Todays Athlete Is Out of Touch With The Working Man

In today’s world professional athletes make Hugh sums of money. They have to be gifted athletically to play any sport professionally. I am sure it is not like a 9 to 5 job. Many people have the misconception that they have it made and they do not have to work. Nothing is further from the truth. They must work hard or the game will pass them by eventually. Maybe in college you can ride on the coattails of athleticism, but not in the professional game.

We have all seen so many talent athletes come into the game and exit the game as quickly. This happens mostly because of a lack of work ethic. Ryan Leaf, Heath Shuler, Mike Williams and many others. I respect the fact that these guys must be at the top of their game to be successful. They must work even harder in the offseason to stay in shape.

These guys are compensated very well. I believe the league minimum for Major League baseball is around $300,000.00, and the league minimum for the NFL is about $300,000.00. Most people could easily live off the league minimum with ease. These are the salaries of guys who go undrafted in the NFL. After a player plays the game for a certain period of time, he becomes legible for the veteran minimum, which $750,000.00. That is outstanding! Can you imagine the guys who make millions? A few years ago Lance Briggs threatens to sit out the year if the bears put the franchise tag on him. They did just that, and he was making $450,000.00 per game. NFL players get paid weekly during the 17 week season. When I first got out of college, my first working gig paid me $20,000.00. Last year Michael Crabtree held out for months because he and the 49er organization could not come to agreement on his compensation. He eventually signed a 6 year $32,000,000.00 deal.

We as fans, idolize these guys. We often hear of these guy’s legal issues. Many times these guys are great on the field, but their lives off the field are a mess. Last year an Icon here in Nashville was killed, Steve McNair. He was loved and adored by the fans in Tennessee. My 7 year old son wanted to know why that woman killed. I responded back that he was a great player on the field, but he wasn’t a good person off the field. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good guys in the NFL. For every good family man in the NFL, you can find 20 guys who break the law, cheat on their wives, or better yet even beat their wives.

These guys are truly out of touch with what life would be like to just make $30,000.00 a year. Most of the guys that make all that money blow it all. I saw a story last year that reported that 70% of all professional athletes declare bankruptcy after they retire. The accusation of Michael Irvin raping a woman in Florida got me started on this rant. Do these guys not realize that women view them as a target simply because they have money? If they were real family men they would not have these secret affairs. The bottom line is this, some players are outstanding on the field, but they are lousy people off the field.