Pujols is not overpaid. Neither was/is A Rod. The only time that a sports player can be classified as overpaid is when they end up being a complete bust(as Kpaca said, Jamarcus Russell is the best example of this in history..Hedo Tukogolu(probably misspelled) is another.
Obviously sports players make **** tons of money; but that is only based upon their perceived value to the team. Anaheim didn't offer Pujols 25M/yr because he is a cool guy, they offered him that because they expect him to bring in drastically more that in increased ticket sales/merchandise/advertising revenue/playoff expectations etc. 15 years ago or so, the Chicago Bulls gave Michael Jordan a 1 year salary of 25M, IIRC. Nobody really even thought twice about it..because everyone knew that the Bulls would easily make this back off of MJ being back on the team. You can't really classify someone as being overpaid when the person/group investing in them expects to make 5x their money back.
The same applies to actors/actresses. Do they make ridiculous money? Of course. But the studio doesn't really pay them. People that go to the movies pay them.
Thankfully when the Raiders cut Russell they only owed him 3 million and his contract is off the books when he got cut.
Cyan has got a point (even though I disagree about A-Rod) Players are worth what the Teams are willing to offer.
Another reason for the Angels signing Pujols is they're working on a new tv deal with Pojols signed they got some leverage.
And midway through that 10 year deal, when Pujols is 36 and his numbers are half of what they used to be, at best, he won't be worth 25 million. The guy isn't the Pujols in his 20's. The guy is 31, he isn't going to get any better, and the last thing you want to do is pay a late 30's, early 40's guy 25 million per season.
All of them are over-paid. A million dollars to play a game? Are you serious? The president of the US doesn't make half that a year and his job is way more important/stressful than playing a game for a living.
All of them are over-paid. A million dollars to play a game? Are you serious? The president of the US doesn't make half that a year and his job is way more important/stressful than playing a game for a living.
This is a pitifully simple way of looking at it. Yes, they make millions of dollars 'playing a game'. In the grand scope of things, is that too much? Maybe. But the problem is significantly deeper than just 'they get paid millions to play a game'. If you don't want them to get paid that much, then the answer is simple. Don't go to their games. Don't buy their merchandise. Don't watch their games on television. Athletes get paid what they do because of these things. Because people will go and pay too much for tickets(but it's hard to say what is too much, because the cost to build a stadium is astronomical, and that cost has to be recouped somehow) if a particular player is on the team. They will buy jerseys of those players/other merchandise of those teams. Etc.
Also, the average person works 40 hours a week at their job. Football players spend 4-5 days a week training for 10-12 hours a day, on top of game day. The average football salary last year was 770,000. The average length of an NFL career is 3.5 years. But the damage that they take in that time is typicall permanent. Would you accept permanent brain/muscle/bone(and sometimes all of these) damage for 2.5 million bucks? I doubt it.
And again, ultimately, it is about worth. If I am Albert Pujols, and bringing me to your team will net the team a billion dollars from various factors(not an unreasonable conclusion), then it is completely logical for him to expect to get 25% of that. Maybe you've never worked a job based on commission, but making 25% at that type of job is not that out of the ordinary.
For a more abstract example, look at Lebron James and the city of Cleveland. They would have paid him as much as they were legally allowed to(if it could get him to stay), because the impact that it had on the team and the city itself was so obvious and measurable.
I could keep going, but hopefully my point is clear. Just throwing out a statement like 'athletes are overpaid' is too much of a simplification/generalization.
Oh I am well aware of all of the money to be made by off of these games and the scratch that flies around the teams. I know that the some economies of American cities are based on sports teams, hell that's why New York hosts so many. I actually had no idea that some athletes had what basically amounts to a cut of the door in their contracts, of course it seems so obvious now that I think about it. Would I take permanent physical damage for $2.7 million? You better believe I would, $2.7 million makes me set for life as long as I don't spend it extravagantly like a lot of high-profile athletes.
As you can probably tell, I'm not a sports fan, I just think it's ridiculous that so much is made over something so simple. Anything to make a buck I suppose.
I just think it's ridiculous that so much is made over something so simple. Anything to make a buck I suppose.
