Atheletes...overpaid?

[lumberjim]

the usual argument is that atheletes are actually entertainers, and therefore, are not overpaid, because they meet a demand that no one else can match. Yet, there are those that adamantly say that they're overpaid for what they do.

whaddya think?

[depmats]

I believe they are overpaid but only because we are stupid enough to support them. If people quit buying tickets to games, didn't buy paraphenalia (ok, I can't spell), cancelled their season tickets on direct TV, etc... Their salaries would not stay at the level they are for very long. But sports is the only real diversion that most middle class guys have so we will continue to support these guys.

Free market, I suppose. If the market couldn't bear it, they couldn't demand it.

[SteveDallas]

What depmats said. Notice that, except for the NFL, there aren't hardly any professional sports on broadcast TV these days, because cable channels are willing to pay more--they get revenue from viewer subscriptions, not just advertisers. Eventually things will get too rich for the cable channels too.

The problem with any argument that certain people get paid "too much" is that it boils down to, "well sure they found somebody willing to pay them that much, but, you know, nobody really deserves that much money." And things get ugly if you start following that kind of thinking to its logical conclusion. (Ugly if you're into free market kinds of ideas; if you're a commie it doesn't look so bad. ) A letter writer to the Phliadelphia Inquirer recently wrote to that effect, saying that the Philadelphia Orchestra shouldn't be paying a percussion player $100,000 per year. You could start with many professions.

[glatt]

I'm no fan of sports. Almost never watch them.

Even a non-fan like me ends up watching the Olympics when they are on. At least the winter ones. The summer ones are boring to me. So I've viewed my share of commercials.

I've been to four sporting events in my life where I had to pay an entrance fee. Spent maybe $100 total on them.

I eat Wheaties for breakfast every day, because I like the taste. I bet a lot of the cost there goes to the athlete on the cover. They cost $4 a box.

I imagine that I have spent a few hundred dollars in my life supporting sports. And I didn't mean to.

If a non-sports person like me has dropped that much on sports, what has an actual fan done?

Sports is like organized crime. It's a machine that generates tons of money. You can't avoid it.

[Beestie]

I have abandoned pro sports completely. But to the question, the answer is a flat no. The athletes get what their agent negotiates. Until the economic model of pro sports breaks (e.g., all advertisers just pull out), then the system will continue to function.

How come (not to pick at you, LJ) everyone always asks if athletes are overpaid but no one notices or thinks its unfair when Jim Carrey or J Lo or Ben Afflek or whoever gets $20M for a movie?

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriquez pack in the fans and viewers which brings in the money. If they weren't worth it, they wouldn't be getting it- since its safe to assume that Steinbrenner (for example) is no dummy.

I think part of the reason the public is a little resentful of athlete's salaries is because of the strikes and lockouts and other labor disputes. It makes the athletes look bad even if they have a point. As a former die-hard Atlanta Braves fan (daddy and me used to drive all the way to Etlanna to watch Dale Murphy and Bob Horner & co. lose 100 games a year), I know I'll never look at Tom Glavine the same way again after the way he acted during the 94 strike. I think it was then that I turned by back on pro sports.

I'll take college football anyday over anything the pros have to offer. Yeah, I know there are problems there too but I don't want to talk about them

[lumberjim]

Originally posted by Beestie

How come (not to pick at you, LJ) everyone always asks if athletes are overpaid but no one notices or thinks its unfair when Jim Carrey or J Lo or Ben Afflek or whoever gets $20M for a movie?

i agree with you beestie. i started the thread because this topic came up in 2 other threads recently. IMO, the market has created the money, and the stars have created the market, so the stars should reap the bennies. that, and the risk the atheletes incur in devoting their early life to the sport they play.

if you're an exceptional ball player, and your pro career is all but assured from late in high school ( Kobe Bryant) but you injure yourself, and never make the bigs, you're somewhat screwed.....

risk/reward + supply/demand = $$$$$ for the individual risk taker/star

i think it is only fair.

the fans, though, having paid the star, are right to expect 100% effort from their guy/gal 100% of the time, and should feel jipped by guys like Matt Geiger and Ricky Waters ( "for what? for who?") when they are obviously doing the minimum required to get paid.

[Griff]

As long as it remains private enterprise I really don't have a problem with these crazy salaries, but if George puts the squeeze on taxpayers to build his new ballpark, we have a big problem. In this country, we subsidize whoever has politicians in their pockets, that means folks who've made their pile and are trying to exclude others from the market. Government subsidies distort pricing and access.

[Beestie]

Originally posted by Griff
... but if George puts the squeeze on taxpayers to build his new ballpark, we have a big problem.

Boy, you are hitting the nail on the head today. That's two by my count.

I don't want to drift the thread too much so I'll just say that I am soooooooooo happy that the new DC baseball team is going to locate in DC and not Virginia. Whew! -our tax base treasure chest is safe from the robber baron owners and their tax-subsidized bullshit.

[classicman]

bump!

[Cloud]

(scoff) you can't just bump after 4 years and say nothing!

But sports is the only real diversion that most middle class guys have

'cause their wives won't put out any more?

Seriously --- men need hobbies!

[classicman]

Sorry Cloud, but I typed this really long essay and then it timed me out and I was too pissed to do it all again - my brain only works in short spurts. It was something about the rediculous amount these people make & recent sports arenas that were built... that have been built and the cost associated - alternate use of money and govt kickbacks involvement.. something like that

[HungLikeJesus]

I think sports fans sometimes forget that sports is just another big business. I don't understand why anyone gets emotionally tied to any professional sports team. I guess some people develop a similar bond to car and motorcycle manufacturers, but I just don't understand it.

[classicman]

Its an extension of loyalty to ones "clan", city, state or whatever... it also creates a sense of belonging and commonality among those who would otherwise have nothing else in common.

[HungLikeJesus]

But it's not like they are rooting for a group of local boys, just a bunch of professionals doing a job for the highest bidder.

I think it's really just because most sports fans don't have any self esteem, so they have to tie their self image to something external. That's why so many are fair-weather fans.

[smoothmoniker]

Sports are important.

They are a constructed environment that is artificially fair, in a way that doesn't exist in the real world; everyone steps onto the same field and abides by the same rules. Within that context, they become a celebration of the best aspects of human nature - perseverance, strategy, self-sacrifice, honor, determination.

You can't understand the importance of sports until you've seen a mathematically eliminated baseball team in the middle of a sweltering August day game, and the middle infielder still runs flat out and dives to catch a fly ball. There is something in that action that is importantly human, and it fitting that we respect and celebrate it.

Physical ability is an exciting part of the game, but those moments where I think sports are at their best, it's when the physical underdog wins out by virtue of their heart and determination. At those times, we see something of the people we would like to be played out by those playing on the field.