Do athlete salaries bother you?
 

We all know it’s a free market. Capitalism y’all. But fo real, does it bother you at all?

Nobodies salary bothers me. I'm not a hater.

Nope - get your's when you can, while you can.

Matt Cassel's salary bothered me.

Hedge fund salaries don’t bother you?

This. Earn what you can, while you can.

For the most part football players' salaries don't. Those guys leave a piece of themselves on the field every time they play. Hockey players as well.

Beat me to it.

I don’t mind if Mike Trout or Lebron or Pat makes $35M. Anymore than it would Tom Cruise or Beyoncé or Madonna or whoever.


But Ian Kennedy pulling down $15 large last year? Yeah.

3-5 years in the NFL can help set them up for future success. Power on

Salaries don't bother me, but how some GM's deal with their budget bugs me for sure

No - but it does bother me that both franchises and the league are tax exempt.

Not a bit

In the larger sense, that the players make more because the league makes more, and the league makes more while raising ticket prices every year and forcing taxpayers to pay for their new stadiums, yes. Just on football terms, no.

I am not and will not ever be bothered by players getting a fair percentage of the revenue generated by the league they drive.

Yes, costs keep going up and the teams keep making more. But let's not pretend for a second that lower player salaries across the board would decrease costs for the average consumer.

We could cut player salaries 30 percent across the board in all pro sports, but we sure as shit wouldn't see a 30 percent drop in costs to attend games.

And that's fine. Attending the games is an experience - you pay a premium for it compared to sitting on your couch or watching from the neighborhood dive bar.

I'll say this:

Generally no, it does not bother me.

It is however pretty annoying to hear MLB players whine about pay cuts and the risk they're taking considering just about everyone in our nation is in a similar situation, but with 2-3 less zeros on the end of their numbers.

Of all the sports, NFL players really are not overpaid, IMO based on the abuse their bodies take.

I think baseball players are overpaid, but maybe that's because I don't care for the sport. And I don't really care if I'm watching the best MLB players, or scrubs, it all looks the same to me.

NBA players are paid insane amounts, but let's face it, there simply aren't many people even capable of dribbling/shooting/jumping like that, especially at 6'6" +. They're simply genetic lottery winners.

The top few thousand best in the world at most professions are highly compensated. Why would athletes be any different?

From a purely personal POV, people's salaries don't 'bother me.'
But what does irk me, from a philosophical standpoint, though I don't have a remedy except to point it out when asked [as here], is that society seems to have a schizophrenia about beauty of free market capitalism, where if you are entertaining us, or offering us frivolities, the sky is the limit. Dude makes a catchy song, and makes millions off it into perpetuity. That's the awesome free market rewarding value. But if people work hard to provide something that actually improves our lives [medicine, energy, surgical technology and procedures, etc], we bitch and moan every step of the way about the greed of businessmen and corporations making money off our need for their ingenuity and innovation.
Basically, if you take the comprehensive long view, we are collectively sending a message that the only people who deserve unfettered wealth are the people who entertain and distract us, and the people who actually improve our lives need limitations on their earning potential because, ironically, we actually need the things they create.
Which I guess is fine, so long as you don't bitch when the only thing motivated people do going forward is find new ways to entertain you in a way that enriches them.

He said athletes.

Of course not.

That’s kinda where I’m at. The optics of guys getting this kind of Jack when 39 million Americans were just thrown out of work.....it’s unseemly. Frankly we’ve seen that truck drivers and nurses and meat packers and grocery store workers are the most essential folks we have in a crisis.


Alas as it’s a free market, if sports takes attendance/ad hits (and that’s inevitable), salaries will trail downward.

The essential nature of everyday tasks is a separate matter. I have a similar philosophical difference when people generally grouse that people like teachers, food workers, truck drivers, etc, are underpaid.

This is partially because people in general aren't willing to do what it takes to pay them handsomely. And this is partially because that unwillingness to pay 'essential' jobs handsomely stems from the fact that, just because something is necessary doesn't make it valuable.

We need 'someone' to pick vegetables, and prep food and teach kids the A,B,Cs, and transport goods across the nation. But we don't need elite or rare talent to do those things. We just need a person of average skill who is committed to showing up day after day. And we have those people as a commodity in abundance. We aren't willing to pay someone millions, or even thousands, to drive from here to there, not because we don't value the service, but because if we don't there are 100 people for each position willing and able to do the exact same thing for hundreds.