It is ridiculous that they get paid so much for throwing a ball and running around but at the same time you really can't say they are overpaid. They bring in a ton of money and it's only fair that they get their cut, especially considering it's the athletes who are putting themselves in harms way.
I think it's really just another symptom of our whacked out culture. People put too much of an emphasis on entertainment (distractions) and are willing to pay out the nose for it. It's the same reason all the big Hollywood actors/directors/producers get paid insane amounts of money. It's also why garbage like people magazine gets printed. As long as the masses are willing to shell out the money for this stuff the ones doing it will get rich off it.
A quick look at the highest paid players in any given sport usually results in the answers, especially in baseball. With players for the most part getting peanuts their first 6 seasons, they cash in big once they hit free agency, and are often paid for what they've done, the reputation they've built, rather than what they will do.
Football isn't as bad, as once you stop performing, you're usually out. Rookies are typically the only NFL players with truly horrendous deals (as a large chunk of it is guaranteed for top draft picks).
I'll just go through my teams, cause there's more than enough overpaid players on them:
Jets: Mark Sanchez. Who knows how much, but it's in the 7 figures. Ludicrous. Runner up Santonio Holmes. Yeah, ridiculously overpaid. Guy is sucking up nearly $10m total against the cap.
Knicks: Carmelo Anthony. I know some will disagree but soft, a total ball hog, gets paid like a superstar but he isn't one.
Mets: Jason Bay. For the love of God how is this man making this much money? If it was $1 it'd be too much, but he's getting megabucks. What a total bum. Take him back Canada, you can have him!
Islanders: Rick DiPietro. Cause the Islanders are the dumbest team in the NHL, they thought, why not give a 20 year contract to our franchise goalie and he has hardly played a game since! SMH
Gonna second Carmelo, seeing as Lin-sanity is happening and Melo hasn't done much.
Right now the Knicks are better w/o him, they've been consistently under .500 when he's in (this year and last) and consistently over .500 when he's out (this year and last, before the trade) but try convincing Knicks fans of that.
I didn't realize being a superstar was so easy. All you have to do is take 30 shots a night. If you hit 10 of those 30 it's like you're the second coming. I guess being a superstar means convincing others to let you get away with being a black hole on offense.
I am going to have to say all of them also. There is no reason ANYONE should make 7 figures or more for playing a game. I dont care of they are the best at what they do, they dont deserve that type of money.
That being said, the owners created the monster and we the public play into it also. If the fans stopped paying the stupid amounts to see the over paid manchildren play kids games we wouldnt be having this convo.
This is coming from someone who remembers going to professional baseball games and getting seats the day of for under $10 a seat. Hell now in some stadiums that wont buy you a beer.
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I'll start off: Scott Gomez, center for the Montreal Canadiens.
he has one point in 6 games played but makes $7 million a year
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mill
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My DCI ELO Ratings - May they rest in peace :'(
joking aside, Chris Johnson for the Titans is overpaid this year. He hasnt been doing good at all and hes the most paid player on that franchise.
Also Philip rivers for that same reason.
Obviously sports players make **** tons of money; but that is only based upon their perceived value to the team. Anaheim didn't offer Pujols 25M/yr because he is a cool guy, they offered him that because they expect him to bring in drastically more that in increased ticket sales/merchandise/advertising revenue/playoff expectations etc. 15 years ago or so, the Chicago Bulls gave Michael Jordan a 1 year salary of 25M, IIRC. Nobody really even thought twice about it..because everyone knew that the Bulls would easily make this back off of MJ being back on the team. You can't really classify someone as being overpaid when the person/group investing in them expects to make 5x their money back.
The same applies to actors/actresses. Do they make ridiculous money? Of course. But the studio doesn't really pay them. People that go to the movies pay them.
+1
I did also think McNabb was likely overpaid by the Vikings, but he's also looking for employment elsewhere now, so woo.
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Cyan has got a point (even though I disagree about A-Rod) Players are worth what the Teams are willing to offer.
Another reason for the Angels signing Pujols is they're working on a new tv deal with Pojols signed they got some leverage.
