Alright, this is just too much. These people are making a lot more than minimum wage and they aren't even really working. What benefit are they bringing to society? Sure, they're entertainers, but do they need to be payed millions of dollars a year? That's just overkill. the government should step in and regulate this industry of crime against the working class.

i dont go for "professional" sports. they dont even like playing! they only care about their money. i go one step down: college sports. the reason for that is because at that stage they dont get paid and still like playing. the money totally diverts their good intensions (like there was any in the first place)

Wolfy when he's happy...........................wolfy when he's mad

Our sportsman are paid a lot of money but nothing in comparison to what the Americans get. We salary cap most sports and if teams are found to be going over their salary caps they incur severe penalties. There have been a few teams who have been caught and have been on the verge of bankruptcy after paying off the fines. Still most Australians play for the love of the game, sure there are a few just out to line there own pockets, but most would prefer to play for their childhood team and maybe earn $50k a year less.

That guy has nothing on David Beckam, he signed a contract for four years at the bargain basement price of £25million....and if you account for exchange rates then thats closer to 50 million US dollars.

I don't get it, I honestly don't. When I hear about football players getting £20,000 a game I want to lay down and cry. Its disgusting. Not a few hundred yards from every single stadium in the UK there are people who are homeless and are searching bins for food...and then inside you've got 22 men who are collectively earning close to a £500,000 for 90 minutes work.

Don't even get me started

Edited by - gromit on 3/13/2004 5:18:41 PM

I like to think of it as sheer stupidity, and a sign that we are sports nutts. I cannot bear to watch footy, and REALLY resent the fact that our footballers make a fortune.

Put it this way, i think they should have massive taxes upon them because:

Top footballers can earn 80,000 pounds a week. that is 160,000 dollars per week, every week of the year. They play football (soccer to you americans), and although they do train hard, it doesn't seem to be a truly disagreable living that they have.........they never complain.

however - every WEEK that they play football is a YEARS salary for a doctor.
A footballer kicks a ball around whilst people shout and scream
A doctor saves lives, treats the ill, and is a general hero.
A footballer needs no qualifications at all, just some natural talent
A doctor needs to be intelligent to study unpaid for 6+ years.

However, most poeple aspire to being a footballer, because the media has truly glorified the game to such an extent that they have their own little celebrity niche. They are role models for hundreds of thousands of kids, who all want to be sports stars........and so do no work or studying. People want to be rich and famous, I wouldn't mind the rich, but i would hate the famous. Society needs to change somewhat, and someone definately needs to put a foot down, laugh in the footballers agents faces and tell them to piss of when demanding such high wages - as it really is ludicrous.

*edit* - top footballers earn more than i knew, my figures are about 3 years old

Like Gromit says, homeless people everywhere, and not a penny to spare.
I love those fund raisers for charity, where they get famous poeple on, but i really just want to ask of some guests exactly WHAT they are giving....
Why get the minimum wage poeple digging deep, when they are multimillionaires all around professing how much money they need for the cause. I think they should have a celebrity board for those who have donated, cause i swear most of them don't bother........

Edited by - Chips on 3/13/2004 5:30:31 PM

hooooo celebrities and charities now there's an interesting side subject. You can bet your ass that they all just "donate their time"....how generous

interesting fact: you know how cliff richard always makes himself out to be the second messiah? well about 2 years ago I was reading an article in one of the broadsheets (think it was The Times) about him - apparently he won't do a charity gig unless he is paid!! He has his reasons, something to do with him seeing himself as being able to "help other people donate to the cause" but I think thats disgusting....especially when you see him on telethons bigging himself up to be doing fantastic work for charity.

Overpaid? Uh....hmmmmmmm...........

David Beckham may be making the equivalent of $50MM over 4 years (a few digits over $10Million/year) but US baseball player Alex Rodriguez originally signed a deal to be paid a total of $252Million over 10 years. That's right, $25+Million a year. He originally signed with the Texas Rangers. He was just traded to the New York Yankees who rengotiated the balance of his contract down so that they only have to pay $20Million a year.

