How many times do we hear or read about some guy making millions upon millions of dollars to play a game and he is not actually playing? With the exception of football, this is due to the fact contracts are guaranteed in the other big sports. Football woke up to this sorry situation and the owners actually did something about it. Some criticize it due to the potential for a player to be cut and that's that. Perhaps something can be done in the way of medical coverage for the players or a certain percentage of a contract going to the player in football.On the other hand, we have the equivalent of "welfare cheats." Guys who damage an arm or a leg in a sport like baseball and they get paid to hang out.
It is almost amazing. The New York Yankees' Carl Pavano is a perfect example. Pavano signed a big four-year, 40 million dollar deal to hang out, er, pitch for the Yankees. His first year was not a good one filled with injuries as well as this one so far. Although there is no doubt Pavano is trying to get back to help the team win, something is not quite right being paid the exact same money to NOT pitch as to pitch.
Obviously, the team has to sign another player to take his place which puts a strain on the payroll and of course, eventually this cost will be passed along to the fans. In places like New York or Boston, the fans are so used to being hit in the wallet they are brain-dead to being hit again and again.Many teams have guys with horrible contracts who've either bombed out after signing big deals or get hurt. Again, those costs are passed along to you. The Anaheim Angels had to pay pitcher Kevin Appier 16 million dollars to go away.
Anyone remember the New York Mets paying Mo Vaughn something like 17 million dollars not to play? What about Houston's Jeff Bagwell? I would feel better if he robbed a bank.How about basketball with the Nets' Jayson Williams getting paid after he was hurt and long done? Nevermind his trigger finger. We are talking outlandish amounts of money here.
Not even one or two million dollars. More like 15 or 17 million dollars to go away or workout. Talk about madness. On top of it, there is nothing funnier than seeing someone working a real job making something like $40,000 a year defending such guys and never quite connecting the fact costs are simply passed along to the lemmings in the stands. Comments like, "They should make what they can" or "If they were paying me that kind of money.
" Well, virtually no person will ever come close to that kind of money and with that kind of attitude expect to pay more and more until your saliva is eventually taken from you, too. We are not talking about people in a union fighting for dental insurance or calling for an extra $3,000 a year. No, we are talking about guys with 50, 60, 100 million dollar contracts who in no way can comprehend the origins of a union. They are about take, take, take.
The fans are about give, give, give.Perhaps a half-way measure should be looked at. If a player is hurt or cut then maybe a certain percentage of money should be paid out, not the whole darn thing.
When do people get full-pay for no work? And these guys will not be on the breadline anytime soon; just some of the people going to see them play will.Sports is a great thing. It helps us escape the realities of life. It helps us escape thoughts of stress, depression and death. But with the ludicrous salaries paid out to do a relatively unimportant thing in life and the fact the fan picks up the cost for this, priorities really need to be looked at. I miss the days when our sports stars were making a measly couple of million.
.Robert Carberry is a freelance writer from New York.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.
com/?expert=Robert_Carberry.
By: Robert Carberry
