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Ranking Commissioners of America's 4 Major Professional Sports Leagues

By Sean Facey

Commissioners play a massive role in cultivating the popularity of their leagues and sports.
Commissioners play a massive role in cultivating the popularity of their leagues and sports. / Stacy Revere/Getty Images

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has taken his already mediocre reputation and dragged it through the mud with his botched handling of the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. His mistakes serve as a reminder that commissioners rarely, if ever, get things right.

So, in the spirit of pointing out the flaws of professional sports, here are where the commissioners of the four major sports leagues rank in comparison to each other.

4. Roger Goodell

Roger Goodell's issues with discipline and player relations have tarnished his reputation.
Roger Goodell's issues with discipline and player relations have tarnished his reputation. / Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Of the four commissioners, NFL head Roger Goodell perennially seems to be the most out of touch with the league he runs. He's a major part of the "No Fun League" label that the NFL has had to deal with in recent years. And of course, his arbitrary decision-making process in regards to discipline is on its own level of horrible. Players are handed suspensions seemingly at will, and his issues in handling cases involving domestic violence are well-documented. The proposal to move to a 17-game season has also drawn the ire of the players, and his relationship with them seems to be deteriorating by the day.

3. Rob Manfred

Rob Manfred has done nothing but shoot himself in the foot this offseason.
Rob Manfred has done nothing but shoot himself in the foot this offseason. / Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

Prior to the Astros' cheating scandal, Manfred was about as mediocre as a commissioner could be, but he truly sunk his reputation this offseason. He let Houston get off relatively scot-free for one of the largest cheating scandals in baseball history, and his proposed rule changes and revisions to the playoff format prove that he has no clue what the fans really want. If he continues down the path he's on right now, he'll find himself as a consensus pick for the worst commissioner in sports in no time.

2. Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman's 27 years as NHL Commissioner have been incredibly rocky.
Gary Bettman's 27 years as NHL Commissioner have been incredibly rocky. / Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Bettman coming in at second isn't so much a function of him being a decent commissioner as much as it is a product of the horrific jobs done by his MLB and NFL counterparts. In truth, the head of the NHL could be ranked lower on this list. He's gone through multiple lockouts during his 27 years in charge of the league, a staggering achievement. However, he's done fairly well in expanding to 32 teams, and the past few years have been relatively quiet as far as problems are concerned.

1. Adam Silver

Adam Silver has taken the NBA to new heights during his tenure as commissioner.
Adam Silver has taken the NBA to new heights during his tenure as commissioner. / Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Adam Silver is by far and away the best commissioner at the moment. What he's done for the NBA is unprecedented. He's done a superb job of growing the game abroad, so much so that the league announced a 12-team league in Africa. Though he has struggled to combat the problem of tanking, recent proposals for an in-season tournament to incentivize winning show his commitment to trying to put out the best product the NBA has to offer. He has done well in increasing the popularity of the game of basketball on all fronts.