Gumbel Right On

So, what is Tagliabue angry about? That his little "not so secret" secret is out? Everyone knew that Upshaw was a Tags lackey.

Don't get me wrong. The NFL Players Union has got a lot for the players. Contracts are insane, players are acting like prima donnas without punishment for their actions and the overall game has suffered because of a focus on marquee players instead of whole teams. However, the NFL is an amazingly lucrative corporation. Billions of dollars yearly are being raked in. Shouldn't a big share of that go to the players who actually make the league go?

I hate how out of whack pro-sports are. The Latrell Sprewells of the world complaining about how they can't support their families on a measly $7 million per year while at the same time Joe Sixpack can't afford to bring his family to games anymore because he doesn't have the $500 for tickets, soda/beer and a couple hot dogs. Are we who are raising our sons and daughters on our pedestrian salaries supposed to feel sorry for these guys?

The biggest response I've had to comments like this is that a professional athlete only has a couple years that they will be able to "work" in their field (i.e. baseball, football, basketball, etc.) Ok, let's break this down.

John Johnson, middle linebacker gets drafted in the 7th round. He makes the team as a special teams player. Minimum salary, $225k.
He goes on to a 8 year career where each year he makes the league minimum.
$225000
$300000
$375000
$450000
$525000
$525000
$650000
$750000
--------
TOTAL $3.8 million

After 8 years this guy is now 31 years old (figure he graduated college at 23). Don't you think a 31 year old would be able to find employment after his playing days were done? With a good nest egg built up from his playing days, our athlete should easily be able to "coast" through the rest of his time on our earth. And this is for a guy who starts out making the rookie minimum.

I realize not everyone drafted will make it 8 years in the NFL. However, they also will not be playing for the league minimum either. I guess what I'm trying to show is that these guys are making a good living by playing a game. Terrell Owens not happy because he was only making $7 million per year. (He had a reported 7 year, $50 million contract.)

Sorry folks, just a little tirade. Just really ticks me off that with my college degree I'm making 0.6% of what Owens said was too little. I have a college degree in Mechanical Engineering. What does Owens have? Oh yeah, he has to go out and catch footballs for 12 or 15 years then he can relax for the rest of his life. He'll never have to worry about his children being able to afford college. Never have to worry about making sure there's enough money for his kids braces and to fix the roof on the house. Why? Because he's made millions playing a game.