Goodell takes pay cut, 169 NFL jobs go

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has taken a pay cut of more than 20 percent as part of league belt-tightening moves that include the elimination of 169 staff jobs, the NFL said on Wednesday.

Goodell took a voluntary cut from the $11 million salary plus bonuses he was to receive for 2008 and agreed to freeze his salary for 2009 along with other executive staff, the league said.

The job cuts, made in response to the struggling economy, represented 15 percent of NFL staff and affected the New York business office, NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, and the NFL Network and NFL.com production in Los Angeles.

They were made through a combination of buyouts, layoffs and open jobs not filled.

"It will continue to take collective sacrifice to get through this challenging economic environment, but these and other steps by our office and clubs will enable us to be more efficient and better positioned for future growth," the NFL said in a statement.

The league said it had reduced its projected 2009 expenses by 20 percent.

Other league-wide steps addressing the economy include staff reductions by clubs, with more than 200 announced so far, a reduction in playoff ticket prices by 10 percent, and a freezing of 2009 ticket prices by three-quarters of the teams.

(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Alison Wildey)