Mikna Kelly loves him too... (he's one lucky dude)
Posted on 12/08/2010 6:54:59 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Derek Jeter has had a great career, but last year he hit .270 (mediocre). Nonetheless, he's fielding offers like $45 million for 3 years.
Yet no one seems very angry about exorbitant pay in athletics, as compared to CEOs. Here's Holman Jenkins over at the WSJ:
Said one fan on a New York paper's website: "As far as the money is concerned, I really don't care what they pay him. It's not my money." If it were catching, this healthy-minded attitude toward the paychecks of our fellow man would make the world a better, happier place.
Jeter clearly has alpha in a narrowly defined sphere that most of us recognize. We can see he is good at what he does--much better than us or most anyone else--and thus he earns his pay. In contrast, the suspicion is that CEOs are merely involved in a massive crony-capitalism game that discriminates against those who don't have the right family and friends. That strikes many as unfair.
Former Clinton Attorney General Jamie Gorelick made $40 million while running Fannie Mae (FNMA) and the mortgage market into the ground. Rahm Emmanuel made $16.2 million in his two-and-a-half-years as an investment banker. Bob Rubin pocketed $150 million while working for Citigroup (C). The list goes on and on (recent OMB director Peter Orszag was just hired as an investment banker by Citibank). These are problematic because we know they are getting paid merely for access--Rubin claims he was totally unaware Citi had $54 billion in mortgages on its balance sheet, which was probably true--for getting the right person to answer a phone, or bury some exception in the latest 2000-page bill or trade agreement. That's a game not available to most of us.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.fortune.cnn.com ...
Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal made $46 million and $48 million in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and then got a $161 million severance package after Merrill was sold for a song to Bank America (BAC).
It's great to be a CEO, ruin a company, make millions leaving it.
Or not earn it as the case may be.
There's nothing to be angry about, I simply stopped watching sports years ago. It's ridiculous.
Here in Tampa, we have a pretty good football team, the Bucs, that NOBODY sees, because home games have been blacked out all year because the stadium isn't sold out..and ticket prices are reasonable..$40-50 bucks can get you a seat. NFL and NBA players are gonna be locked out next season..maybe they can have beach volleyball tourneys..
I sort of care. I used to go to baseball games, before tickets became an investment. I used to watch on TV too back when sponsors names were mentioned only during the breaks between half innings; and the games took less than two and a half hours.
ML/NJ
I don’t know. I hear people complain more about athletes salaries and CEOs on a regular basis. Jeter picked the worst possible time to have a down year. The year before was one of his better. No one knows for sure if he is declining or if he just had a bad year. I suspect some of both. He no doubt can still perform, especially at the plate. He hopefully has an aggressive off-season workout schedule in place.
I can still name more baseball players, football players and basketball players from the 70s and 80s than I can from the last 5 years.
I don't care what they get paid because I never pay a dime to see any of them.
All I'm saying is at least we get to see for our ownselves what they are doing for their money.
I would gladly pay 50 bucks to sit in the boardroom of some major company and boo the board members or dump beer on their heads for whatever boneheaded "plays" they make.
I bet if they paid Jeter 50K a year, ticket and hotdog prices would be the same,,,but it would go into the team owners pocket. The player deserves it because he creates *more than that* for the team owner. If he wasnt worth it, the team owner would pay some other guy 3 million to do what he does. A team owner doesnt have a federal reserve to print his cash,,,
Im glad Jeter gets it. And Gorelick, Rham, etc,,are nothing but theives. He deserves it way more than the CEOs who utterly bankrupt a company and still demand a bonus.
And the proof of my position is this, go buy tickets for any top level Broadway show in NYC. Those actors are usually paid little more than a survival wage,,,
but you’d never know it from the ticket prices and the endless licensing of products, dvds, cds, etc etc,,,,
WE LOVE YOU DEREK!
NFL and NBA are starting to realize that the players have taken control of the games, and are threatening the financial stability of the leagues..look, these players have no where else to go...you could cut payroll 50% across the board..all teams...all leagues, and they’d still do very well...
Some are, but the composer, director, producer, and top stars make a fortune...that’s what drives ticket prices..getting the top talent..I’m not advocating interfering in the sports models..people can do whatever they want..but it is an unsustainable trend..the Bucs are showing that..
“I can still name more baseball players, football players and basketball players from the 70s and 80s than I can from the last 5 years.”
lol,, me too. Honestly, a lot of the culture left me behind on that. Especially the NBA Gangsta thing.
If payrolls were cut 50%, you wouldn’t see a penny of difference in the ballpark prices.
The Louisville Bats, the local AAA team, is currently offering a special Christmas gift package; 8 tickets to the games of your choice plus a program autographed by the entire team for $49. That is just over $6 per game! You have to pay more for parking than you would for your ticket.
producer=team owner. And most stage “stars” are amazingly low-paid.
Bada bing! You nailed it,,, AAA is exactly where it’s at. Better ball, more fun, and seats you could only dream of in a major park. Better cheaper dogs too. Most have free parking too,,,,
Not to mention your kid might even have a chance to run the bases after the game,,,or get a broken bat from the dugout. My daughter loves AAA
I recently saw an old Twilight Zone episode in which Ivan Dixon portrayed a washed up boxer. I know it's just Twilight Zone, but I thought it was interesting.
It was probably 1961, there is a black boxer who has not had a great career. He was kind, he was sensitive, he was articulate. He wasn't full of himself. I can't think of too many athletes today who behave like that. It also struck me that in 1961, a lot of people had exposure to boxing. It was a good sport. Many kids boxed as they grew up. A TV show using a boxer to illustrate an athlete and his failure to seize a second chance made perfect sense -- but I don't think it would resonate with people today.
For the gangsterism of all major sports, and the decline of boxing in particular, I always point to Mohammad Ali. The guy was a jerk.
Yea well I’m a girl and I could care less about MINKA!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.