We'll pay hundreds for a single ticket to see a sports star or a singer who inspires us, because they are singular talents in our estimation. Would you be willing to shell out $15-20 every time you consume a Big Mac for the satisfaction of rewarding the people who put it on a the grill, or would walk down to the next restaurant and grab a cheaper bite to eat from someone else just as 'skilled' in placing meat on a grill, then putting it on a bun?

99% of the time No I don't care how much anyone makes if they are doing well

When they are complaining about not making enough I am just like STFU pretty much anyone else would love to make what you are "suffering" through

Just as long as the owners are getting theirs. Trickle down and all that!

No, salaries will not "trail" downwards.

TV and streaming are both the future of the NFL and will far outweigh any revenue from stadiums, concessions and parking.

The NFL was already earning in excess of $8 Billion from their TV deals and they'll earn far more after new deals have been negotiated.

Salaries will continue to rise for at least the next decade and probably much longer.

Not in the slightest.

^^^
This. I don't pocket watch and I hope a lot of folks make as much money as possible. :thumb:

I think people also only think about the major team/individual sports when talking about pro athletes.

There are a lot of “pro athletes” who don’t make shit, because they play in leagues that don’t generate huge profits.

If we’re going to compare what NFL, MLB, NBA, etc players make to teachers or similar professions, then we shouldn’t compare them to the teachers at your local public elementary school. We should compare them to teachers with doctorates at the elite level selective prep schools. Obviously, these athletes will still be paid more but it’s a more accurate comparison.

A lot of these salaries 'bother me', but again we live in a free market so the market determines what people our worth, fair or not fair.

I would argue for a pay for performance model, that way guys that have earned it right out of the gate can get the big bucks early instead of being stuck under some rookie wage scale and the guys that ink the big FA deal and then disappear can have their salary reduced accordingly (there is obviously some ability to do this in football, but in basketball and baseball all parties are mostly 'stuck' with the deal that was signed).

I also realize there is no way this would ever fly as neither players nor owners would go for this model for a lot of reasons. But it would be the most 'fair' to all parties.

I don’t think that’s true at all. The gate is 40-50% of sports revenue and that’s gonna take a massive hit. The MLB negotiations right now are stalled because they can’t calc what the empty seats should cost the players.

That’s a strange way to look at two things that aren’t at all connected. There are ways to help those 39M unemployed Americans, but then we’re in DC territory.

Meh, life is about finding opportunities. They were blessed with athletic gift so they're making the most of it while putting their bodies on the line. Wish I would've taken athletics more seriously in my junior high days and maybe I would've made something of myself in that way. Beats the hell out of what I'm doing currently.

No, not in the slightest. I think if the amount of money someone makes really bothers someone, it says more about that person than anything else.

Ummm. NO!

No, it is not.

The NFL earned more than $12 billion in revenue last year. If there are no fans in the stands this season, each team will lose approximately $100 million or $3.2 billion in total. That's only 25% of their entire revenue stream and moving forward, that percentage will only shrink, not grow.

There are more reasons that just stadium issue.

Furthermore, attendance has been consistently shrinking for the past decade, a trend that will only continue as 4K and 8K TV's become less expensive and higher internet speeds produce an even better home experience.

The owners are well aware of this trend, which is why they wanted a new CBA in place before they begin their next round of network and streaming negotiations.

Their revenue stream is only going to increase, not decrease.

Only when they're under the table to avoid the salary cap.

Nope. Not at all. Not even a little bit.

But I’ll push back when they whine about it.

Baseball players on the other hand ... Golfers? LMAO

Truth That Hurts: America would be better off if Teachers, Farmers, Engineers, and Scientists got paid the big money instead of athletes though. That goes for all the money wasted on actors too.


The important list should include World Leaders(politicians etc) too but since they suck so bad i just couldn't bring myself to add them to the "good" list.

:facepalm:

You obviously have no idea why athletes and entertainers earn large salaries

Go and get your money little dufflebag boy.

Why are hedge fund salaries problematic?

