“Oh, Look at me in my fancy car
And my bank account
Oh, how I wish I could take it all down
Into my grave, God knows I’d save and save
Man, Take a look again, take a look again,
Things you have collected,
Well in the end it all piles up so tall
to one big nothing, one big nothing at all”
–Dave Matthews Band
I was in Target the other night with Mrs. Cheap Seats doing some Christmas shopping before it gets too crazy. Aside from the parentless screaming kid that made me want to shoot myself in the face, there was another memorable moment that helped put things in perspective for me. Some loud-mouth was in the restroom talking on his cell phone (by the way, not acceptable); he was talking about how he was just laid off, but he was out buying Christmas gifts for everyone because he was going to tell people that he lost his job after the holidays. He was talking about how he didn’t know how he was going to pay for the gifts, but he figured that it would work itself out.
Isn’t it ironic that we can live in an economic climate where people are losing their jobs around Christmas time, people are struggling to make ends meet, homeowners are hoping to be able to keep up with their mortgage and the New York Yankees can spend $243 million on two guys that don’t even play everyday? God bless capitalism.
Usually, I don’t care how much sports figures make and I could care even less how much the owners pay them. If an agent can find someone to pay their client some absurd amount of money for their services, more power to them. It’s not my money—and if it’s one of my teams, even better! Maybe it was CC Sabathia’s record contract for a pitcher. Maybe it was the fact that the Dodgers are afraid to pay anyone that makes more than Mark Loretta. Or maybe it’s because I just heard someone talk about how he can’t pay for Christmas gifts while I was taking a leak in a department store yet the Yankees payroll looks less like a professional sports franchise and more like the Gross National Product of Tonga. Whatever the catalyst for my soapbox moment, I think that the sports world needs a little perspective.
In case you missed it, the Yankees just dropped two huge contracts on a couple of free agents to help turn around their pitching staff while they open up their new stadium next season. AJ Burnett was able to pry a guaranteed 5th year from the Yankees to put the total worth of his contract at $82.5 million dollars. In a world of multi-million dollar contracts thrown around to above-average players, sometimes we become callous to the fact that this is A LOT of money to play a game. But Burnett’s contract is nothing compared to his new teammates…
CC Sabathia, the prized jewel of this year’s free agent pitching class, landed the biggest contract for a pitcher in the history of sports. New York dropped a 7 year, $161 million bomb on the rest of the baseball world that was so staggering it convinced Sabathia to give up his hope to play for a team in the National League on the West Coast. New York would be exactly the opposite of what he was publically looking for in an organization, but he has 161,000,000 reasons to compromise his desires.
CC Sabathia: 7 years, $161 million ($23 mill per year)
AJ Burnett: 5 years, $82.5 million ($16.5 mill per year)
Total: $243.5 million ($39.5 mill per year)
Now for that perspective that I promised. Sabathia and Burnett make almost as much as the Los Angeles Kings 2008-09 payroll: $41,547,500. What makes that more amazing is that the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement features a salary floor. The salary floor forces all owners to spend a minimum amount of money on their payroll—yet two guys that play every 5th game will make as much as 25 guys will make over an 82 game season. Take awake the salary floor and you have a team like the Florida Marlins. Sabathia by himself makes more per year than their entire team! (23m vs. 21.8m).
Comparing the New York Yankees prized Christmas gifts to a league that has been struggling for most of the decade probably isn’t the fairest comparison. Everyone pretty much agrees that the NFL is the gold-standard for sports leagues today, so that might be a better comparison. Tom Brady one of the highest paid football players and 3 time Super Bowl champion, has made $58,698,973 in his entire career. Of course, the major difference between these two players (aside from their salary) is their production in the playoffs. Brady has 3 rings and has won the Super Bowl MVP twice. On the other hand, Sabathia has 1-3 career postseason record with an astronomical 7.92 ERA. Those are his career stats when the money is on the line. Since he’s going to the most pressure-packed city in the country with their fans already questioning his worth, what happens if he continues that trend in the Big Apple? It’s a recipe for disaster.
We shouldn’t be mad at the players or even the agents. Part of me isn’t even mad at the owners—because obviously there is a market (albeit the Yankees are a little over market on both of these pitchers). Not to get all 1960’s Berkeley student on you, but how the hell can society watch this happen while the economy is in the worst recession of the last 80 years?
It’s been well-reported that our historical housing crisis is something that our country has never seen. The American dream has always been to own a home with a white picket fence and have 2.5 kids. Now, many people that have a house are having a problem keeping it; and people that don’t have a house feel like they’ll never be able to afford one. In Orange County, one of the most expensive areas in the country, the median home is $480,000. With CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett’s new salaries, you could buy over 500 houses in Orange County (507 to be exact). Not 1–but 500!
What about the increasing costs of sending kids to college? Another part of the American way is the notion that we are all mobile within our class structure—if we work hard enough, we can always give our kids a better life. But as lay-offs AND the cost of living increase, tuition costs are increasing just as quickly. It certainly seems like we’re in a world that college is becoming more an option for the rich while the poor see the door shut in their face. There are some parents that would work two jobs, skip meals and do whatever it takes just to send one child to college. For playing baseball, Sabathia and Burnett could pay for a 4 year full ride to UCLA for 7,602 students.
Sometimes it’s just hard to comprehend how much money $243 million is in the real world. We continuously hear about these outrageous contracts on SportsCenter and exorbitant budget numbers on CNN, its hard to look at these numbers from the point of view of our everyday lives. Even commercials have become a joke—Sally Struthers and Save the Children ask for $20 donations per month to sponsor a child. For the amount of money the Yankees are spending on CC and AJ, 1,014,583 kids could be sponsored for a year. So really, the Yankees could help eliminate poverty. Unfortunately, it’s more important that a guy has a good curve ball or a nasty slider.
I never thought I’d be the kind of guy that cared about salaries or thought that organizations were irresponsible for spending obscene amounts of money on player salaries. In the grand scheme of things, I never really thought it affected me in any way, shape or form. But I know that times are tough for everyone. I know that MY ticket prices are going to go up. And I know that guy who was rudely yapping on the phone while I was trying to take a piss is going to have a hard time making ends meet this Christmas.
Sports are supposed to be an escape from reality—but this is ridiculous.
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
