WHO HAS THE REAL MONEY PROBLEMS - NBA OWNERS VERSUS PLAYERS
Give Me All Your Money!
NBA financial greed: it’s on both sides, but who is really paying for it?
I keep watching the back and forth between the NBA players and owners. The players think they should get a bigger piece of the pie, because without them there would be no league. They also make the owners lots of money. The owners feel they should have the lion’s share because, well, they are the owners. They put up the money, personal guarantees, etc. to buy and fund the teams. They have the biggest financial burden, hence they should get more. This is the NBA’s idea of money problems?
The Math of Greed
I think that they all are being incredibly greedy. The thought that making multimillions a year …A YEAR… is just not enough boggles my little brain. I understand that the players have a limited time to make money. The average basketball career is 15 years, while a majority of us work for 40 years. With that said, the average basketball salary is $5.8 million a year. Hmmm… the math is simple. The players who play for 15 years can earn up to $87 million in their careers. Isn’t it enough? I haven’t even touched what the owners make.
Okay, I’m getting off my soapbox. My point is this. We — the fans with real money problems — pay the owners and players. We buy the tickets, paraphernalia and refreshments at games. If we don’t go to a game, we watch it on TV, which contributes to viewership that lends to advertising rates for commercials for which the players get paid for endorsements.
Average cost of NBA game for a family of four:
Economy parking: $7
Tickets: $48/each = $192 (hope we can see the players)
Food/Drink: $8/each = $32 (nonalcoholic)
Total: $231
[ Hey, if we figured out how to budget for a great steak dinner, then we can figure out how to budget for a family outing to the ball game too! ]
Average capacity of an NBA arena = 18,000. That’s $1,039,500 a game.
I know that not every game is sold out in every arena, but you get the idea. There is serious money being made by the NBA.
Enough already, owners and players! There is plenty to go around since the average Joe is really paying your paychecks.