No, I'm an electrician, and as one i understand that my value is directly related to my skills and the competing market. I currently make 31 and change in the tulsa market. Recently with so much boom, two of our union contractors offered 2 dollars more an hour and 200 a week attendance pay if i have an osha 30 and a few other education stipulations. I understand that if i furthered my education in electical testing or many other parts of the field i could gain more pay. The same can be said for athletes. They are the best of the best out of a very small pool of human beings who can do what they do. I pay to see them in one sense or another, so that creates a demand.

Theres an available money pool vs an available talent pool. Both sides have leverage and negotiate a deal. As far as im concerned its no more my buisness how much they make than it is how much the tin knocker in the next room makes. He also has a demand that he supplies and is compensated for it.

I'll agree with your point but there is more to it. For instance, a pharmaceutical company gets to lobby our politicians and money gets fed to them to allow us to be screwed over. Those are the kinds of things with which I don't agree.

A couple of examples:
My understanding was that a new drug's patent is only supposed to last a few years, by law, before other companies can start making generic versions. It seems to me that Nexium (Astra Zeneca?) went way longer than that before generics started being allowed about 2-3 years ago.
Another example is the life-saving epi-pen treatment that was acquired and then the cost raised by several hundred percent several years ago. I don't know that there was anything legally wrong by that but, it was morally corrupt, in my view.
Same thing with the idiots at the beginning of this pandemic who bought up all the hand sanitizer, masks, and other potentially life-saving products just to cause a shortage and be able to sell for a markup. Those people can rot in Hell for all I care.

Dane, I said “sports”, not NFL. Sports revenue collectively derives 40-50% of its gate from attendance, concessions, suites, etc. (Take the Indy 500 which I attended every year: $40M gate, $4M tv deal. Do the math). Golf, tennis, college sports on and on rely on butts in the seats.




And that’s where my 2nd point comes in: ad revenue. It’s olummeted across all media platforms. Sports cannot delay this reckoning.

No such thing as overpaid.

capitalism always wins

It's an absolute joke, but whatever

Adding in NASCAR, NHRA and Indy Car racing completely skews the comparison because as we all know, NASCAR is the largest spectator sport in the world, but their TV revenues are a fraction of what the NFL, NBA and MLB receive each year.

And if you're throwing in college athletics, the dynamic changes once again. There have been several universities that have decided to drop sports altogether because so much of their funding relies on their students, who may or may not attend their chosen universities this year or next or the year after.

But if you're talking strictly the NFL, MLB and NBA, they can all survive and thrive without people in the stands, which is where things are headed and why the new LA stadium seats 70,000 instead of 80,000-100,000.

What's a joke?

Do you believe that advertisers pay too much money to broadcasters, which in turn pay the NFL, MLB and NBA for broadcast rights?

Should these owners keep all of that revenue for themselves and pay the players a pittance so you can feel better about your life?

Nobody’s talking about the effect a lack of fans will have on broadcasts. I tune into see the players yes but also the EVENT. I like to see the tomahawk chop, the crowd roaring, players celebrating etc. I predict empty venues will lessen TV ratings.


No school is axing the 2 revenue sports.


Yes and no. Teams can’t sell nosebleeds anymore when folks have home theaters. But they depend on the lower bowl and suites, absolutely.

I can't sleep at night because it makes me so angry.

That’s just business I want no part of. Found out early in my working career talking about salaries and wages just created drama. You deserve what you’ve earned.

Being rich can be a curse of it's own.

I cannot disagree more with this statement.

For example, a dopey golf game last weekend had more than 6 million viewers on Sunday because people are starved for any sporting event.

The NFL is going to set viewing records this Fall.

Universities and colleges across the country have begun dropping sports due to the pandemic. Now, Power 5 schools haven't announced they're dropping sports but several smaller schools have already begun that process.

If you're Jerry World, yeah, he depends on suite money, as do other owners across the league that own their own stadiums. But that revenue stream will be the last to disappear because unlike the upper decks, there's a certain amount of cachet attached to suites.

The NFL is already planning ways to replace the in-stadium revenue stream with advertising and the biggie, legalized gambling.

I've never been bothered by it in my 50 years of watching sports.

I will say I am always intrigues and surprised a guy like Matt Cassel got paid for as long as he did but that's on the teams.

