Commissioner tier list

The coronavirus has exposed how the top sports leagues are being run, with certain commissioners showing their true colors. Here's a tier list of the best owners in all of sports.

1. Adam Silver, NBA: Easily the best. Silver puts progressive ideas at the forefront of the NBA landscape while being ahead of the game on hot-button issues. In fact, the NBA draws good numbers, drawing in 10+ million viewers on TNT before 2020 hit. If you want proof Silver's NBA's working, look at the viewership for the top ten NBA Finals games. Half of those games are from 2015 and beyond, with 2016's climatic bout between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers drawing in 31.02 million viewers (highest in NBA history). Silver's been excellent for the NBA, boosting the game beyond its borders and using effective marketing for its biggest stars.
   
2. Gary Bettman, NHL: I know Bettman's gotten a bad rap for his failed Sun Belt strategy and it's warranted. He's also gotten a bad rap for being against the Canadian teams. However, the NHL averaged 17,337 spectators for every game and totaled 22,002,081 fans for 2018-2019. The outdoor games have also been popular for the NHL, bringing a game played in the frigid outdoors to large venues. Bettman's been good for the game of hockey and has marketed its top players well.
3. Rob Manfred, MLB: There are numerous reasons why Manfred's not No. 1. His mishandling of the Astros/Red Sox cheating scandal along with dwindling attendance figures and ratings, and tinkering of the rules has hurt the game. However, with a crop of young, exciting players like Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Yoan Moncada in the league, Manfred has a chance to make things right and market the game heavily. Still, in the eyes of the purists, Manfred is their worst nightmare.
   
4. Roger Goodell, NFL: Sure, the NFL still draws in massive ratings and makes money hand over fist. But at what cost? Jerry Jones's bootlicker has damaged the NFL's reputation quite a bit. Concealing reports of the NFL's damaging effects on the brain, mishandling the NFL's domestic violence issues, flip-flopping on kneeling for the national anthem, and adding another game for the sake of more money are a few reasons why Roger Goodell sucks. Also, the guy doesn't know how to stop tinkering with the rules, making the extra point at the 15-yard line and moving kickoffs by five yards. The result? A boring product. Goodell's the biggest clown of all the commissioners and is the anti-Adam Silver. The NFL's impending demise will be because of Goodell's doing.