Outline

Jack McGann

Period 2

Why is the Average Professional Athlete Paid So Much?

1. Value of Entertainment 

     A.  Americans value entertainment so much that leagues are able to set the prices high and fans still cooperate.

     B.   It is believed that we actually value entertainment that safety, education, and health.
              i.  Focus more on sporting events than health, education, etc.

     C.   With all the revenue the leagues are creating, they are able to pay the athletes large sums of money they demand.
              i.  Athletes will disagree with salary causing lockouts
              ii.  Commissioners and team owners decide salaries

2.  Popularity of Sport Played world-wide

     A.  Expense of recreational sport for youth and adults 

              i.  Cost of equipment

              ii.  Location of sport played

     B.  Number of players on a team
              i.  More players= lower salary, and vice versa

     C.  Number of games per season/ Money the team makes
              i.  More televised games
              ii.  Number of tickets sold

3.  Endorsements

     A.  Affinity
              i.  Affiliation with superstar athlete
              ii.  Feel more "part of team" or involved with league

     B.  Awareness
              i.  City with many fans
              ii.  Official products of leagues
     C.  Ability to sell more products
              i.  More advertisements seen by people
              ii.  Athletes representing products

4.  History
     A.  First players endorsed
     B.  Cause of endorsements
     C.  Tactics used by businesses through sports

Games/Season= How Much $?

     There are many factors, I've discovered, that cause professional athletes to make lare amounts of money, but another question I have is "What aspects of certain sports play into the difference of average players' salaries in different leagues?"  I've looked into this before and found out that the number of teams and the amount of players on each team have to do with it, but what about the number of games being played per season? Is there a direct correlation between the amount of games being played and the popularity of the sport or how much money the average athlete receives?

     After reading articles and other blogs, I came to conclusion that the amount of games played per season doesn't equate to the average athlete's salary for a specific sport. There are a total of 1,230 games played each season in the NHL if you look at the entire league. The grand total of NFL games played are 332.  There are almost 1,000 fewer games played, total, yet the NFL still makes more money than the NHL.  Total NBA season games add up to as much as 1,455.  The NBA is, in fact, the richest league, but looking at other professional leagues, this isn't the only reason why. The MLB will play about 200 games total.  This is evidence that I used to conclude that the amount of games per season isn't a large factor playing into the average athlete's salary of a specific sport.

NFL 2012 season schedule

Causation of LOCKOUTS

     There is currently a lockout in the NHL due to a disagreement between the league and the players.  I already know that NHL players receive the least money on average out of any other men's professional sports.  I'm curious about what else plays into the lockout, which is consequently upsetting many NHL fans because of season ticket holders and whatnot.

     One reason for the lockout is believed to be precedent.  In 2004 and 2005, there was a disagreement about the revenue the league was receiving and how the money was being split between team owners, coaches, and players.  As a result, the players were "locked out" for the entire season.  Eventually, the players had a decrease of about 24% of their salaries.  This cutback in salaries recently ended and the league is at it again.  This worked for the owners 8 years ago, so the NHL is using this strategy again.  Once again, the owners have offered the players another 24% rollback in their salaries.  The revenue made by the NHL has increased from $2.1 billion to $3.3 billion, and the players aren't accepting another reduction of their pay.

     These labor turmoils have happened somewhat recently in other leagues as well.  Back in '94, there ended up being a cancellation in the MLB world series due to a 7-1/2 month strike from the players.  The NBA has also had in total 4 lockouts; the NFL 4 strikes and 1 lockout in the past.

Why Athletes are Paid the Big Bucks

Why Athletes are Paid the Big Bucks

     Do professional athletes deserve to be paid more than the working class of America, consisting of people who keep our country and society functioning normally?  To the majority of the citizens of America, the answer would be yes because of our craving for entertainment. Personally, I believe doctors, teachers, police officers, and firemen deserve a much higher salary than men who play a sport that most of us have played in our adolescence.

     -Americans' value in entertainment overwhelms our care for teachers' salary.

Teaching, medicine, and law can all be taught over a period of time. This is different for sports though, since there is a very few amount of people who are naturally gifted with amazing athleticism. The amount of teachers, doctors, and cops in America overwhelms the population of athletes.  Most of us would agree that those other jobs are much more important, but we love watching the few extremely athletic humans compete against each other.

More On Endorsements...

     To learn more about endorsements, I contacted Ms. Jackie Woodward, a sports marketing professional. I asked her how much do endorsements really help companies getting their name out there, since the endorsements play a big role in determining the superstar athletes' salaries.  To make it easier for me to understand, Ms. Woodward told me companies use endorsements for 3 reasons: Awareness, Brand Affinity, and Ability to sell more products.
 
     Whenever you watch a sports program, the league or association will most likely have an official sponsor.  Companies pay enormous amounts of money to become the official sponsor of something.  Just look at "the official gas company of the NHL", or "the official shaving cream of the NFL". The more your product is displayed, the higher amount of  consumers you'll have who are aware of your product.

     Because of Americans' craving for sports entertainment, what better way is there than to display a product that a professional athlete uses him or herself?  This is how companies get consumers to have an affinity for something. For example, I'm a Chicago Bulls fan. If I see Derrick Rose say how much he likes wearing nike footwear, not to mention he has his own shoe named after him, I'm going to have a more natural liking for that company's shoes since I am a fan of the Bull's best player.

     Lastly the ability to sell more product will sky rocket with the combination of awareness and affinity. Imagine from a Steeler fan's judgement of Heinz ketchup.  Not only is the stadium named "Heinz Field" but one of there favorite players, big Ben Rothlisberger, says he uses Heinz ketchup whenever he has a hot dog. Plus, "if a professional athletes like Rothlisberger is eating this stuff, it has got to be healthy!", is something you'll find a lot of people thinking.

