Make Money Money

For Love Of The Game. That's the motto and the anthem of this blog. That's why we cheer so hard for players like Ronnie Turiaf and that's what makes sports so exhilarating. But there is no denying the simple truth that professional athletes today get paid vast sums of money. And it would be naive to believe that they play the game solely out of their love for it. In fact, many might be playing purely for monetary reasons as even the average players in the top U.S. leagues make mid-to-high six figure minimums. It begs the question: Have we lost the purity of the game amidst the tidal wave of salary earnings and endorsement deals?

Sports Illustrated recently released a list of the top 50 highest-earning athletes in the U.S. this past year and a breakdown of their earnings between salary and endorsements. I figured it would be fun to take a look at the top 10. The results just might surprise you.

1. Tiger Woods ($23 Million Winnings + $105 Million Endorsements = $128Million)
2. Phil Mickelson ($9 Million Winnings + $53 Million Endorsements = $62 Million)
3. Lebron James ($12.5 Million Salary + $28 Million Endorsements = $40.5 Million)
4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. ($20 Million Salary + $20 Million Endorsements = $40 Million)
5. Kobe Bryant ($19.5 Million Salary + $16 Million Endorsements = $35.5 Million)
6. Shaquille O'Neal ($20 Million Salary + $15 Million Endorsements = $35 Million)
7. Alex Rodriguez ($29 Million Salary + $6 Million Endorsements = $35 Million)
8. Kevin Garnett ($22 Million Salary + $9 Million Endorsements = $31 Million)
9. Peyton Manning ($17.5 Million Salary + $13 Million Endorsements = $30.5 Million)
10. Derek Jeter ($22 Million Salary + $8 Million Endorsements = $30 Million)
Of course no one should be surprised to see Tiger Woods topping the list. I don't know of a product he DOESN'T push on my TV screen. I was surprised at the sheer size of that endorsement number for the year at $105 Million. He more than DOUBLES everyone on the list and TRIPLES everyone except number 2. It is safe to say that he has become this generations Michael Jordan. Another two years at this pace and he will be the first $1Billion dollar sports earner ever. Not too shabby.

I was shocked to see Phil Mickelson at number 2 with a whopping $53 million in endorsements. I know he is a fan favorite and I hear people actually watch and follow golf but $53 million? Seriously? It is still up for discussion whether or not golf is actually a sport versus a skill. There is no doubt that Mickelson would have serious trouble competing in any cardiovascular activity. I doubt that he could run a mile under the 12 minute mark that the state requires for all 6th graders. And to be honest I can't think of what products sponsor him. Must be a bunch of financial companies catering to the older white guys who know who he is. Questionable.

The biggest surprise name on the list has to be Mayweather. Haven't we all decided that boxing is on the way out in the mainstream sports media. No one is excited about that sport anymore. I guess you can never underestimate the bump the comes after doing Dancing With The Stars. I seem to recall him fighting in a WWF match recently. That MUST mean things are going good.

It seems to me that Kobe has positioned himself for the biggest rise in the list come next year's rankings. He is going for an NBA Championship and Finals MVP to go along with his regular season MVP this year. And it has been a long 4 years since his run in with the law and that alleged incident in Colorado. Nike has already jumped back on board and I expect he will have many more sponsors come this off-season. Think about it, the guy jumps over Aston Martins in youtube videos in order to make a little more in the endorsement game. Not to mention water pits with snakes in them. So are these athletes worth the money? And has the sanctity of the game been lost with the huge increases in earnings? The old boston celtics players of the late 50s and 60s were champions many times over and leaders of the NBA. And yet many if not most of the players (Russell excluded) worked summer jobs in the off-season to cover their bills. It almost seems impossible to fathom that kind of a scenario with todays pro sports environment. In today's sporting world the growth in the media outlets and the market for advertising revenues has expanded so vastly that its hard to argue against the justification for paying these salaries/incomes. If the owners of the teams are willing to fork out the cash for these players then it must be worth it from a bottom line perspective.

The question of athletes being overpaid is really a function of our society and how much stake we put into entertainment and celebrities. If we actively campaigned and worked with as much passion for our school system budgets and medical care as we do for our sports teams then maybe the dollar amounts would change. After all, the demand drives the product. If there is no audience for a team or a league then the money goes away and it all dries up. Would this ever happen in a world where we care more about the winner of American Idol than the President of the Country? Don't hold your breath.

So it only goes up and up from here. Can the athlete of today hold on to that purity of sport that begins when he/she is a kid shooting hoops in the driveway after school? Can he/she manage to separate the game from the business that it actually is? Are there more Ronnie Turiaf's out there playing with pure joy and emotion for the sport that they love? I certainly hope so.