Why Pro Athletes Make so much Money

[Mighty Duck]

Would you trade your long term health for short term wealth? That is a big question that only the older folks could answer accurately, and the younger people would only have an opinion. If you ask Earl Campbell, running back for the Houston Oilers, what he thought, as he can barely walk from the injuries he suffered during his playing days. Now there is another story out, regarding a NHL player, who might have to retire from injuries he may have to live with the rest of his life. Ask Gordie Howe how his arthritis is, and yes you say a lot of people have arthritis, but in more cases than not, pro athletes are suffering long term injuries which will affect their ability to sustain a healthy life style the rest of their life, let alone try to get a real job, "as some fans say". Go try and get a job at age 25 to 30 years old, and list all your health problems on a resume, and see what the results are as far as securing a long term employeement for you and your family. All this so you get a chance to play Pro sports, and have fans critisize you for every mistake you make. And fans say these players only play the game for the money. I ask, would the average fan expose him/herself to this sort of life style, and the risk of there long term health, and in some caes, cut years off their life span. Here is the article from the Toronto Star. Your thoughts, only old people reply, as you know what I am talking about, I have 2 hip replacements.

Mogilny may Retire

Hope it is OK to C & P the article, as some might have to register, may save you the trouble. Thank to the Toronto Star, Paul Hunter.

Hip woes have Mogilny pondering retirement
Winger has `difficulty' sitting, walking

Leafs still paying salary during lockout


PAUL HUNTER
SPORTS REPORTER

A slow and painful recovery from a second surgery on his arthritic right hip in September now has Maple Leafs' star right winger Alexander Mogilny considering the "possibility" of retirement.

"I can't really think about next year," Mogilny told Toronto radio station Fan 590. "I've got to get my hip in order. My health is too important to me right now. I have to live the rest of my life with this and I still have a lot of difficulty doing just even ordinary things (like) walking and sitting."

Mogilny added: "I don't want to be on painkillers the rest of my life."

Click to read more...

 

[Master Shake*]

Might be able to make a small case for Football and Hockey players. Baseball and Basketball however no.

Athletes are overpaid because owners get huge revenues from advertisers and Networks who pass the buck on to the consumer. Consumer being anyone with money and goes shopping.

 

[DaveyCrockett]

It is a pretty simple supply and demand issue. There aren't a lot of NHL quality hockey players and the owners are willing to pay for them. You can look into it deeper, but that is the main issue. Its the combination of the fans demand for tickets (fixed supply), the owners demand for players, and the supply of NHL players available.

 

[dolfanar]

Indeed, and for every "overpaid" sports star there are hundreds of players in lower leagues or competing in sports that will never give the competitiors a chance at fame and fortune. Should everyone employed in a hazardous occupation command a million dollar salary? "Deserve" has nothing to do with it. As stated in posts above, it's ALL supply and demand.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Would you really call the athletes overpaid then? If thats what they get paid with supply and demand then shouldn't that be like, just the right amount paid.

 

[grego]

The problem with many NHL players after their career is that the NHL relies on a Junior system that is not tied to any University affiliation. So many of these guys graduate with, at best, grade 12.

I could list many examples, which is the majority, of CFL football players from Canada that had a career during and after their playing days and you could find out in a moment that it is the norm for these guys to move on to a regular profession.

Yes there are injuries that can result from hockey but it does not happen to every person. I also know people that worked in normal jobs and they got an injury or died. Playing in the NHL is much safer then a job like working in the Oil Patch. So it is not just about the health of the players that makes them 1.8 million on average US.

The players have held the league ranson over the years to get those wages. Fans don't want them to make that much, neither do owners. But we want our hockey so much that we have let the game become overpriced so we wouldn't see it disappear.

 

[Mighty Duck]

The problem with many NHL players after their career is that the NHL relies on a Junior system that is not tied to any University affiliation. So many of these guys graduate with, at best, grade 12.

I would suggest getting a University education doesn't make you any smarter, and in fact, if you were to use the NFL as an example, most of the players go to University only to play football, but most would not graduate in a Canadian school.

I could list many examples, which is the majority, of CFL football players from Canada that had a career during and after their playing days and you could find out in a moment that it is the norm for these guys to move on to a regular profession.

Yes there are injuries that can result from hockey but it does not happen to every person. I also know people that worked in normal jobs and they got an injury or died. Playing in the NHL is much safer then a job like working in the Oil Patch. So it is not just about the health of the players that makes them 1.8 million on average US.

My guess is the ratio for injury is much higher in the NHL (more long term injuries) than the Oil patch, but the death toll might, and is probably higher in the oil patch.

The players have held the league ranson over the years to get those wages. Fans don't want them to make that much, neither do owners. But we want our hockey so much that we have let the game become overpriced so we wouldn't see it disappear.

