Do Sport Athletes Get Paid 2 Much?

[redwagonskins]

You get paid what the market will bear. If you don't like it, don't pay $15 to see a movie, by a $20 dollar DVD or shell at $1500 for season tickets. If you think that there is a moral argument for guys running around on a field making too much, so be it. As long as only 1700 guys are able to play in the league in any given year, 131.7 million people watch the superbowl, and the average value of a franchise in 2006 was $819 (the Skins are worth over 1.3 Billion) these guys are going to get what the market will pay them and it is a HUGE market.

Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo raked in $57 million per while helping to create the sub-prime mortgage crisis that the country is in. I have a bigger beef with that than B Lloyd taking 10 mil in signing bonus out of DS's pocket.

[Darrell_Green_28]

Originally Posted by SFREDSKIN

Like Darrell green said: I was over paid, over cared for what?

I dont remember the exact amount though and his pay for his rookie season was what.... 200K???

[SFREDSKIN]

The problem with athletes getting overpaid are the agents!! I guess entertainers in general are overpaid, from regular actors to porn actors (what's the difference now a days) they are paid too much whether they are standing in front of the camera to scandals or someone getting blown on the screen.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Redskin Warrior

I was just reading the "Will NE Resign Moss" thread and saw that Randy was paid 8 million for this year alone. Now whether he got paid that much or not isn't the point of this thread. The point is lately with the various Bengals players, Pacman, Vick & Willie Andrews. Are these huge pay days messing up the minds of the youth & current NFL players? For instance, you turn in a two weeks notice at a job ok lets McDonald's a mininum paying job to take on a $15-20 per hour job for those two weeks most people have the attitude of you can't tell me nothing. Ok lets put that same perspective with sport athletes are the $2-10 million a year salaries corrupting these players & the youths minds? Does the pay days develop that "I'm Larger Than Life Cockiness" & "I'm Rick James Bitch Mentality?" Not to say all sport athletes act like this but you know they say rotten apples spoil the bunch.

The reason I said that is it destroying the youth my nephew is 11 smart kid makes straight A's but he wants to be in the NBA. It's actually possible he is pretty damn good but his mentality is to make millions get woman and do what he wants to do. Well that is a bad mentality for the youth to have and instead of developing his craft and love the game for what it is he only wants to play to make big money. He fill if he plays one year of pro ball he is set for life. It is amazing how many kids think like that across the nation. What do you think? I hope I not gonna be on thread probation for this.

If they get paid too much then you pay too much for tickets, jerseys, etc. Players are the labor, if you want to get mad at someone look to billionaire owners who get major public subsidies in order to finance stadiums, etc. which basically make the whole sports business possible (I'm in the midst of reading a bunch of labor history, by the way, so take that for what it's worth). It just doesn't seem to me that you can sit and consume the entire sports culture (and I consume as much as anyone) and then turn around and complain about the profits generated. Recognize your own part in the entire culture.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by WillH

I agree that it does not apply only to athletes, but how can you say: "I find the statements about how teachers should get paid more to be very tired, and for that matter, intellectually challenged."


That is just BS, you have made no real argument, just criticized people for their view. Maybe these intellectually challenged individuals are so because their teachers weren't good enough because it is such a low paying position. Look their is a big difference between socialism and trying to balance wages to make sure that those who deserve money more get it. Should a custodian get paid the same as a Doctor? No F'ing way, but there are circumstances when a capitalist system falls short. We, by the way, do not have a completely free market, we have subsidies, taxes, and the like. So why not give compensation where its due? And the reason teachers always come up is because our educational system SUCKS and our teachers are grossly underpaid, and I'd argue that the two are related.

My daughter went to private school and the teachers there make less then at a public school. Were her teachers better than public teachers? NO not really but private schools can get rid of bad teachers where in public they have a union and are tough to fire. So whats the big difference. You have parents that care and the schools do not become a babysitter for bad behavor. They can just kick the kids out.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

A resounding NO. While professional athletes are paid huge sums of money, on the whole they are not overpaid. Whether we like it or not, us Americans spends billions and billions of dollars each year on pro sports memorabilia, clothing, and tickets and we watch ESPN, the NFL network, and other sports news channels. It's not so much that the players' slices of the pie are large, it's that the pie is so god damned enormous. So, if you think NFL players are overpaid, look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are contributing to those high salaries by spending money that ends up in the hands of the NFL owners and players. The man behind the curtain is not inflating players' salaries, we consumers are.

But even if players are paid too much, should the "excess" cash go to the owners? The owners are not exactly hurting for cash and, while players make millions more now than they did in the 80s, the owners are making tens of millions more. Moreover, the revenue is pretty much evenly divided between the owners and the players. The owners invest the cash in an investment that is virtually risk-free and the players put in the sweat equity in an investment that is full of risks. Sounds like the owners are getting a fair deal to me.

[Skinny Tee]

I used to wait tables and I never got this crazy type of money. People would have never received a hot meal if I decided not to come in to work.

Makes you think how unjust it is. I guess it's all about not having a biased perspective.

Makes you also think whether I'm being sarcastic or not.

