ballinouttacntrol;4906647; said:
well, the mlb is a perfect example of a league where they players make more then the owners....look how thats turned out. how'd that 252 milllion contract alex rodriguez got from the rangers work out? Rangers filed bankruptcy last year...granted, they did make it to the world series though. Do you collectively with your other co workers make more then upper management in your company? i'm not sure why the nfl should be any different. Owners have profit in mind, players have themselves in mind, throw off that balance and the fans are the ones that suffer
If the other MLB owners did what the Steinbrenners do for the Yankees, and reinvest in their teams instead of milking them as a cash cow, then there would be parity.
Note that the Yankees didn't win, didn't even get to the W.S last season, and also note that when the Yankees ARE in it the TV viewing numbers go way up.
On the owners rich list the Steinbrenners, although mega rich, are far down compared to most other owners, yet the Yankees subsidize most other teams through revenue sharing. Yes, the Yanks have a big market, but for years in the 70's, the "CBS' years, before George Steinbrenner bought the team, they were terrible, due to lack of owner investment.
Contrast the Yankees with the Mets, who have a terrible underperforming team despite a mega rich owner and the same NY market as the Yanks.
So its not just the money they spend, but also spending it wisely.
Now....if you have a supreme talent at something, be it sport (A-Rod)or art (Picasso)or science ( Jobs or Gates) , shouldn't you be able to profit from that in a capitalist society, or are you saying socialism is a better system?

Owners and players need each other, perhaps the owners need the players more than the players need the owners, and the players have a very short professional lifespan, especially in NFL, plus the large risk of life threatening brain injuries.
The T.Rangers are mentioned, but their previous owner, Tom Hicks, is a billionaire who milked the team , just like GW Bush did when he bought in for $800k of borrowed money in 89 and cashed out for $15million in 98.
The A-rod contract was silly, but he put butts in seats and drew enormous crowds. The contract that really killed them was chan ho park.
Personally I agree many athletes are overpaid, but I blame agents like Boras for that, not the players who are only following the rules of capitalism and doing what any of you would do in the same situation: getting the most they can for their talent.