NHL players holding fans ransom is like Mercedes holding car drivers ransom from driving one of the elite cars on the market. There is an affordable hockey market for all fans, and their budgets. It is just that most fans want to watch the best, as most car drivers want to drive the best cars. Most consumers will make a decission based on their budget. If you can only afford $20 dollars a game, watch the ECHL, CHL or the UHL. If you can afford $30 to $40 a game, watch the AHL, and if you have money to burn, watch the NHL. The neat part about the NHL, is you can be a fan, and all it cost is a 12 pak, and boob tube.

 

[futurcorerock]

The problem with many NHL players after their career is that the NHL relies on a Junior system that is not tied to any University affiliation. So many of these guys graduate with, at best, grade 12.

I could list many examples, which is the majority, of CFL football players from Canada that had a career during and after their playing days and you could find out in a moment that it is the norm for these guys to move on to a regular profession.

Yes there are injuries that can result from hockey but it does not happen to every person. I also know people that worked in normal jobs and they got an injury or died. Playing in the NHL is much safer then a job like working in the Oil Patch. So it is not just about the health of the players that makes them 1.8 million on average US.

The players have held the league ranson over the years to get those wages. Fans don't want them to make that much, neither do owners. But we want our hockey so much that we have let the game become overpriced so we wouldn't see it disappear.

How many careers do you know that only have an average length of 5 some odd years for its employees?

 

[kingsfan]

I ask, would the average fan expose him/herself to this sort of life style, and the risk of there long term health, and in some caes, cut years off their life span.

Lots of people take way bigger risks than these guys, and everyday of the year for many more years than some hockey player. Just ask a police officer, firefighter, deep sea diver, member of certain parts of the military, etc, etc. When do they get overpaid?

The simple fact is that pro athletes, and only the elite pro athletes, not ECHL guys, get paid obscene amounts of money because that's what the market dictates, not because of some holistic sense that they need to be compensated for long term effects. If they are worried about those long term issues, they can go play golf or get a job as a cashier working 9-5.

And if the world paid based on the risks your job made you take, pro sports athletes would be a ways down the list behind a number of professions like the ones I mentioned above.

 

[kingsfan]

How many careers do you know that only have an average length of 5 some odd years for its employees?

That's NHL career, not pro hockey career. A number of cup of coffee NHLers still play a lot longer in the AHL, Europe, etc.

 

[futurcorerock]

That's NHL career, not pro hockey career. A number of cup of coffee NHLers still play a lot longer in the AHL, Europe, etc.

Then, do pro athletes make that much money if you factor the AHL and Europe in?

 

[Levitate]

pro atheletes in the US (in the major leagues) make a lot of money because it's a multi-billion dollar industry and there are reletively few of them

and that's all.

Sure it'd be great if people like firemen, police officers, teachers, etc, made millions like athletes do...and i'm sure they will the second their respect careers become part of a multi-billion dollar revenue producing business

 

[c-carp]

I understand what the author of this threds point is. Their bodies take a hell of a beating. I have trouble finding sympathy for them when I look at my father being broke down from working his ass off as an Ironworker for his whole life.

That being said I dont begrudge them the money that they make because I love to watch hockey and sports is entertainment just like music or movies and the top actors and musicians make tons of money as well. The reason I think that we as people will pay this money to see them is simple. We will pay top dollar for anything that we enjoy because we all need an escape from life because sometimes it can get pretty ******. Even if I have had a horrible day I can go to a Blues game and feel great if only for a couple of hours.

 

[markov`]

If there were 18000 people, all of them paying 50+$ to see a cop run after someone, or to see a doctor make his operation, then they would be millionaire too.

The players are a little bit overpaid now, but when there will be a linkage with the revenue, they won't be anymore.

 

[Drury_Sakic]

Sure it'd be great if people like firemen, police officers, teachers, etc, made millions like athletes do...and i'm sure they will the second their respect careers become part of a multi-billion dollar revenue producing business

You don't think the lives Firemen and Police officers save account for up to multi-bilions of dollars of revenue over time?

You don't think all those kids teachers teach amount to muti-TRILLIONS of dollars of revenue?




Plus, all are paid by the Federal and State US Governments, which last time I checked pulled in just a bit more cash than Stan Kronke.......





Pro's get paid what they do because we let them....if we all stopped going to NFL games, stopped buying the stuff they are advertising... what they get paid would drop uber fast...as long as owners keep making more and more money, the players will keep wanting more if it to keep whatever % of revenue they are used to earning at a level, and thus the owner will try to charge US the FAN more, creating a nice cycle..

 

[dolfanar]

If there were 18000 people, all of them paying 50+$ to see a cop run after someone, or to see a doctor make his operation, then they would be millionaire too.

The players are a little bit overpaid now, but when there will be a linkage with the revenue, they won't be anymore.

I believe there are.. it's called COPS... and it does better ratings than the NHL...

 

[c-carp]

You don't think the lives Firemen and Police officers save account for up to multi-bilions of dollars of revenue over time?

You don't think all those kids teachers teach amount to muti-TRILLIONS of dollars of revenue?




