If people listened carefully at any point during 2014, they may have been able to hear Mark Emmert laughing heartily on his way to the bank.
The NCAA president earned $1.9 million over the 2014 calendar year, according to Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY. The NCAA's federal tax return disclosed Emmert's earnings along with other high-ranking employees Thursday.
If $1.9 million doesn't seem astronomical enough, Emmert wasn't even the highest paid member of the NCAA in 2014.
That title belongs to former chief operating officer Jim Isch, who earned a total of $2.7 million, with more than $1.6 million in retirement and other forms of compensation. Isch worked for the NCAA for 16 years before his retirement.