Salaries in Sports

The head basketball coach at the University of Connecticut recently lost his cool when questioned by a reporter about his $1.6 million salary, his status as a state employee, and whether or not he thought his pay was a bit exorbitant considering the state of the economy. The coach responded with a bitter, angry tirade about his program's contributions to the university ($12 million per year). Coach Jim Calhoun is obviously well-compensated for his job, he is a beloved figure in the state of Connecticut, and his team is one of the best in the country year after year. Why is he so grouchy?

The question was probably irrelevant to the post-game news conference, and probably intended to grab attention as much as to gain any real insight. Calhoun's response was probably a little harsh and certainly unprofessional (the governor of Connecticut has expressed her embarrassment over Calhoun's actions).
But salaries in sports are a matter of concern to many people, and a proper examination of the situation is relevant in these uncertain economic times.

College coaches at major programs earn enormous salaries for doing what a great many people can only dream of doing, and would do for free if given the chance. Their jobs, however, are not easy or always fun. They put in long hours and live under a lot of stress. But so do politicians, teachers, nurses, and just about everybody else who tries to balance success at work and at home as well. One can argue that they are in a performance-based profession, where the most successful coaches earn the highest salaries. That's true, but our own head football coach at the University of Nebraska, Bo Pelini, earns over $1 million a year, and he was guaranteed that before he had coached a single game! And his seven figure salary actually ranks second to last in the Big 12 Conference, though our team certainly didn't. Former Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik was just awarded a $2 million per year contract at Auburn. His stellar record at Iowa State that earned him such a rich reward? 5 wins in the past two years. Hmm...doesn't really seem performance-based to me!

And of course, the athletes get paid more than the coaches! Baseball players sign contracts worth up to $27 million a year! And they still get paid even if they don't play! If you're over 7 feet tall, an NBA team will pay you over $10 million dollars a year to simply grab the ball out of the air after other players miss shots. Alas, our poor football players don't make nearly as much as their round-ball brethren. Few players make more than $2 million a year, and if they get hurt, they DON'T get paid.

Here's a stat for you. In 1978, the average teacher salary in the US was around $12,000. Today it is around $40,000, an increase of close to 3.5 times. The average MLB salary in 1978 was a little under a hundred thousand dollars. Today it is almost $3 million. That is an increase of....about thirty times!!! Why such a disparity?

Sports have become a big business. TV and the Internet have made owners rich, and the players and coaches simply get paid (pretty fairly) what they're worth. The problem with coach and player salaries is that they have been so artificially inflated. One superstar holds out until he gets an eye-poppingly ridiculous contract, paying him a large percentage more than what other star players make. What happens next? The next time the other big stars are up for contracts, they hold out until they get what they "deserve". And so on and so forth, until even the most mediocre of players is raking in millions of dollars a year.

The world's best teacher could hold out...and promptly be shown the door. He or she is easily replaced. The athlete could be replaced just as easily, but some sucker will pay him what he asks. Teachers could strike...but they won't because of their sense of duty and responsibility to society. The athlete does not have these feelings.

I am not a sports hater! I love sports! I watch them religiously. And I am the problem. Like so many others, I have created the monster by watching and reading about and even blogging about sports. I have paid $60 to see a football game, but I would probably not attend an educational lecture unless it was free! Are inflated salaries in sports a problem? Maybe. Are they fair? In some ways yes, but mostly...no, no they're not. Do we have anyone to blame but ourselves? Definitely not.