This is a pitifully simple way of looking at it. Yes, they make millions of dollars 'playing a game'. In the grand scope of things, is that too much? Maybe. But the problem is significantly deeper than just 'they get paid millions to play a game'. If you don't want them to get paid that much, then the answer is simple. Don't go to their games. Don't buy their merchandise. Don't watch their games on television. Athletes get paid what they do because of these things. Because people will go and pay too much for tickets(but it's hard to say what is too much, because the cost to build a stadium is astronomical, and that cost has to be recouped somehow) if a particular player is on the team. They will buy jerseys of those players/other merchandise of those teams. Etc.
Also, the average person works 40 hours a week at their job. Football players spend 4-5 days a week training for 10-12 hours a day, on top of game day. The average football salary last year was 770,000. The average length of an NFL career is 3.5 years. But the damage that they take in that time is typicall permanent. Would you accept permanent brain/muscle/bone(and sometimes all of these) damage for 2.5 million bucks? I doubt it.
And again, ultimately, it is about worth. If I am Albert Pujols, and bringing me to your team will net the team a billion dollars from various factors(not an unreasonable conclusion), then it is completely logical for him to expect to get 25% of that. Maybe you've never worked a job based on commission, but making 25% at that type of job is not that out of the ordinary.
For a more abstract example, look at Lebron James and the city of Cleveland. They would have paid him as much as they were legally allowed to(if it could get him to stay), because the impact that it had on the team and the city itself was so obvious and measurable.
I could keep going, but hopefully my point is clear. Just throwing out a statement like 'athletes are overpaid' is too much of a simplification/generalization.
Oh I am well aware of all of the money to be made by off of these games and the scratch that flies around the teams. I know that the some economies of American cities are based on sports teams, hell that's why New York hosts so many. I actually had no idea that some athletes had what basically amounts to a cut of the door in their contracts, of course it seems so obvious now that I think about it. Would I take permanent physical damage for $2.7 million? You better believe I would, $2.7 million makes me set for life as long as I don't spend it extravagantly like a lot of high-profile athletes.
As you can probably tell, I'm not a sports fan, I just think it's ridiculous that so much is made over something so simple. Anything to make a buck I suppose.
It is ridiculous that they get paid so much for throwing a ball and running around but at the same time you really can't say they are overpaid. They bring in a ton of money and it's only fair that they get their cut, especially considering it's the athletes who are putting themselves in harms way.
I think it's really just another symptom of our whacked out culture. People put too much of an emphasis on entertainment (distractions) and are willing to pay out the nose for it. It's the same reason all the big Hollywood actors/directors/producers get paid insane amounts of money. It's also why garbage like people magazine gets printed. As long as the masses are willing to shell out the money for this stuff the ones doing it will get rich off it.
Football isn't as bad, as once you stop performing, you're usually out. Rookies are typically the only NFL players with truly horrendous deals (as a large chunk of it is guaranteed for top draft picks).
Jets: Mark Sanchez. Who knows how much, but it's in the 7 figures. Ludicrous. Runner up Santonio Holmes. Yeah, ridiculously overpaid. Guy is sucking up nearly $10m total against the cap.
Knicks: Carmelo Anthony. I know some will disagree but soft, a total ball hog, gets paid like a superstar but he isn't one.
Mets: Jason Bay. For the love of God how is this man making this much money? If it was $1 it'd be too much, but he's getting megabucks. What a total bum. Take him back Canada, you can have him!
Islanders: Rick DiPietro. Cause the Islanders are the dumbest team in the NHL, they thought, why not give a 20 year contract to our franchise goalie and he has hardly played a game since! SMH
Right now the Knicks are better w/o him, they've been consistently under .500 when he's in (this year and last) and consistently over .500 when he's out (this year and last, before the trade) but try convincing Knicks fans of that.
I didn't realize being a superstar was so easy. All you have to do is take 30 shots a night. If you hit 10 of those 30 it's like you're the second coming. I guess being a superstar means convincing others to let you get away with being a black hole on offense.
That being said, the owners created the monster and we the public play into it also. If the fans stopped paying the stupid amounts to see the over paid manchildren play kids games we wouldnt be having this convo.
This is coming from someone who remembers going to professional baseball games and getting seats the day of for under $10 a seat. Hell now in some stadiums that wont buy you a beer.