When Roger Goodell signed his latest extension back in 2023, The Athletic noted what many around the league had already started whispering: the clock was ticking not just on Goodell’s tenure, which will end (now in 2027) with him older than both of his predecessors, but on who might follow him. Brian Rolapp, the league’s longtime media executive, was floated immediately. So was Kevin Warren. But Rolapp, by then, had already carved out a uniquely powerful space within league operations. As the NFL’s Chief Media & Business Officer, he spearheaded the league’s $111 billion media rights deal and built a resume that felt tailor-made for commissioner talk. “We’ll see what the future holds,” Goodell said then. “I’m going to bust my b—.” Still, succession was very much in the air.

That future, at least for Rolapp, now has a different logo on it. According to Adam Schefter and Seth Wickersham, Rolapp is stepping down after 22 years with the NFL to become the new CEO of the PGA Tour. The announcement, shared via internal league memo from Goodell himself, marks a seismic shift in both sports. Rolapp won’t replace PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, but will oversee the Tour’s new for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises. And just like that, Goodell loses his top business-side lieutenant—at a moment when the NFL is quietly preparing for a new round of media negotiations. So, now, all of a sudden, both the football and the golf worlds want to know about Brian Rolapp. Well, they should.

What is Brian Rolapp’s net worth and salary?

Back in 2015, Brian Rolapp told Fortune, “The reality is, on television right now, there’s NFL football, and then there’s everything else.” In his words, “Football is the only sure bet on TV.” Well, it aged perfectly. Rolapp wasn’t just cheerleading; he was shaping one of the most powerful media brands in sports. As the NFL’s Chief Media and Business Officer, he helped build Thursday Night Football into appointment viewing and stitched together an $111 billion rights deal. “I cheer for TV ratings. I don’t cheer for teams,” he once said. So maybe it’s no surprise he’s now hedging his golf bets.

But what kind of paycheck did Rolapp leave behind? Per Comparably, the average NFL Network executive compensation clocks in at $270,203 annually. Median sits at $255,717. The top execs rake in up to $720,000. Rolapp, easily among Goodell’s most trusted lieutenants, likely lived at the top end of that scale. His new role won’t just come with a title bump. It’ll also carry serious financial upside, especially if he helps steady golf’s fractured house.

Golf’s popularity is quietly on the rise nationwide, with 47.2 million people preferring to tee off a ball last year (a 5% increase from 2023). And the business side is getting louder, messier, and more lucrative. Between the PGA, LIV Golf, the DP World Tour, and a looming merger powered by Saudi PIF dollars, Rolapp walks into a sport on the brink of reinvention. But it’s not just these business interests that have been kept secret. Rather, his family man side, too.

Who is Brian’s wife, Cindy?

Before Brian Rolapp was closing billion-dollar media deals or helping steer the NFL into the digital age, he was just a college kid chauffeuring Greg Gumbel and Hannah Storm around Utah. Not exactly a fast track to a C-suite, right? But somewhere between fetching coffee for HBO Sports in Vegas and co-hosting a short-lived college radio show, Rolapp figured out his lane. “I’d love to say I drove them around and they said, ‘This guy’s going to be something,’” Rolapp once joked. “But of course, that wasn’t the case.” Still, he leaned in—first to Wall Street, then to Harvard Business School. And finally to NBC, where a chance connection changed his life.

That’s where he met Kim Williams, a top exec who, after joining the NFL Network in 2003, told the league they should take a hard look at Rolapp. He got the call—and never looked back. But beyond his 22 years as a business strategist. At home, he’s had a different role. Husband to Cindy and father of four. There’s not much available about her wife’s public life. But there are some things to piece from an article back in 2007. Sports Business Journal listed their kids as Drew (9), Will (6), Catherine (3), and baby Ben, born that June.

Fast-forward to 2025, and Ben? He’s now a star quarterback at Brunswick School, class of 2027, with 3,000+ yards, a 4.66 laser 40, and a dad who doesn’t miss a highlight. Rolapp’s X bio sums it up best: “Father of 4, Husband of one.” He’s proud of his day job, but if you scroll his feed, it’s clear what really matters. From Darien (CT) to the state title game, Ben’s journey is everywhere. Maybe that’s Rolapp’s real win, and now, he’s using his networks to make sure the top scouts keep a tab.