If any of you want to talk about ludicrous, absurd, ridiculous, stupefying, incredibly unbelievable pay for making a childhood game a profession, let's start with that.

The thing with athletes is this-the sports industry is very selective, and all players have to live through hellish training, not to mention the media. There's also the fact that their jobs are always temporary, and big wages help players to survive after they get too old to play.

The main reason I'd say, though, is that since the sports industry makes a LOT of £money$, a lot of this is inevitably going to end up with the players, not to mention the competition between teams is going to drive the wages up.
The teams have to compete for the best players, and the easiest way to do this is to push up their wages.

That is all.

Great computer!
What kinda chip you got in there?
A dorito?

The thing I found funny was the media's response to the behaviour of the England rugby team in the World Cup. At the same time a bunch of English footballers were in trouble for "roasting". I noticed that a lot of the columns in the sports sections of newspapers were rather taken aback by a bunch of professional sportsmen who don't swear at the ref, get in fights in night clubs, were polite to the press. The reason I believe they're so different is partially due to the fact that to play rugby you can't play as a group of individuals like in football, but as a team which therefore requires respect and discipline. But the main factor would have to be that the rugby players weren't receiving stupendously high wages nor living the lifestyle of the famous and powerful. They weren't corrupted by all the money as it seems to have done in football.
I do however feel that professional athletes need to be able to earn enough during their professional days to be able to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. They give up a lot of things we take for granted to be able to take their sport to that higher level, they may put themselves at serious physical risk in the course of their job and sacrifice the chances of getting decent wages in another career when they are too old or are injured.

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Law last month called a four-year $26 million offer from the Patriots an "insult" and a "slap in the face."

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"I would be a fool to take less than what I already make," Law said. "I said it a thousand times, I'm not taking no pay cut."

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No further questions...

Topsport is very much overrated and most "athletes" are getting more then they deserve, especially when you compare it to what the "ordinary" working man earns. I mean, for crying-out-loud, it's just a f-ing hobby. Nobody's paying me nothing for those 2500+ posts I made last year...

As Mustang said, our Australian heroes, I'm sorry; sportsmen, I'm sorry; sportspeople , have a cap upon their salaries, but this does not prevent them from being paid in six-zero sums for advertising. Here in Aus., the sportsmen are placed up on pedestals, and are venerated for playing "a game that they love". It really goes over the top, and many of them aren't even good role-models. It's one of the things I hate abouty Australian culture. I'd elaborate but that's another story .

Hey, don't be so hard on them. They work really hard*, and will have a lasting benefit on humanity*. They deserve every penny* they get, and should be worshipped as gods*. If we are to ever reach the technological abilities of the humans portrayed in such games as the Lancer series, we need sportsfolk*. If we are ever to achieve world peace, end world hunger and disease, then we need sportsfolk*. If it weren't for them, the general population of the Western world wouldn't nearly be as bright*, generous*, educated* and lovely* as they are. I think that sportsfolk are a good thing for mankind* and should be paid ridiculous sums of money* for the necessary services* they provide.

If you couldn't detect the dangerous levels of sarcasm in the above paragraph, I urge you to seek out medical attention immediately.

*=NOT!

_____________________________
"If it aint on fire, you haven't shot it up bad enough yet" - my old teacher on Planet Housten.

The Bounty Hunter Intelligence and Tactical Computer System

Check this out, it's relevant. Is it better to be a jock or nerd?

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Game over. Nerd wins.

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LMAO, that showed those sports people. So the nerd who makes an operating system that drives people completely, and totally, insane earns more than the guy who throws a ball through a hoop? Now I'm not sure which I'd rather see rolling in mone

_____________________________
"If it aint on fire, you haven't shot it up bad enough yet" - my old teacher on Planet Housten.

The Bounty Hunter Intelligence and Tactical Computer System