This presentation goes in depth to understand the organizational structure of the NFL and how it relates to Henri Fayol's Classical Approach.

1. The Organizational Structures of
the NFL and Its Relation to
Classical Approaches
By Victoria Fields

2. Article Overview
● The NFL has an organizational structure and each team operates differently
within that structure.
● NFL players are instructed by different coaches, based upon their position and
ability.
● NFL.com and the Players Association specify the behavior that won’t be tolerated
and the minimum punishments for each transgression.
● The league-wide salary cap allows every team to spend a certain amount of money
on their players.

3. What is an Organizational Structure?
● “It determines how the roles, power and responsibilities are assigned, controlled,
and coordinated, and how information flows between the different levels of
management” (BusinessDictionary, 2017).

4. The NFL’s Organizational Structure
● There are a total of 32 teams that make up the National Football League and 53
players are allowed on the active roster.
○ The teams are divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the
National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference consists of 16 teams and is divided into four
divisions — East, West, North, and South — of four teams each.

5. Henri Fayol’s Theory of Classical Management
● “Fayol paints a picture of how an organization should
operate. According to his principles of management, an
effective organization is highly structured and each
individual knows where he or she fits” (Organizational
Communication, 2015).

6. Principles of an Organizational Structure used
in the NFL
● Unity of Command
○ An employee should receive a particular task from one supervisor.
● Span of Control
○ Managers will be more effective if they have control on a limited number of
employees.

7. Unity of Command and Span of Control
● NFL players receive particular tasks from one coach regarding their position.
○ Examples:
■ The individuals who play offense will adhere to their Offensive Coordinator (The coach in
charge of the offensive players, usually calls the plays and is responsible for developing the
offensive game plan) commands.
■ The individuals who play defense will adhere to the Defensive coordinator (The coach in
charge of the defensive players and usually decides what defensive schemes to run)
commands.
■ The individuals who are the kickers, punters, or apart of the kick return, field goal protection,
and punt return teams all adhere to the Special teams coach.
● These particular tasks are separated to achieve a span of control for the head
coach of the team, which makes the organization complete objectives more
efficiently.

8. Principles of Organizational Power used in the NFL
● Centralization
○ An organization will be most effective when central management -leader(s) of the organization- has
control over decision-making and employee activities
● Authority and Responsibility
○ Managers should hold authority that derives from both their position in the organization and their
personal characteristics (such as intelligence and experience). However, this principle also holds
that responsibility must accompany authority in equal measures.
● Discipline
○ All organizational members should be obedient to the rules of the organization and to the
managers who enforce them.

9. Centralization
● In particular, the New England Patriots organization is successful because Head
Coach Bill Belichick (central management), runs everything. For example,
Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio, President Jonathan Kraft, and owner
Robert Kraft all meet with Belichick as a four man council for major decisions and
player activities, but Belichick has the final say on everything football related.

10. Authority and Responsibility
● Every important leader on the NFL team, such as the Head Coach, Offensive and
Defensive Coordinators, Special Teams Coach, Offensive and Defensive Line
Coaches, all have either: a sports-related degree, have played football
professionally or collegiately or have enormous experience working with high
caliber football players.
○ Hence, their responsibility matches their knowledge in leading players
towards the team’s goal.

11. Discipline
● “Occasionally, a player’s actions on the field may fail to live up to the NFL’s
expectations. Therefore, on-field action is governed not only by the rules of play,
but also by a code of conduct, established by the league itself and the NFL Players
Association, that specifies the behavior that will not be tolerated and the
minimum punishments for each transgression” (NFL Operations, 2017).
○ Punishments include: suspensions and fines.

12. The Organizational Reward used in the NFL
● Remuneration of Personnel
○ Employees should be rewarded for their work with appropriate salaries and
benefits.

13. Remuneration of Personnel
● NFL players are rewarded for their hard work throughout the season, by being
paid from the league-wide salary cap.
○ In 2016 the salary cap was set at $155,270,000 per team.
● In addition, NFL players also receive benefits under the Collective Bargaining
Agreement:
○ Severance Pay Plan
■ If a player is released by a team and has two or more credited seasons in the league, he will receive a
termination pay of $20,000 per credited season.
○ NFL Player Annuity Program
■ A player with four or more credited seasons in the league is eligible to receive an $80,000 annuity program
contribution, from which he can begin receiving annual distributions at the age of 35, or five years after his
last credited season in the league.

14. The Machine Metaphor
● According to Katherine Miller, “The Machine Metaphor is central to Classical
Organizations; in terms of specialization, standardization, and predictability”
(Organization Communication, 2015).
○ “The notion of a metaphor in organizational theorizing suggests that we can learn something about
organizations by considering a disparate object that an organization resembles” (Organization
Communication, 2015).

15. Specialization
● A Machine Metaphor is similar to a football team.
○ Every player has a significant role in helping the organization run efficiently.
■ For example, in the NFL, there are men who specifically play the
position of a Quarterback, Wide Receiver, Running Back, or a Defensive
Lineman.

16. Standardization
● Includes the related notion of replaceability
○ Machines are designed in such a way that the parts in one machine are the same as those in a
similar machine and can therefore be replaced (Organizational Communication, 2015).
■ E.g., if a player on the Pittsburgh Steelers gets injured or suspended, Head Coach Mike
Tomlin will replace him with another player who’s capable of playing the injured/suspended
player's position.

17. Predictability
● There are rules that govern the way a machine is built and
how it operates.
○ If something breaks, there's an operating manual to fix it.
● An organization conceived as a machine has the same
qualities.
○ The NFL runs according to specific rules and standards.
■ For example, NFL Officials follow a rule-book, coaches and players follow their game-plans
and every member of the NFL follows their code of conduct.

18. Questions for the NFL
● In what ways can the NFL operate under a Human Relations or Human
Resources Approach?
● According to the NFL Players' Association, the average NFL career lasts 3.3 years.
Therefore, how can the NFL commit to Tenure Stability for its players?
● What could the NFL do to create an environment where Equity exists for every
player (regardless of race, religion, sexuality and political views)?

19. Questions for the NFL
● Which flow of communication works best for NFL teams and why?
● How could the NFL break away from the Machine Metaphor and use the Family,
Systems, Cultural or Container Metaphors?

20. References
MBK Sports Management Group LLC - "An Overview of NFL Player Benefits - Article - MBK Sports." MBK
Sports Management. 12 Nov. 2015. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.
Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes. 7th Ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage
Learning, 2015. Print.
"NFL: Average Career Length." Statista. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.
"NFL Rules Enforcement." NFL Rules Enforcement | NFL Football Operations. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.
"NFL." Spotrac.com. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.
Nogle, Kevin. "NFL Power Structures: Who Really Runs a Team?" The Phinsider. The Phinsider, 25 Jan. 2014.
Web. 09 Feb. 2017.