NBA/NFL athletes get paid way too much. amirite?

Don't go to sports games or watch them. They make what the market will pay I agree it's ridiculous but we are the fans are the reason

by Any_Limit_8354 1 week ago

These leagues make billions of dollars. If the players aren't making millions then who should get the money?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

They should make millions but 250 over 4 years is crazy.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

That's because they made the team owners many multiples of that, would you rather they kept more of it instead of giving it to the players?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Yeah somebody check and make sure OP isn't secretly a sports owner

by Anonymous 1 week ago

So you're saying the owners, who don't play, risk their health or participate in the "fun" parts of a sport should also keep the overwhelming bulk of the money the players generate.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Again that's how every business works, do coal miners make majority of the money when they put their health at risk or does the owner of the company. Every business where there's risk the owners make the most amount of money.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

But you can replace a coal miner. It's pretty hard to replace an NBA level talent.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

And why do you think that's the way it should be? If most employees get screwed why do you also want the ones to don't to get screwed as well?

by New-Masterpiece 1 week ago

How would they be getting screwed? Do you think a someone getting paid 5 million a year instead of 250 million, to shoot a basketball is getting screwed. I'd play basketball for 500k a year and be happy about it. No way these players need 50-60 million a year.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Because the place they are employeed makes that much money. If they didn't get 50% of the money it would go to the billionaires. Who's more deserving, the actual employees who drive the profits or the owners?

by New-Masterpiece 1 week ago

Exactly. Owners in every industry take home as much as they can. With pro sports, the players skill sets are more rare and valuable so those players can get better salaries. The owners always artificially limit salaries by way of max salaries and salary caps. For me, I'd rather the people they bring me joy benefit fairly from their work. But if you'd rather a suit gets the lionsgate of the value that's just a different viewpoint and you should advocate for less worker protections in your political and personal life.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Even if I never set foot in a stadium I still end up paying for it in increases in my cable bill or in the costs of whatever products are advertised during commercials.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Yes

by Any_Limit_8354 1 week ago

80k people don't show up to watch a teacher do their work

by Anonymous 1 week ago

That's the hole in the entire "athletes and celebrities get paid too much" argument. They get paid according to what value they generate. The money isn't coming out of thin air. If you are I could do something that would generate 100s of millions, we'd have done it and we'd have that kind of money too.

by Kristin59 1 week ago

I agree but it's also just the value you add to society. But I understand they aren't generating revenue or having people buy their jerseys. Just kind of crazy how much they make.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

I do agree with you that their salaries are crazy. If salary caps were lower, then I guess the team owners would just pick up the difference. I don't see them bumping the pay of the cleaners

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Exactly, and people hate that. The fact the NFL/NBA/MLB pay athletes what they do should be commended.

by Hayesdaphne 1 week ago

I think it is commended but that's because people hold athletes in higher regard than themselves, the fact is people cry out in public for athletes to get paid more but don't do it for themselves.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

So you want the employees of this organization to make an even smaller percentage of the revenue they bring in?

by Dazzling_Aside7995 1 week ago

The value you add to society isn't a factor in your compensation. Only the value you bring to the person signing your checks

by Dazzling_Aside7995 1 week ago

If they didn't bring in more than that much for the organization, they wouldn't get contracts for that much. Sports organizations want to make money. They hire players that they think can make them $X and pay them a certain percentage of $X to work for their organization rather than another organization. It's actually not much different than other jobs

by Dazzling_Aside7995 1 week ago

No id rather some of the money was donated to charities which they somewhat do, they could help inner city youth schools which they do sometimes. They could also invest the money they make into their arenas and food and other workers.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Athletes get paid a lot because of strong unions. Otherwise all that money would go straight to ownership/leagues.

by New-Masterpiece 1 week ago

Which is how it should be. A lot of NFL, MLB and NBA teams are owned by one single person. It would be messed up if some billionaire was making more billions while his players were underpaid.

by Kristin59 1 week ago

The time one single person owns a Big Four sports franchise is coming to an end. Cases in point: Washington Commanders, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Chargers being bought by owner groups rather than one person.

by Used_Instruction 1 week ago

Becoming less common, I don't know if it's ending anytime soon. There are still a lot of teams whose ownership is kept in the same family of the previous owner.

by Kristin59 1 week ago

Yes I agree with this and there are way more players on the team as well. Most nfl athletes seem way more cool in person too which is why I wonder if the fame and money make nba players act the way they do in public.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

How many NFL and NBA players are you spending in person time with?

by Weekly_Reason_2348 1 week ago

Counter argument: how many Chet are there in the world that can do what he does? He gets paid what the market would bear no more no less. Owners would like to pay him less but they can't

by Anonymous 1 week ago

NBA bench players can make millions every year and hardly play. Can play 10 years like this. NFL bench guys make a fraction of that and they're gone in three seasons.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

The idea that athletes shouldn't be making that much money isn't even that unpopular of an opinion. The problem is, with how the system is set up in American professional sports, is that paying players less doesn't lead to teachers getting paid more, it leads to the billionaire owners making more money off of the talents of those players.

