I know that people get upset about how much money professional athletes get paid to play a game. I always find their passionate arguments about waste and the under appreciation of teachers comical. Don’t get me wrong; the fact that being 7 feet tall practically entitles you to a multi-million dollar basketball contract is patently absurd. But if we look at the business model, it makes perfect sense.
Athletes are an asset, and as an asset it is logical to pay them any absurd amount of money as long as it is lower than what they generate. Why should anyone pay Manny Ramirez $25 million? It’s not because he can hit a baseball at a Hall of Fame level. It’s because of the tens of thousands fans who will buy his jersey and attend extra games during the year just to see him. It’s because of those ridiculous dreadlock hats that were so contagious last year. So if you want to blame sports for being financially irresponsible, you really need to point your finger at the general public.
By the way, if you want to make the argument that the general public is idiotic, you won’t hear an argument from me. But sports are a form of escapism, just like going to the movies or reading a good book. And sometimes forgetting about your life for a couple of hours is worth a dollar or two. But that’s just me.
Part of the sports business model is completely upside down, but we’ll talk about that later.
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