Is one player worth $412m?
EVERY SATURDAY The Chronicle team talks about the bigger issues in sport locally, nationally and internationally.
Today Glen, Jason and Sean made a concious decision to not talk about cricket or football coaches.
The sport team has turned its attention to Major League Baseball after reports this week that Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper turned down a 10-year $412 million contract – the biggest free agent contract in the history of the four major sports US sports (baseball, gridiron, basketball and ice hockey).
Jason Gibbs: I think it’s safe to say that the wages paid to athletes here and abroad are ridiculous.
I understand and accept it’s by no means an easy job – full of stress, uncertainty, pressure and high demands – but let’s be honest it’s also a pretty good gig.
Who wouldn’t love being paid to play the sport you grew up playing as a kid?
It’s the type of job just about everyone would love to have but the money thrown at our elite athletes is hard to comprehend.
I really don’t understand how an athlete is seen to be worth a few hundred thousand a year (here in Australia) let alone be considered worthy of a yearly pay cheque of around $41 million like the one offered to Harper.
And how do you decide what one player is worth compared to another?
The margin between success and failure can be so fine in sport and yet teams and owners are willing to essentially gamble on their future by throwing around giants wads of cash.
And where exactly does all that money come from?
The Major League Baseball is long and its fans are passionate but can a team recuperate $41 million a year on season ticket, merchandise, beer and hotdog sales? I don’t think so.
I guess someone has crunched the numbers though and they see the value in Bryce Harper the player and the brand.
And in the end a “product” is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it – no matter how crazy the price tag.
Sean Teuma: There’s no doubting $41m per year is a damn lot of cash for one player!
Not knowing a great deal about the MLB and the ins and outs of its salary cap, it does come off as a bit excessive at first.
But then you think about just how much impact one player can have on not only a team, but an organisation.
Look at LeBron James and the revenue he’s bringing in for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
Not only are ticket prices through the roof, but you need to be a miracle worker to get your hands on one.
Merchandise is flying out the door and the Lakers, who have been an absolute shambles for years, are relevant again on the court.
He’s on more than $30m per season, however the financial benefits for the team would far outweigh that figure.
If Bryce Harper has a similar impact in the MLB, then give the man his cash and watch the money fly through the gates.
Glen McCullough: Everyone knows the money offered to Bryce Harper is a joke, including him and the people who came up with the ridiculous figure.
But it’s called market price and any player lucky enough to be in the sights of a club willing to shell out that amount of cabbage, well good luck to them.
What person wouldn’t grab that sort of deal?
Well, Harper it would appear, if reports are right.
But after all the club can splash out how ever much it likes.
It is its money — or is it? We don’t know the finer details.
Other parties and sponsors would need to be involved but it’s safe to say most of the money comes from the pockets of fans and supporters who pay at the gate or at home on pay television.
They would love nothing more than to see Harper running around in their colours and if he is “winning” games for them no price is too high because we all know winning is the only thing that matters.
The market place sets the price and punters foot the bill.
The day they stop is the day outrageous payments stop.
It’s called supply and demand.