by Mattie45 1 week ago

They bring in a lot of money. Would you prefer all that money went to the suits who own the clubs or the people who actually generate it?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Nah I'd prefer they invest it into better experiences for the fans

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Surely investing in the best possible talent to play for the team is an example of this

by Anonymous 1 week ago

They want to to be angry at player salaries so you don't notice how much owners make

by Unfair_Chard_1858 1 week ago

Those leagues make billions of dollars and the players have unions that help create a CBA that guarantees the players around 50% of the money made.

by HugeKaleidoscope2640 1 week ago

Ya that's fair just crazy to think that much money is generated to the nba

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

People love their sports

by HugeKaleidoscope2640 1 week ago

Either the athletes make the money or the billionaire owners do. And trust me that the billionaires share your opinion, just for different reasons. So who do you think the money should go to?

by Dina95 1 week ago

Hand it out to the local schools to buy a Mac book

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

In other words, you are suggesting to give the money to Apple instead for some reason.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Bitcoin

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Are we just saying random worlds now?

by Dina95 1 week ago

Ah, Bitcoin. Everything makes sense now.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

If an Athlete gets paid 250 million for 4 years - the club he plays for is making 400 million with that Athlete. Why should he only make (let's say) 4 Million in 4 years when he makes the Club 100 times that? The Athlete deserves a fair share of all the money he makes them.

by haleygerardo 1 week ago

Thats not how it works for other businesses.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Players by definition make 51% of nba revenue. People watch the nba instead of other leagues because the players are the best in the world. The players, if anything, are underpaid. Your point about teacher is kinda silly. Why don't you go after the owners who make 49% of the profits for 0% of the work

by Anonymous 1 week ago

The NBA makes a ton of money and their contract with the players say they basically split the money with the players. It is what it is.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

NBA and MLB is wild to me, but the money is available so I can't fault them. Avg NFL career is like 2-3 yrs and you're busted up way more than baseball or basketball. But they deserve a bigger paycheck vs like actors/actresses.

by PerceptionSmall 1 week ago

The mlb doesn't make sense to me I know there's a decent amount of baseball fans but I rarely meet people who actually sit down and watch out games

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Free market economies aren't for everyone. Cuba isn't that far away.

by Josiahmaggio 1 week ago

Another not so unpopular opinion. Many of the longer term sports fans have been saying this for years. Glad they rip into the owners money but overall it's pathetic and making going to a game for only the elite as it drives the ticket prices up

by Anonymous 1 week ago

You aren't the one paying them so why do you care?

by langverna 1 week ago

The LA Lakers sold for $10 billion. Demanding that the team owners make even more money seems misplaced.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Most of their contract isn't guaranteed and there's all sorts of stipulations in there. A bunch of money goes to the agent and a bunch goes to taxes These leagues are raking in money hand over fist. They're price gouging fans on ticket prices, concessions, and jerseys (and a ton of NBA jerseys get bought by international fans) and not nearly as many people are illegally streaming as you assume, since illegally streaming games is a pain in the ass All that being said, I completely agree that paychecks for pro athletes are out of control

by Anonymous 1 week ago

People aren't paid based on their value to society, they're paid based on the money they make. This is why a developer who does very little at Google makes 10x more than a developer working at a nonprofit—there's more money to go around. The NFL made $23 billion last year and around half of their revenue goes toward player salaries and benefits. $11 billion to spend on players means a hell of a paycheck if you're able to get in, and that also makes it incredibly competitive to get in.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Its the same as actors and musicians. It is where the money is. The fans put the money there. I don't like it either, but if it doesn't go to the talent, it goes to the management/owners/investors and they already make even more. Its one of those things that is pointless to waste your time lamenting. It is a simple result of humans all putting their money into the same thing. Supply and demand is not going anywhere, probably ever.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Counter point: they don't get paid enough, because the more they're paid the more it TRICKLES DOWN BABY! source: I'm an ecnomnomnist

by Advanced_Bat8106 1 week ago

Could you elaborate on what trickles down. Sorry if I sound dumb.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

Money. It doesn't, but trickle down economics was/is a theory some hold to.

by Advanced_Bat8106 1 week ago

"source: I'm an ecnomnomnist" No you're not. At best you're a kid who took an econ class because an economist wouldn't say something so simplistic and highly debatable.

by Kristin59 1 week ago

The aggressive caps and how I spelled economist didn't clue you in on the sarcasm?

by Advanced_Bat8106 1 week ago

All that for running after a ball... an activity that even little dogs can do. Meanwhile, we have people out there who save lives or teach kids who can't make ends meet. Not sure this is an unpopular opinion.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I get people's counter argument and they're right that the players deserve a lot of money that is generated it's just crazy because it's a kids game these dudes play and make money that basically is generational wealth after playing for 3-4 years.

by jamaalmarks 1 week ago

I'm at the age where I don't want to know or see how such they make. If the market says they are worth x amount , cool. But see that number make you start don't math. I'd rather not. Ok, back to my cubicle now

by New_Charge2425 1 week ago