Show Me The Money!!!!

Contracts for professional sports athletes have reached astronomical levels.  You can not blame these athletes for going after an amount of money that someone is willing to pay them.  How do these salaries compare to the income of the average fan?

An increasingly common contract value in Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association is $35 million per season.  In comparison the median income in the US in 2018 was just under $62,000, roughly the annual salary of a school teacher.  I will refer to these people earning that amount as "average fans."

Let the comparisons begin.  One $35M contract equates to 564 average fans requiring 29 rows at 20 seats per row.

Baseball

A starting pitcher pitches one out of five games resulting in 32 games a season.  A pitcher of this caliber will pitch on average 7 innings a game, 100 total pitches and one strike out per inning.  

Comparison:  $1.1M per game (17.8 average fans),  $11K per pitch, $156K per inning or strike out (2.5 average fans).

A fielding player plays roughly 155 games, three at-bats per game and hits 0.300 resulting in a total of 140 hits for a season.

Comparison:  $226K per game (3.6 average fans), $250K per hit (4 average fans)

To put it another way one strike out equals 2.5 years of work, six pitches equals one year of work or one hit equals four years of work.

Football

Quarterback is the position with the highest pay.  There are 16 games in a season.  In a game there are 70 offensive plays, 36 pass attempts, 22 completions, 2 touchdown passes.

Comparison:  $2.2M per game (35.6 fans), $31K per play (half a fan), $61K per completion (1 fan), $1.1M per TD (17.8 fans)

In other words two pass attempts or one completion equals the annual salary of one fan.

Basketball

A star NBA likely will play 80 games out of an 82 game schedule and averages 32 points per game.

Comparison:  $438K per game (7 fans) and $13.7K per point (1/4th a fan).

In other words two 2-point baskets equals the annual salary of one fan.

As I write this there are talks that one NFL quarterback may attain the $50M per season level.  While we have looked at some large dollar amounts lets compare average player salaries.  Major League Baseball $4.4M, National Football League $2.7M and National Basketball Association $7.7M.  These salaries may seem rather lofty for the average fan but when compared with the upper extremes they have the appearance of "normality."

Another interesting comparison is the value of a sports team.  Pro sports teams range in value from one to five billion dollars.  You would have to work every day (365) for three years at $1M per day to be able to afford a bottom end value pro sports team.

The high value player contracts do make for some interesting comparisons.

If You Build It, They Will Come

The amount of money involved in professional sports today is staggering!  The extravagance of stadiums, player contracts, ticket prices and the value of teams is almost beyond comprehension.  Regardless of the high costs we still love to watch our sports, perhaps more than ever before.

There is something to be said about attending a college/professional sporting event in person.  Even if you do not have the best seats there is something about the sounds, smells, electricity of the crowd and the fact that you can say "I was there."

As a spectator I have observed that there are three elements in the evolution of the facilities that host large scale sporting events.

New sports venues over recent decades have increased accessibility, improved comfort features and amenities, created better seats and sight lines and are arguably more aesthetically pleasing.  Comfort control, retractable roof and options to buy gourmet food are all par for the course.  As a spectator I must say that I do not miss old venues with nicknames like "barn" or "dump" regardless of their nostalgic appeal.

A second element in the evolution of sports venues is the shift in philosophy of the game day experience going from fan to corporation.  Simply put, seats for fans have been replaced with corporate luxury boxes or suites.  A good example is Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.



Compare the press box in the before picture in the top photo to the massive block of corporate suites in the photo on the bottom (after renovations).  I do not blame schools/teams for taking advantage of the opportunity for financial gain, more power to them.  Suites offer the opportunity to watch a game in luxurious opulence, but at the price of sacrificing seats for the average "true" fan.

All the benefits of the new venues come at a price.  An increase in comparative cost should be expected as new venues have more/better facilities and features.  Here are a few examples of "nice" stadiums from recent days gone by compared to "nice" stadiums of today.

Houston Astrodome:  1965, $35M ($278 in 2018 funds)
Houston Reliant Stadium (NRG):  2002, $352M
Verdict:  reasonably similar price

Texas Stadium:  1971, $35M ($221M in 2019 funds)
Cowboys Stadium:  2009, $1.2B
Verdict:  steep increase in expense, cost due to ego?

Los Angeles Rose Bowl:  1922, $272K ($3.4M in 2018 funds)
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: 1923, $1M ($14 in 2018 funds)
Los Angeles Rams/Chargers stadium:  expected opening fall 2020, estimated cost $5B
Verdict:  staggering increase, hard to grasp

Modern sports venues are a pleasure to patronize with their features and comforts.  A high ticket price may be the price you pay (no pun intended) for the improved experience.  The choice of attending or not attending an event is up to the individual.