ATHLETES OVERPAID OR UNDERRATED?

Issue #

Overpaid or underrated?

Athletes

November 29, 2012

LOVE OF THE MONEY OR LOVE OF THE GAME? IN THIS ISSUE

Forefathers didnt get millions

By: Jeremy Cummins

During the early years of playing football, players were paid on a game to game basis. Some players would play for one game a season just as a hobby when they had time to. The majority of players had a second job to get a real career once they were done with football.

Contract Development
The first big contract given to a player was a $100,000 contract given to Red Grange by the Chicago Bears over a 19-game contract. This was in 1926 when playing football was not considered a real way to support a family or even a real career. In the 1950s, players were demanding a league minimum salary. This cry fell on deaf ears seeing as the league average salary was a mere $6,000. In 1970 the NFLPA was officially recognized by the NFL as an official organization for the players. Once the NFLPA was recognized it lobbied for a league minimum salary. They achieved this in the mid-1970s which was $9,000 for rookies and $10,000 for veterans. Once this minimum was achieved, the minimum gradually grew to a substantial amount.

In the 1980s, NFL salaries skyrocketed to around $800,000 by the end of the decade. In 1993 the minimum salary was still around $800,000 after the new CBA for the next 8 years was set and agreed upon. At the end of this CBAs time in 2010, the number one draft pick, Sam Bradford, was given a sixyear, $78 million contract. This was absolutely outrageous to other owners and players around the league for this amount of money to go to a rookie who has not played a single NFL down in his life. In 2011 when the 1993 CBA expired, the NFLPA and NFLOA collaborated on a new CBA that greatly reduced the rookie minimum salary regardless of where they were drafted. The 2012 number one pick, Andrew Luck, was given a four-year $22.1 million contract. This dramatic drop in salary was a large step toward lowering the salary of NFL players regardless of position and dedication. This article will be an attempt for you to get players to be paid based on performance rather than name. I hope to convince you to work to lower not only NFL salaries, but salaries all over the world.

Red Grange and Andrew Luck

Pictured on top is Red Grange running the ball for a touchdown in the 1927 season. Below is Andrew Luck prior to the 2012 NFL season.

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ATHLETES OVERPAID OR UNDERRATED? | Issue #

Other Sports and Icons

The NFL is not the only major sport in the world, as Im sure you know. Other sports such as soccer, as we know it as here in the USA, also have some astounding salaries being paid out to its athletes. During the 2011 MLS season David Beckham was paid an astonishing $46 million Who honestly needs that much money in one year? From his salary and other endorsements. Along with David Beckham getting $46 million, Real Madrids striker earned $42 million in total. A big chunk of these players salaries came from endorsements, which is another problem to be talked about altogether. Another major sport that is world renowned is basketball. Many of the American athletes are known around the world as household names, these athletes include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitski. These athletes are getting paid millions as well. However they are coming from all over the

world. The Kobe Bryant Nike Brand name is iconic in China. During the 2011 year LeBron James earned $14.5 million from the Miami Heat while earning an additional $30 million from endorsement deals. Earning slightly less was Kobe Bryant earning a total of $34.8 million in 2011.

Besides football and soccer, baseball is another sport at the top of the list for overpaid athletes. At the head of the pack is Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. In 2011 his salary blessed him with $32 million to add to his bank account. So, with all this money, what are these athletes doing with it?
Pictured above is David Beckham before a Los Angeles Galaxy soccer match.

Spending the Money

There are many athletes that give back to their community and partake in recreational activities with children. However, there are some that spend their money other less intriguing things. One example of our prized athletes spending their money not so wisely is LeBron James spending over $170,000 on alcohol in a New York club. What else could this money have gone to? Cancer research? Food for hungry children? Maybe if he didnt have so much excess money he would spend it a little wiser and in better places. That is only one example of many that an athlete needs to be paid substantially less than what they are. Several research studies have shown that people who make $1,000,000 are no happier than people who make $40,000 a year. The money just makes them who they are with money.

Meeting at the Staples Center

And other stadiums

Tired of athletes getting paid too much and not giving enough back to their community?

Come rally and sign a petition to get sports salaries in the USA lowered!!!
To request a petition form(s) for your local area contact: Arron Blon a.blon@gmail.com 972-950-8547

Works Cited $170,000 Club receipt. Digital image. Bissop. Moguldom Media Group, 6 May 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://bossip.com/383719/money-to-blow-lebron-dropped-six-figures-ondrinks-in-one-late-night-las-vegas-party3920/2808085135_0642956a7d_o/>. Freedman, Jonah. "The 50 Highest-earning American Athletes." 2011 Fortunate 50. Http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2011/index.html>. Mann, Jill. Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire; the Literature of Social Classes and the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. Cambridge [Eng.]: University, 1973. Print. Moore, Jonathan. David Beckham in uniform. Digital image. Forbes.com. Forbes, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlh45eel/no-1-david-beckham/>. O'Neill, John. Staples Center. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 22 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Staples_Center,_LA,_CA,_jjron_22.03.2012.jpg>. Red Grange Runs with the Ball. Digital image. EHow. Demand Publisher Inc., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/facts_5005953_nfl-salary-history.html>. Velasco, Schuyler. "NFL Draft: Why Andrew Luck's Rookie Salary Has Shrunk ( Video)." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2012/0426/NFL-draft-Why-Andrew-Lucks-rookie-salary-has-shrunk-video>.