Also, no one may ever come close to the crazy deal Bobby Bonilla managed from the Mets by still getting paid like 25 years AFTER he retired.

Their salaries don't bother me at all. It does bother me when they bitch about it though.

The only people who are bothered by athletes' salaries are haters who didn't make anything out of their own lives.

Nope. It does bother me when ppl like Draymond or LeBron complain that its like slave mentality or bitch about how much they make. Mother****ers out here working in the streets trying to feed their family would kill to be in the place you are and some athletes are equating to to slaves. Just a slap in the face to the working man and so disrespectful to actual slaves.

Then Aaron Rodgers is bitching out on social media trying to get the CBA to not go thru when the new CBA is such a huge benefit for 80% of NFL players who will be outta the leage on avg in 2 yrs. Then acting like his actions are selfless.

I guess bitch even earns it’s money
Don’t bother me
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The only way it possibly bothers me, would be the contribution to higher ticket prices. But they are not the sole factor in ticket prices, so no.

Salaries don't but their greed and whiny bitch attitudes do.

It's the trickle down effect that bugs me..... 50% of live sporting events are commercials despite already paying for the cable/satellite, where the channel lineup can change at any time depending on when contracts run out and one side wants to hold out.... paying $50+ to park at an event, etc, etc.

It's a cash cow, and everyone who stands to profit inside said cow should get their part of it while they can... it just sucks when the greed is so blatant as to **** your customers from behind and they can't do a damn thing about it as long as they want your product.

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Anyone remember Juan Gonzalez? Played 30G for Royals in 04 and made 4.5M. Quit on the team with a mystery “injury” mid season. In 2005 he signed for $600k with Cleveland and hurt himself again - in his only AB! Quit again.


Come on. Don’t any of you tell me he earned his salaries. That’s bullshit.

They are going to price me out of the stadium. Already have actually.

Player salaries don't bother me. Corporate executives that constantly run companies into bankruptcy and raid pension plans while getting a bonus bother me. We as sports fans are the consumers of sports and through our actions support the salaries.

Get what you can get. For participants of contact sports, there is a real danger that the players will suffer life changing injuries.

Life isn't fair; so what? That's life!

I don’t mind a bit. But I also don’t think just because someone is a bazillioaire that it means they are some sort of expert on politics or social shit. The only thing that irks me is millionaire athlete trying to tell people how they should think or act

I think I'll take a social shit.

free market

Good point. Rep.

Some of you are stating "take all you can get while you can". Lets say you, as a die hard Chief fan, are a gifted athlete and have two offers on the table. One is from your lifelong favorite team, Kansas City, who offer you a three year contract averaging $8.5 million. The other is from the LV Raiders as a three year deal averaging $9 million. Which do you accept?

As a businessman, I take the Vegas offer because there's no state income tax.

/thread :clap:

If anyone ever bitched about a player and referenced his salary, he is barred from choosing “0”

Players greed irritates me, like the Prescott bullshit.

It doesn't bother me unlike salaries of medical staff and teachers that are underestimated.

I think teachers are overestimated. They work 9 months out of the year. The ones below HS level are just glorified baby sitters. 40k a year is good enough. 70k in expensive areas.

People who are in the top one percent of what they do in their field usually make the big bucks more times than not. If I won the genetic lottery and had the skills to match I would try to maximize it too.

There is no profession where the top 1% pulls in millions of dollars. Maybe surgeons, but even they only avg $230k

https://www.indeed.com/career/surgeon/salaries

I have a mixed answer. I have no problem with a pro athlete making millions and being setup for life. That's great. The player has a talent. They get injured fairly often. The teams make huge sums of money off of them. They deserve to be paid well. Where my problem lies is on the top end. In particular, the quarterbacks. Dak Prescott turned down $175 million over 5 years. Why?? That is more money than he can ever spend. If you can't spend it, then why do you want it? The team has a salary floor, so they will spend that money regardless. Let them use the money to build a better team around you. I feel like if I was in his position, and had his talent, I would say guarantee me 5 years and $150 million. After that, I would be set for life. Why would I want or need any more? At the end of the 5 years, do it again, for the same money. It's a win-win. You only take away from your team and don't improve your life one bit fighting for more when you're talking about that kind of money.