Greed

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1

Thank goodness for the CFL, a down to earth, realistic business built and maintained in the Canadian way of life.

Just heard on the radio of a MLB team (can't remember the team or the player) who won an arbitration hearing and ONLY has to pay the player $10 MILLION for the upcoming season instead of the $12.5 MILLION that the player was asking for.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!
The argument, flimsy as it was, went that after a career in pro sports an athlete was out of the job market and would have trouble finding another career but REALLY, most professional athletes came out of a university or college with a degree and would have no trouble at all finding a job after a career in the major leagues of any sport. I guess all of the glitz and glitter that provides most of the entertainment in US pro sports has to spin off somewhere.

Bring back the old days when local businesses gave employment to pro athletes and kept the likes of Ellison Kelly, Ralph Goldston, Angelo Mosca, Bernie Faloney et al in the community after their careers were finished instead of living in a $20 million mansion in Beverly Hills. Just shows you how much GREED has taken over most North American sports (including US colleges) right from the top on down including advertisers, administrators, players, marketing people, agents etc.

Couldn't get over the arbitration ruling, and the fact that the player and his agent were disgruntled with the decision.

2

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies is who it is.

Helluva raise for the guy. Last year he made $900,000 and the year before that he was at $355,000.

3

Baldy, I would say rather that
this shows just how much

PROFITABILITY has taken over
most North American sports.

As a point of discussion, nothing more,

if you were in a position to secure
the financial well-being of your family

at the expense of a corporation
which makes extremely high profits

wouldn't you pursue it with all your heart?

You might even want to consider these words
if you decide to reflect on the question.

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko
in the film "Wall Street"

made a famous 'Greed is Good' speech.

His main point, which I agree with, Baldy, was...

Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life,
for money, for love, knowledge —

has marked the upward surge of mankind.

P.S.

Here is the full speech.

The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that:

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.

Greed is right; greed works.

Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures
the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life,
for money, for love, knowledge —

has marked the upward surge of mankind

and greed, you mark my words —

will not only save Teldar Paper

but that other malfunctioning
corporation called the USA.

4

I recall when baseball salaries started their upward spiral. One incident in particular stands out for me.

Tim Raines was an outfielder for the Expos. He was offered a million dollar raise (i.e., one million more than what he was currently making). He turned that offer down, saying he was insulted by it, and so he went as a free agent to, I seem to recall, the Chicago White Sox.

Now, about being insulted by a million dollar raise.

You know, I have a pretty thick skin............I believe that I could take being insulted in such a fashion.

5

I guess what bothers me is that a lot of these players make more money in one season than the elite CFL players will make in their lifetime, never mind the average upper middle class Canadian worker. Don't get me wrong, I make a very good living myself and envy is really not a factor, i don't want for anything however the majority of North Americans struggle to get by. There is only so much money on the continent and the 'Heroes' seem to get more than their share.
Probably why I don't watch too many pro sports on TV except for the CFL.

Ron - It is greed that drives up profit, but at the expense of what?
Sure I agree greed can be good but there is greed and then there is GREED!!!!!

6

I Remember a Line from Chris Rock
Shaq is not rich..
shaq is Well off
The Boss who Pays his Salary is Rich

7

It seems to me that the laws of supply and demand control the amount of money that teams and players make and that "greed" has little to do with it. If fans weren't willing to spend their dollars on tickets and merchandise, the price would certainly come down. Yet fans continue to purchase in sellout numbers at almost any price in some markets. They continue to purchse top of the line jerseys, hats, and such and pay top dollar for these as well. In short, there is high demand and limited supply, thus the price goes up. The only way to change this is to "vote with your money" by not spending it there and on other things that you value.

The price of gas is much the same. The demand created by the consumer (read you and I) is so great by our frivolous use that supply has become very expensive and the price gone up. We only have ourselves to blame. If we didn't use so much, supply would outstrip demand and the price would have to come down.

And, consider what athletes must give up to get to the pro level, and who it is that gets there. Only the elite make it and then they give up what you and I would take for granted as a normal life. Look at baseball players who are away from their families and any real free time from March to October and even further. I would have to be paid a lot to give that much time and effort to my job. Just take a look in the paper an on TV and see how athletes are under the spotlight 24/7. Would you do that for what you make?

And on and on...

Just a different angle on "Greed".

8

I disagree - the price of gas and the amount of profits banks record are simple case of fleece and or screwing the mases. As far as a pro football or baseball, basketball NO ONE IS WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO PLAY A GAME.

9

It was actually K-Rod with the Angels and not Ryan Howard.

Francisco Rodriguez was asking for 12.5 mil and he is ONLY going to get 10 now.

10

Interesting topic. Here's my theory.

Ockham's Sports Economics 101

Baseball

  • Given an average game attendance of 25,000 people
  • At an average ticket price of $35/seat
  • Over eighty games/season
  • Brings in 70 Million dollars, which is an average roster payroll in MLB. A MLB team has more than just roster payroll costs to operate. Follow the money...

Sure jerseys, hats, etc, help, but television is the big cash cow (why do you think we have so many Thursday night games this year...TSN)

So here's my beef:

  • Television pays the leagues to cover the games
  • The networks in turn sell advertising spots to companies that sell to consumers (ie: shoes, cars, beer, etc)
  • Those companies use money from the sale of such goods to pay for the commercials
  • So in the end, the consumer (you and me) are paying for the commercial spots
  • The thing is...I don't watch commercials. They are the bathroom/get another beer/chat with the Honey breaks during the game
  • So if I am not watching the damn ad...why am I paying for it?
11

People cannot sell their services for
any more than what the market will bear.

If someone is willing to pay a pro athlete
millions then that is what they are worth it.

Look on the bright side, armchair,
a person who has debts of $1,000,000
is worth $1,000,000 to somebody.

We can all achieve that. :smiley:

12

Very true, Ron.
If you or I owed a bank $1,000. they would be after us like fleas on a dog.

BUT, if we owed the bank $1,000,000, they’d be eager to cut us a deal.

Moral: If you’re going to make a splash in the world of finance, make it big.

Look at d’Angelo. He’s run his enterprises far into debt. What happens? He gets out from under, and still has one of his companies in his name to fall back on. This world is one strange place, and the world of sports is a big part of that.

13

Actually, What Chris rock said was Shaq is rich. The white guy that signs his cheques is wealthly.

14

You are right Tigerdirt.
As a closer K-Rod will be asked to pitch just a tad under 70 innings next year.
He will be earning about $145,000/inning.

Sign me up for about 7 innings and $1,000,000.
I do not want to over-extend myself!