….Pro Athletes Deserve Their Millions
1. They’re playing in multi-billion dollar businesses where even NHL franchises are selling for $200-million. Some NFL franchises are now worth more than $1-billion while George Steinbrenner has seen the value of the New York Yankee climbed to $1.5-billion from $10-million when he bought it in 1973 from CBS. And it’s not like there’s a lack of wealthy people who want to buy into the glitz and glamour of a professional sports franchise. Every time an athlete such as Alex Rodriguez signs a huge deal, people shake their heads without thinking about how the owner of the franchise writing the check is ultra-rich.
2. For years, athletes played for peanuts - and the love of the game - while owners made tremendous profits. Then, professional sports became unionized, and the pendulum began to swing the other way. Maybe it’s swung too far, which is why salary-caps are all the rage now, but no one really should be crying poor these days.
3. The athletes playing at the highest level are the creme de la creme. They are sublimely talented people. Athletes who play in the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB are a very small elite who have it to the top, while the vast majority of their peers spend years playing in the minors before walking away from their dreams. Just to put things in perspective, the worst player on an NHL team - even those goons who never score - would skate circles around most people not playing in the NHL.
4. The life of a professional athlete is relatively short. Sure, some players such as Mark Messier, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ray Lewis and Rogers Clemens stick around for 10 to 20 years, but most players have far shorter careers so they better make good money while they can. And remember, many players have no skills other than being really good at a particular sport. Most of them are not very well equipped for life post-sports.
