NHL, MLB Salary Troubles: Has the Time Come to Reevaluate What Players Make?

As the era of salary cap troubles in the NHL comes fully into fruition, has the time come to ask whether it is necessary to pay athletes this much?  The New Jersey Devils are in salary cap hell after signing Ilya Kovalchuk this past summer to a ridiculous 12-year, $100 million contract.  

The Devils are in desperation mode, as that signing put them over the cap.  They have already resorted to only dressing 15 players one game in attempt to save money, but then were bailed out in the short term when they were able to put a couple of players on injured reserve.  As those players, such as Bryce Salvador, return to active duty, it will become necessary for the Devils to make some additional moves to avoid going over the cap.

The Chicago Blackhawks had to practically dismantle their team this year after winning the cup, since the contracts of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane kicked in, putting them over the cap.  Luckily for the Blackhawks, they were able to retain their highly-talented core, but they still lost most of their grit after dealing away Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Brent Sopel.  

They also let their Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Antti Niemi walk, after they found his salary arbitration award too high, and instead signed veteran Marty Turco for a bargain price.

This is the trend right now in the NHL, and in many other sports, as well.  The top players are making so much money, that there isn't enough salary space left to pay the grinders, the journeymen and older veterans.  

How many free agents right now are considering retirement because there isn't enough money for them?  They are all getting replaced with rookies and young players on entry-level contracts to save money.

Is it necessary for an athlete to make $100 million on a contract?

Is it reasonable that as ticket prices keep going up, these players make as much in one game as most people make in a year?

NHL players get paid every two weeks, like most people in typical jobs. But when players make $10 million a year, they are taking in $192,307.69 per paycheck.  Even the players on the lower end of the pay grade who make $725,000 a year would still make $13,942.31 every two weeks.  

Is this really necessary?

This isn't to say that they shouldn't get paid well; the work and dedication that it requires to get into the very top echelon of players is immense.  They are heroes of the people.  But do they deserve to make millions of dollars each year?

These extravagant pay days in sports makes one wonder, "Are there any players who would turn down a bigger contract for the benefit of the team?  Are there players out there who would say, 'I don't really need that much, I would much leave the team more money to add more skilled players around me?'"

Perhaps that is being naive, but when you hear almost every sports figure say that their decisions are based on winning.  That they signed with this team for the chance to win, or they asked for a trade for a chance to win, then how do they expect to win if they take up most of the team's budget?

The strange thing about NHL salaries is, they don't even compare with the salaries of baseball players.  

The fact alone that the Yankees payroll has been over two hundred million dollars the past three years and is highly unlikely to drop below that level anytime soon suggests the ridiculous pay levels in that sport.  If you look at the Yankees payroll in 2010, they had ten players that make more than Sidney Crosby's $8.7 million a year.  

Ilya Kovalchuk's 12-year, $100 million contract is a relative bargain compared to Alex Rodriguez's 10-year, $275 million contract.

Of course, that is comparing two of the highest paid athletes in either sport, and most players make nowhere near that much.

So why the need for such disparity? Are the upper echelon of players so ego-driven that they have to get paid enormous amounts more than their peers?  Do they believe that since they have worked so hard to get where they are that they are just getting their dues?  

Baseball free agency begins on November 11, and the story lines that will follow should quite accurately reflect the theme of this article.

For instance, Cliff Lee will likely be the most sought-after pitcher, partly because of his almost untouchable record in the playoffs.  His last contract was a four-year deal worth $15 million, and then a $9 million option for 2010.  What kind of money he seeks, and where he goes for that money, will reflect a lot on how focused athletes are on getting their pay day.  

During the playoffs this year, it was brought to the public's attention that Lee's wife was harassed by the Yankees fans when he was pitching in New York.  If Lee and his wife simply ignore their treatment there, and sign with the Yankees because they offer the most money, then what does that say?

On the other side of things, Lee has pitched tremendously for several years now, and deserves to be compensated for it.  He also has been traded back and forth all over the United States the past few years, and has never complained, but rather went about his business almost flawlessly, which speaks of his character.  

So it would make sense that Lee would go for a lot of money, and would speak more about the culture of baseball in terms of money right now and less about his character as a person.

But how could you go about reducing what professional athletes make, and in turn reducing the costs of tickets and merchandise for the average sports fan?  This is not an easy question to answer, especially because contracts have almost unilaterally grown over the years.

It has a chance of happening in hockey, because teams are trying to operate under the salary cap and general managers are trying to avoid making the mistakes of their peers.  But in baseball, with no salary cap, and teams like New York and Boston always driving up the costs, a reduction in the near future seems highly unlikely.

Until fans revolt in large-scale numbers, stop paying the ridiculous ticket prices and purchasing the highly overpriced merchandise, players will keep demanding and getting their massive pay days.  

Or, as I imagine most fans have already done, they will just have to come to terms with the fact that the players they watch and follow everyday make far more than they will likely ever make.