U.S. Department of Labor filings show that player's union executive director Billy Hunter made $3MM for the 2011/12 season, a raise of $600K over the salary he made the previous year, Jeff Zillgitt of USAToday.com reports. Hunter's salary, along with the bylaws and union constitution that allow him to make that much, is part of an internal business review that is also examining charges that Hunter funneled millions of dollars to his relatives, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com hears.
The business review, conducted by a New York law firm, is going on side-by-side with a U.S. Attorney's office investigation. The examinations were prompted by a rift between Hunter and union president Derek Fisher. In April, the union's executive committee asked Fisher to resign, but he has remained in office and, with two years left on his term, has no intention of stepping down, sources tell Berger. Fisher remains unsigned as a player, though, and it's unclear how long he can continue as president if he's not with a team. Seven of the nine seats on the executive committee are up for re-election, but a vote may be postponed until the All-Star Game, Berger reports.
Hunter makes more than union chiefs in the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball, though at 16 years of service he has the longest tenure amongst his peers in the other sports, Zillgitt writes. The Labor Department filings revealed Hunter's daughter Robyn, a union employee, received a raise last year, while his daughter-in-law, Inaba, who also works for the union, took a paycut. The union increased payments to a pair of firms that each employs a relative of Hunter.