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Athlete Salaries
Posted on 1/29/10 at 11:59 am
Posted on 1/29/10 at 11:59 am
Don't get me wrong. I'm not some commie that gets all worked up b/c talentless people work hard for low wages while athletes get paid millions for playing a sport, and I don't think anything should be "done" about it.
But just stop and think about it for a minute.
Capitalism is great and all, but isn't this a gigantic misallocation of resources?
I know the NFL, for example, is a very successful business that employs a lot of people, but when you really consider the service they are providing, what makes it so valuable? I know the answers, but I just wonder sometimes...
But just stop and think about it for a minute.
Capitalism is great and all, but isn't this a gigantic misallocation of resources?
I know the NFL, for example, is a very successful business that employs a lot of people, but when you really consider the service they are providing, what makes it so valuable? I know the answers, but I just wonder sometimes...
6
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:01 pm to uway
quote:
Capitalism is great and all, but isn't this a gigantic misallocation of resources?
I agree with one part, but not the other...
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:13 pm to Sophandros
quote:
I agree with one part, but not the other...
hey now, no politics.
Seriously, Sebastian Janikowski has made $15.5 million since 2000. By my calculations, he could have bought the monthly groceries for over 200 families for those 10 years with that amount of money.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:16 pm to uway
quote:He's not obligated to do that. If someone is willing to pay him $15.5 million, then good for him. No one should feel guilt because of the wealth they have amassed. Just my opinion.
Seriously, Sebastian Janikowski has made $15.5 million since 2000. By my calculations, he could have bought the monthly groceries for over 200 families for those 10 years with that amount of money.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:19 pm to ZZTIGERS
quote:
No one should feel guilt because of the wealth they have amassed.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:21 pm to ZZTIGERS
quote:
He's not obligated to do that. If someone is willing to pay him $15.5 million, then good for him. No one should feel guilt because of the wealth they have amassed. Just my opinion.
I completely understand that, but that's not the discussion I'm trying to have.
What they are paid makes sense, given reality. I know that. I know about TV advertising and all the rest, I know the owners wouldn't pay it if they weren't making money, and I know they wouldn't make money if we didn't support it.
I get it.
I'm saying above all that, there's a larger question to ponder. Or you could just not give a damn. I'm not asking you to.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:22 pm to uway
quote:
but when you really consider the service they are providing, what makes it so valuable?
Because not many people can do it.
There are millions of people in the world who can be teachers and police officers. But only a few that can throw a baseball 95 MPH.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:27 pm to threeputt
quote:
Because not many people can do it.
That's not why they're paid so highly. They're paid so highly b/c we place a very high value on their ability to throw 95MPH.
That's what's worth thinking about IMO. Why do we value it so highly? At what point do we realize it's gotten out of control? Never?
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:27 pm to uway
quote:
I'm saying above all that, there's a larger question to ponder
what larger question?
You asked a question in your OP but the immediately answered it yourself.
So to what larger question are you referring?
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:32 pm to uway
quote:Because we need recreation, a hobby, something to root for, and they provide that
Why do we value it so highly?
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:35 pm to uway
quote:
what makes it so valuable?
because people aren't robots .... they need to be EnTeRtAiNeD
(and who better to do it than big sweaty bl----n/m won't go there)
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:38 pm to ZZTIGERS
quote:
Because we need recreation, a hobby, something to root for, and they provide that
Didn't they provide that when they were making just better-than-average salaries instead of small-country-GDP level salaries?
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:38 pm to uway
quote:
That's not why they're paid so highly. They're paid so highly b/c we place a very high value on their ability to throw 95MPH.
Correct. 100,000 people will come watch a teacher teach 1st grade math class.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:41 pm to threeputt
quote:
Why do we value it so highly? At what point do we realize it's gotten out of control? Never?
How has it gotten out of control ?
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:48 pm to Grabo
quote:
How has it gotten out of control ?
It certainly has from my perspective, b/c I don't value it very highly anymore. I watched maybe 5 NFL games this year, no NBA games, and no MLB games. I watch a lot of soccer, but the $5 I pay for FSC is about all I'll spend on that.
Until salaries start to come down though, you can't say that it has in aggregate gotten "out of control".
I guess I'm asking if there is ever a point when the average sports fan would think it was just too much and that as a society our priorities were a little f'd.
This post was edited on 1/29/10 at 12:49 pm
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:50 pm to uway
quote:
he could have bought the monthly groceries for over 200 families for those 10 years with that amount of money.
It's not like people are starving because they spend too much money supporting pro sports. We just live in an era of abundance where we have so much that we can afford to pay other humans to do non productive things like entertain us. I would agree that from a cost standpoint, ie the effort pro athletes put into their work, the money doesn't make sense, but from the perspective of how much we value entertainment, it makes perfect sense that entertaining millions of people each week = crazy salary.
quote:
that as a society our priorities were a little f'd.
I'd say the way we handle diet/food production/healthcare in this country is way more messed up than how much we value entertainment. What else are we going to do with all of our leisure time?
This post was edited on 1/29/10 at 12:53 pm
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:57 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
It's not like people are starving because they spend too much money supporting pro sports. We just live in an era of abundance where we have so much that we can afford to pay other humans to do non productive things like entertain us. I would agree that from a cost standpoint, ie the effort pro athletes put into their work, the money doesn't make sense, but from the perspective of how much we value entertainment, it makes perfect sense that entertaining millions of people each week = crazy salary.
This is a good answer that gets to the heart of the question (era of abundance).
To me that still doesn't lead to $15.5 million for mediocre placekickers (for example), though.
It's not something I thought about much, if at all, before the current economic problems.
Let me ask this question: Is it generally accepted that TV revenue has made the difference b/t salaries of yesterday and today?
Posted on 1/29/10 at 12:57 pm to TigerinATL
How does the salary of a player make a difference in my enjoyment of the game ?
Is it ridiculous that Will Smith makes 20+ million for a movie ?
If you like movies, sports, tv shows, books, or any other form of entertainment somebody is making a lot of money off of it.
Is it ridiculous that Will Smith makes 20+ million for a movie ?
If you like movies, sports, tv shows, books, or any other form of entertainment somebody is making a lot of money off of it.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 1:03 pm to uway
quote:
Capitalism is great and all, but isn't this a gigantic misallocation of resources?
If you need to "blame" anyone, "blame" the fans who pour so much of their time and money into following it.
Posted on 1/29/10 at 1:05 pm to uway
Move to fricking China.
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