How Much Is Too Much

With the NBA contract signings only days away, there has been recent debate over how much is too much for a player to be making. How much is too much money? This debate happens every year and in every sport. Sure, we can say that some players make too much money but the question becomes how much is to much is too much? Who sets these limits? When does it become too much? The truth is that no matter how much these players are being paid, it will always be too much. If the best player in the NBA only made $250,000 a year, you know that there is somebody out there saying that they make to much money. It will always be a debate that will never stop.

So where do these players salaries come from? You, the audience. If it wasn't for you there wouldn't be any basketball and players wouldn't make so much. The money comes from ticket sales, product sales, memorabilia, etc. Same thing goes for TV Stars. Their salaries come from you. How much does it cost to rent a movie? A couple of dollars if that. Now, how much does it cost to go see the same movie at a theatre? Probably triple what it costs to rent it. But we as a society are willing to pay it, so why are we complaining about how much they make? I've paid what most people would say was a lot for a Mavericks game but I didn't have any problems forking out the money because I love the game so much. I have no regrets for paying what I did and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

If you read my last two posts you might be thinking that I have a problem with how much money players make but let me clarify. It's not how much they make that bothers me. It's when it seems like the players are concerned more about money over the love of the game. I want players to be about heart and soul when they play. I don't like it when players demand more money or make the game all about money. That, to me, isn't cool. I tend to look down on players like that.

A few years back, Emmitt Smith, then on the Dallas Cowboys football team, refused to play football for them until he got at least a 5 million dollar a year raise. That's what I'm talking about. Emmitt was demanding that he be paid more or he wasn't going to play. If I was Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, I would have cut him in a heartbeat, because I don't want players on my team that are all about money, but I'll take anybody who is all about the game no matter what their salary.

The bottom line is that most players are not greedy with their money. Most give back hundreds of thousands, even millions, to their community to help them out. Most players help out their families with the money that they make. Most players do a ton of good. Let's stop looking at all the negative and start looking at all the positive that these players are doing.

I guess that the real question should be...Would you turn down 16 million dollars a year, and what would you do with it?