Plus, all are paid by the Federal and State US Governments, which last time I checked pulled in just a bit more cash than Stan Kronke.......





Pro's get paid what they do because we let them....if we all stopped going to NFL games, stopped buying the stuff they are advertising... what they get paid would drop uber fast...as long as owners keep making more and more money, the players will keep wanting more if it to keep whatever % of revenue they are used to earning at a level, and thus the owner will try to charge US the FAN more, creating a nice cycle..

How realistic is it though that people would quit going to the games so the players pay dropped. I also have to throw this out there, I dont think how much we pay for a ticket is tied to player saleries as much as we think. I think Owners charge the most they can regardless as long as people go through the turnstiles. I dont know the answer because in my case I will adjust my entertainment dollar aroun hockey because I love the sport that much.

This whole thing is a tough question.

 

[Otter]

A burrito is about $3 cheaper at Taco Bell than at Chipotle. I buy Chipotle any time I get near one.

What does that mean?

I don't know.
But I am sure it is profound because I thought of it while eating a mozzarella chicken sandwich from Wendy's that was super awesome.


Sorry to have wasted your time.

 

[octopi]

Gee, theres plenty of jobs where you risk your health and don't get paid obscene amounts of money; soldier, garbage man, nurse or aide, paramedic, dental assistant.Just to name a few.

 

[DaveyCrockett]

If the NHL only paid, $50,000, the talent level would be astronomically lower. Would you take a $50,000 a year job knowing that by the time you hit your early thirties, you are gonna have to start from scratch and move into a completely different career. Its pure supply and demand, this isn't a Marxist world. If 700+ players can generate 2.1 billion in revenue, thats about $3,000,000 million in revenue per player. Their pay is very reasonable and they deserve a salary above $1,000,000. The entertainment industry is like no other. You can't compare athletes, actors, and rock stars to teachers, cops, and factory workers.

 

[Otter]

"$3,000,000 million in revenue per player" minus operating expenses and junk? You might allow a few bones going to the guys who own the teams too.


and the number of players getting paid is not just the number of players on the big league teams.

D- and a re-write.

 

[jaws]

It is a pretty simple supply and demand issue. There aren't a lot of NHL quality hockey players and the owners are willing to pay for them. You can look into it deeper, but that is the main issue. Its the combination of the fans demand for tickets (fixed supply), the owners demand for players, and the supply of NHL players available.

Can't be said much better than that. If people don't like how much money players make, don't watch. If an owner has millions of fans begging for tickets, why not charge an arm and a leg for them?

 

[me2]

How many careers do you know that only have an average length of 5 some odd years for its employees?

1. That is their NHL career. There are other options, AHL, UHL, SEL, RSL etc.

2. Guys work in the UHL for $500 a week, same game, same dangers. Why should NHLers be paid more just because their career is short? They shouldn't, pay them based on the main issue: revenue they can bring in.

3. Having a hockey career doesn't stop a player from having other careers. They can always go and run a pub, dig ditches, dispense coffee at McDonalds, become lawyers, agents, coaches, butchers, builders etc.


------------------------------------------------

Length of career is fairly meaningless in this. What happens to the hundreds of lesser to average juniors the play on few years, never amount to anything and disappear? You don't hear people saying they should get millions/year just because they are hockey players. Nor should they. Yet they go through most of the same development and the hit the same pitfalls as the NHL stars.

 

[ResidentAlien*]

Get real. Cops, Teachers, Dental Assitants ( although some are hot) dont, wont, will not get paid what a pro athlete does or a pop/film star does. THATS LIFE.
It would be nice if they did, but they dont and I dont understand why people keep comparing this to that, IT makes no sense at all. The pin hole to get to that level, beit Hockey, BBall, Film, Music whatever, is so small I say let them get what they can.
Cops dont spend their whole life trying to be a cop.
Teachers dont spend their whole life trying to be a teacher.
Dental Assistants go to school ( higher Ed) for what 2 years?

Im glad every day we have the kind of people that decide to be in law enforcement, military, teaching etc. and i wish we paid them more, but we dont.
How many of those that are teachers, cops etc begrudge the "stars" for making more then they do..very few Id say.
The Stars get paid what they do because they supply what only a select few can, escapism for the rest of us bums. Im glad they do, it has given me many memories in the last 40 + years, with my Dad, and with my kids now.
This doesnt mean I think a correction isnt needed in the NHL, cuz it does, but please..this arguement based on other professions payscale is not realisitic.

 

[BwayBshirt]

athletes get paid as much as they do in professional sports because they are "entertainers"...just like actors and actresses and musicians.

as much as other professions deserve more pay in comparison, the fact is everyone needs some form of entertainment in their lives. and for most that happens to be sports.

this is the sole reason alone why people can't compare entertainers or athletes to "everyday" jobs IMO. because whether you're in a movie, on an album, onstage, or in an arena or stadium...you have many ppl looking at you and to have the special skill to perform shouldn't be taken lightly.