I need a new career...

Another year has passed! Thankfully, I didn't watch one second of the Super Bowl.

Something I think is a problem in the country is the glorification of professional athletes. Don't get me wrong, many of them have extraordinary talent in their game. A few of them have talent at more than one game. But, are they larger than life? Nope. Do they deserve to be almost millionaires overnight? I don't think so.

In these dark economic times, do these players really earn the money they get paid? Seriously. Here is some quick info. It is a little dated, but still good. It is from Wikianswers. This one is for the National Football League.

The minimum salary structure for 2007 is as follows:

•Rookies and first-year players $285,000
•Second-year players $360,000
•Third-year $435,000
•Fourth-year $510,000
•Fifth- through seventh-year $595,000
•Eighth- through tenth-year $720,000
•Eleventh-year and longer $820,000

So, using this scale, if you can be active professionally for 4 years, you will have earned $1,590,000. To put this is scale, a normal person would make $53,000 a year for 30 years to equal this. Divide this amount into 25 years, and a normal person could make $63,600 average. This amount would be $79,500 per year average for a 20 year normal person career. This is MINIMUM pay.



What is the minimum to play baseball professionally? The minimum salary for the 2008 season is $390,000. This is from chacha.com. How much is this in a four year career? It is $1,560,000. This number into 30 years is $52,000. Into 25 years is $62,400. Divide this number into a 20 year career for a normal person and it is $78,000. Again, this is for a four year career.



What about the National Basketball Association? According to chacha.com, it is $427,163 as a rookie. This is minimum. How much to do it for four years? That would be $1,708,652. In an ordinary person's life, that is 30 years at $56,955. It is 25 years at $63,346. It divides into 20 years at $85,433 per year.



So, what dollar amount do you put on being entertained? Is there really ANYONE worth this kind of money to "work" at playing a game for nine months a year? I'm sorry. Jerry Maguire should change his focus. I think he should be thinking of communities and families when he is trying to "show me the money." I think if the sanctioning groups lowered the rate of pay to something reasonable, these players would probably throw a fit, but they would still play. If they decided not to, the purity of the sport would be increased by players that love the game and love to play instead of getting a real job. It seems since the money has gotten so long to these players, for the most part they are more worried about senseless grandstanding and getting on television (name recognition for increased pay) then they are about playing the game and winning. I know there are exceptions to this, but they are few and far between.

Maybe if their pay got cut and they want to whine about it, they could go out a get a real job. Maybe they could punch a clock and work on an assembly line for a few years to learn to respect the value of a dollar. Maybe they could run a loader or a road grader. Maybe they could be a server that works for minimum wage and tips. Maybe they could drive a gravel truck without air conditioning for a few summers. Maybe they could milk cows, bale hay, or raise soybeans or corn. Maybe they could work a complaint department in a retail store. Who knows? Maybe they could be useful to the rest of society with their vocation. Why aren't there jerseys for the guy that picks up my garbage? Why isn't there high pay for the people that work next door to me and bust their asses building cabinets all day? There are so many people in this country that work really hard, but don't get their face on a trading card.

Another thing that pisses me off is the fact that the people that buy the tickets to watch the professional games pay have to pay $100 per seat. These good people pay $100 for a matching jersey. These people work a half of a week to be able to afford to go to a game. The working people in this country are the ones that pay the way for all of these professional players' lives. We get to work, and they get a Hummer. We get to work, and they get gold teeth.



As a state, instead of building stadiums, we could be taking care of our own. We could be reinvesting in our own communities instead of paying the way for more glorified athletes with more huge salaries to play games to entertain us. Our country could put this money to MUCH better use.

I think I am in for a career change. I want to play professional basketball, football, and baseball all in the same year. Then, I could retire. Sick, right?