NFL chief takes pay cut after layoffs

Goodell says he will forego up to 25% of salary, freeze pay next year...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The head of the National Football League will take a pay cut for the current fiscal year and freeze his salary for the coming year, the league announced Wednesday.

The move comes two months after the NFL cut about 15% of its staff.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will give up about 20% to 25% of his $11 million salary for the 2008 budget year, which ends March 31, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said. Goodell will also forgo a scheduled raise in his contract for the coming year, and the rest of the NFL's executive staff will take similar cuts, he said.

"All of us understand that 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," McCarthy said in a statement announcing the decision.

The league's total 2008 attendance of about 17.1 million was down 6% from 2007. Goodell told reporters in January that fans are facing hard times, and some of the NFL's business partners were being strained by the recession as well.