Even the NFL cuts jobs as economy woes touch down

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The National Football League said on Tuesday it will lay off almost 14 percent of the league's staff as part of a cost-cutting plan in response to the recession.

The move to eliminate about 150 jobs over the next 60 days is a stark reminder that no sport, even the most popular in the United States, is immune to the slowdown.

The layoffs do not include jobs at teams, which are controlled by individual clubs.

"These are difficult and painful steps," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a Tuesday memo to staff, "but they are necessary in the current economic environment."

"I would like to be able to report that we are immune to the troubles around us, but we are not," he added.

The NFL employs 1,100 people in three locations: league headquarters in New York, NFL Films production facilities in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, and the NFL Network and NFL.com production facilities in Los Angeles.

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