 

So, to sum it up, companies are willing to pay the big bucks to individual athletes and entire sports programs because of the fame they will get from it.  This technique goes back to when Babe Ruth played ball, and is still used today because of how well it works. To answer my original question of "how effective are endorsements for companies?", I would say EXTREMELY.

Why the NBA?

  When looking at several graphs about the average athlete's salary, it's evident that basketball players receive the most money on average. I'm curious why this is because football and hockey seem a lot more dangerous and some people may believe that they should be compensated for risking their health. What other factors go into the popularity and/or salary of athletes?
  After some thought I decided basketball players made the most money because of the amount of players in the league. This sport is also popular because it is one of the least expensive sports to play, behind soccer. After all, all you need is a ball and a basket. Before I began research I thought that NBA teams could have a lot more players on their team than the amount they have in reality. Some teams will have as few as 12 players, and others can have up to 15. There are 30 teams in the league, so there will always be between 360 to 450 players.
  So to answer the question about the health risks relative to the amount of money they receive, think of football. There are 53 players allowed to dress from game day and 5 others who are on the practice squad. This is a significantly higher number than the number of NBA players allowed on a team, and there are 32 teams in the NFL.

As bad as it sounds, Americans don't care all that much about the injuries of professional athletes. There will be a lot of talk over a superstar's career ending leg injury on ESPN, but it only goes on for the rest of the season. We immediately look to see who else can play for our city's team for the remaining season or the upcoming year.

   So what else effects the popularity of sports? The conclusion I've come to is the expenses of the sport for children and recreation. Football requires a lot of gear but can be played for most of the year. Hockey is another sport that requires a lot of equipment and can only be played in the winter, unless you're willing to pay for an indoor ice rink.   Then there's golf. It's a very mature game and requires a lot of practice to become good at it. Most of the places where you practice this sport requires a membership (country clubs).  So there you have it. There is definitely a correlation between the amount of money a sport requires for recreational use to the popularity of the sport- leading to a higher salary for players of the specific sport.

History of Athletes' Salary

   The question "are athletes being paid too much?" has been a question that dates back to the 1920's. The most popular sport during that time was baseball, when Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth were hitting home runs on the reg. Once people heard that Ruth was receiving $50,000 dollars a year (keep in mind this is 1922), citizens immediately began to ponder on why he was getting paid so much. He didn't just earn his wealth through the amount of tickets being sold though. He had a candy bar named after him, his own underwear brand, and was featured on the cover of Wheaties cereal.
   The idea of endorsements sparked a new way of advertising for companies all over the world.  Today we see professional athletes on Nike posters, in beer commercials, and some players even have their own video game. Ever notice the amount of businesses' decals on NASCAR cars?
        

Value of Entertainment in 'Merica

   Americans value entertainment more than just about anything, studies show. The top leisure activity for Americans is watching television, which is how most of us enjoy professional sports. On a survey of 14,000 people, a total of 71.2%. The amount of money we spend on sources of entertainment is increasing annually. Back in 2004, a total of $705.9 billion dollars on entertainment (the amount of entire gross national product of Canada and Australia).
  So why do we enjoy spending countless hours watching tv, on the internet, or reading magazines? Many believe it has to do with the "self actualization" theory. Most other things we pay for are just necessities to stay alive, but entertainment is driven by emotion.



On another note, are we headed in the wrong direction as a whole? It's predicted that China will be the world's superpower in a few years because of their values in education. There's no doubt that we value entertainment more than education. The Chinese find the liberal arts, engineering, piano playing, etc. much more important than the big game on Saturday.

Synthesis & Plan

  As I have been researching this topic I found one thing in common with all the articles I read. Entertainment.  Us Americans value entertainment so much, that it is almost valued more than our safety and well-being. Another example would be the small population of humans who are able to perform sports the way they do. If everyone could slam dunk or throw a ball 95 mph, would sports be nearly  as entertaining?

Why do people value entertainment more than things they actually need?
Does being idolized have to do with their fame and fortune?
What factors add to their salaries? (Endorsements, jerseys, etc.)
Have Pro athletes always been paid so much?

  I plan on answering the 1st and 4th questions because I think researching why we value entertainment so much, as well as some history of this topic would be beneficial to my understanding.

     Have you ever wondered why professional athletes are paid three times the amount of a police officer or doctor? The men and women who entertain us are being paid way more than the ones putting their lives on the line to save ours.

Average salaries of professional athlete
(and highest paid) compared to several other American jobs.

• http://www.helium.com/debates/190599-are-pro-athletes-paid-too-much/side_by_side

     This article writes how we value entertainment so much, it causes high athlete salaries. For instance, fans are willing to spend obscene amounts of money for nosebleed seats at games when it can be watched on television at home.  The need for entertainment in our country is caused by the amount of freedom we are given. We will do just about whatever we want if we are willing to pay for it. The author also writes how professional athletes get so much money because of their skill.  Not everyone is able to slam dunk over other 6'5" basketball players, or run over a 250 pound linebackers. The few men and women who are able to perform the way they do is fascinating for us to watch.

Why do professional athletes have such a high salary?

Jack McGann

                For my passion project I will be researching to answer my question: “Why do professional athletes get paid so much money?” The reason I chose this is because I have always been curious why they get so much money for playing a sport they enjoy. A lot of these players go to division I colleges to specifically play sports like basketball and football. There are thousands of kids hoping to get into these colleges for academic purposes, but their spots are taken by the athletes. After college, the students have done a lot more studying than the athletes to prepare for a job that is, in my opinion, much more important. After four years of medical school, why does a doctor whose duty is to save lives make not even half the amount as the average NFL player? Why does a military officer, fighting overseas for our country, make only a fifth of the lowest paid NBA player?