A couple months ago, I wrote about rookie salaries--whether or not they're "too high," and how the NFL's next labor agreement is certain to reduce them. With all the recent attention on NBA free agents, some are wondering why a backup point guard on the Orlando Magic is paid more money than NFL superstar Tom Brady. The issue of player salaries is an emotional one because it touches on our human instincts for fairness.
First, let's look at some facts. From USAToday's salary databases, here are the 2009 salaries for the three major professional sports leagues, plus something I'm told is called "hockey."
Salary
NFL
NBA
MLB
NHL
League Total
$3.4 B
$2.2 B
$2.7 B
$1.6 B
Team Average
$105 M
$72 M
$89 M
$52 M
Player Average
$2.0 M
$4.8 M
$3.5 M
$2.1 M
Personally, I think they're all overpaid, rookies and veterans. If you ask most football players if they would still play football for $80,000 per year instead of $800,000 or $8 million, they'd say yes. It's almost certainly a better proposition than whatever else they'd be able to do in the labor market. If Sam Bradford had the choice between playing in the NFL for $80k/yr or looking for an entry level job in Oklahoma City, what do you think he'd do? Every dollar above $80k is icing on the cake. Technically, it could be considered economic rent.
In economic terms, rent is a misnomer. It does not refer to money you pay a landlord for your apartment. It refers to the money above the minimum amount required to induce the employment of a resource. There is always rent claimed by both sides of all voluntary transactions, otherwise people wouldn't agree to the transaction in the first place. Similarly, there is always surplus value gained by purchasing something above its cost. When you buy something at the store, you enjoy the benefit of the good above its price, and the store enjoys the benefit of the cash above its cost to provide the good.
It seems to me almost all of the economic rent in professional sports goes to the players. It's hard to imagine any other multi-billion dollar company paying more than 60% of its revenue to a few hundred employees. It's not that the salaries are high in absolute terms, it's that the athletes should gladly play for far less. I think that's partly why so many people object to the high salaries for many professional athletes.
Thankfully for my fellow Americans, my personal opinion about how much money other people should make doesn't matter. The market is what matters--supply and demand. If teams thought that top draft picks were overpaid, they would simply offer less money and allow them to hold out, then they could use the money to sign free agents. I'm glad I don't have a committee of economists telling me I'm overpaid, and you probably are too.
Does it matter? This can be argued all day. It's subjective, it all depends on your point of view. If you aren't a fan of sports , or a particular sport, you may be inclined to think it's a ridiculous sum of money for playing a mere game. If you are a sports fan and would love to play, you may also think it's ludicrous when you hear them cry about how low their salary is. ( baseball players)
It's a ridiculous arguement to assert that anyone is paid too much in all reality. The value of someones skill or labor is all relative to demand of service they are providing. Do they need all that money? Initially, probably not but after a few seasons, they do in order to maintain their lifestyle. Most of them at least.
It's just a stupid argument that really doesn't matter.
Yes
On average they make 4 times what the President of the United States makes. Just to put it in perspective.
If they bring in the money then they are worth the price.
Same with actors. If they bring in the box office they're worth the price. Paying actors based on acting skills doesn't happen. It's he who is a star that makes the money and talent doesn't matter.
Taylor Lautner is a good actor. I see it..but he's not paid for his acting. He's paid because girls scream when he removes his shirt. It's how it works and it's a double standard. Men scream when women take off their shirt = pigs. Women do it..ah it's ok.
Unless I'm around and then I call them whores to even the score.
If they didn't get the amount they did someone else would..someone that doesn't deserve it really...someone that sits in a big chair and is unknown to the public. Someone that doesn't suffer the public eye and deserve the money at all.
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)