[jsarno]

Are professional athletes paid too much, without a doubt YES. They are human just like the rest of us, and those of us doing life changing jobs make a fraction of a fraction of what they get paid. For that reason, they absolutely get paid too much. They bitch and moan about playing a game, when all the while their alternative lifestyle is flipping burgers at McDonalds.
That being said, some here are trying to justify or discredit the fact they make billions of dollars a year overall, but fail to see it is YOU that is doing it. If the going rate for a kid that mows your lawn is $20, and you pay him $1000, is it the kids fault that he is overpaid, or just a happy victim of circumstance? Now if that same kid goes around the neighborhood and says (so and so) is paying me $1000 to mow lawns, well they are gonna have to do better than $20 if they want the services of this kid right? Maybe $40? Well, that is what we have in professional sports. But by now the rates are so damn high, they are beyond comprehension. Of course, some of you are saying "well, go find a hungry kid that will still do it for $20...that's all fine and dandy, but as plenty of pointed out, these leagues (and indirectly the fans) have agents, and unions. The agents sole responsibility is to look out for the client, but they look out for #1. The unions sole responsibility is look out for the players and the respective league, even though they only care about how much money the players get at any cost, even go so far as to not agree with drug testing in certain cases. Of course, I am getting far too deep into this, but first and foremost, if you want to amazing salaries to stop, then look in the mirror. It's not like the government is paying them, it's all of US. It's our fault the players are getting paid millions upon millions, it's our fault the players unions are out of control when they aren't even really needed anymore, it's our fault the agents are money hungry blood suckers. We allow it. There is a really simple way to stop it...stop opening your wallets every 5 seconds to spend on these sports. Otherwise, not only do we have to deal with the high costs, we should expect it.

ps- same can be said for the housing market too. Guess what would happen if everyone stopped paying 500k for a subpar house, the market would crash and the prices would come down.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Jsarno,

What is the players union not needed? Because the owners are weak? Both the owners and the players form groups to combat the other side. I'm not sure why the players get picked on.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by WillH

I agree that it does not apply only to athletes, but how can you say: "I find the statements about how teachers should get paid more to be very tired, and for that matter, intellectually challenged."


That is just BS, you have made no real argument, just criticized people for their view. Maybe these intellectually challenged individuals are so because their teachers weren't good enough because it is such a low paying position. Look their is a big difference between socialism and trying to balance wages to make sure that those who deserve money more get it. Should a custodian get paid the same as a Doctor? No F'ing way, but there are circumstances when a capitalist system falls short. We, by the way, do not have a completely free market, we have subsidies, taxes, and the like. So why not give compensation where its due? And the reason teachers always come up is because our educational system SUCKS and our teachers are grossly underpaid, and I'd argue that the two are related.

Sorry I came across poorly. What I was referring to was the typical line that goes something like; "pro athletes shouldn't get paid more than teachers" or something to that effect. Usually, teachers are held up in such arguments rather than so many other professions.

The reason this argument is so poor is that it's essentially based on socialist principles, which in most countries (eastern europe, china, n. korea, cuba) meant that some jobs were more highly valued than others simply due to the activity of the job itself rather than the value in $. That's what led China to produce tons of iron & steel in the "great leap forward" that they couldn't use or sell. Production was valued as a noble cause, while services weren't.

That said, people who think teachers do more for society than do pro athletes - a sentiment I agree with overall - seem to think that has some relevance to what people get paid in a capitalist system (note: not a total free market, which doesn't exist in any civilized nation). In reality, it has virtually no relevance to what either gets paid.

Your statement - "Look their is a big difference between socialism and trying to balance wages to make sure that those who deserve money more get it," actually makes my point that arguments about who gets paid what are only pertinent to the organization or field itself. In this case, if you made that argument to a particular school system, that would make sense. Since any school or school system has only limited funds to pay teachers, then the issue is how much they get paid relative to other employees in the system. If you also want to make the argument that the state & fed. government should pay teachers additionally that makes sense too.

In a nutshell, pro athletes & teachers do not get paid from the same pool of money, that's why the comparison between the two might make for a good statement about wealth in the US, but doesn't have any value otherwise.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Jsarno,

What is the players union not needed? Because the owners are weak? Both the owners and the players form groups to combat the other side. I'm not sure why the players get picked on.

Not sure how the players are being picked on...but this conversation is better suited for another thread (or PM) cause it's a deep one that would take over this thread.

[Dogtag]

You get paid what you negotiate, not necessarily what you deserve.

Your perspective is relative: Are you the one paying the big bucks or receiving the big bucks.

I would not mind paying the big bucks if that investment is making me more money than it is costing me.

If I am on the receiving end of the spectrum, then 'Show me the money'.

However, I think what you are really asking here is if we think that these large financial incentives are negatively influencing the value systems of young adult athletes.

While many athletes can and do act responsibly with their newly-gained prosperity there are also many examples recently where athletes have made very bad value-centric life choices. Unfortunately, these are the stories the media loves to expose.

How many times have we heard the theme and its variations ... Money can corrupt people’s lives and values.

[Longtimefan]

I don't know if they get paid too much, but they sure as hell would play for a lot less.

[Bill B]

One thing left out in everyones calaculations is the pensions that athletes make. I know that some of the old tim NFL guys are broke but modern day players in most sports also get some sick pensions.

[BrunellMVP?]

all these comparisons are apples to oranges...

Market forces dictate what people are paid (in most instances). If football didn't earn so much profit, then football players would get paid like soccer players (domestic). The fact is, owners pay players roughly what the market dictates because if they don't, they'll go somewhere else, or do something else (opportunity cost). Rich people don't pay other people gratuitous amounts of money for nothing; thats not how they got rich.