000 (as of 2011)

FIFA Executive Committee Members (25): $200,000 (as of 2014)

Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner: (Unavailable)