Big bucks spent on little results
October 15, 2015
Remember when NBA players used to play the sport for the glory, for the loyalty of their teams, and for championships? Today, players only seem to be in it for the money. With a new national TV contract, the NBA has been able to raise the salary cap, allowing players to be undeservingly overpaid.
This past summer alone, the 32 NBA teams have combined to spend a whopping $2.5 billion on signing free agents. Over the summer, players were given contracts with ludicrous amounts of money. Many of these players did not even deserve their contracts offered.
Most recently, Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes rejected a four-year, $64 million deal, believing that he deserved more. Barnes is looking for more money than players like teammates Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, as well as reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard and superstar point guard Russell Westbrook. This has to be a mistake. A player who has yet to average 15 points in a season does not deserve this outrageous contract.
The absurdity doesn’t stop there. The Cleveland Cavaliers gave forward Iman Shumpert a deal for four years worth $40 million. Even though it is less than Barnes’ given contract, this deal is even stranger. While Barnes is at least a competent two-way player, Shumpert cannot play on the offensive end at all. Also, he injured his wrist two weeks ago, leaving him out for the first four months of the season. The Cavs essentially paid a backup small forward who, at best averages seven points a game, $10 million this year to sit on the bench.
Additionally, the Cavs have yet to re-sign power forward Tristan Thompson, the back-up for three-time all-star Kevin Love. Thompson delayed his decision due to a foolish belief that he was worth more than the ridiculous $80 million deal that the team offered him. Thompson has had career averages of ten points, eight rebounds, and half a block, which are nowhere near the averages of a big man deserving over $16 million. Since he was offered it, Thompson has rejected all possible contracts, looking for a $94 million deal. Thompson has even been willing to leave the best team in the Eastern Conference just to gain a few more million. So much for loyalty.
With all these numbers and contracts being tossed around, it is clear that there is a huge difference between NBA players and other professionals. The income of star athletes in other sports pales in comparison to basketball players.
It’s no surprise that Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s highest paid player at $25 million a year, but when you compare Aaron Rodgers, the NFL’s highest paid player, to the NBA’s next top earner, Joe Johnson, who is paid $24.5 million a year and didn’t even average 15 points a game last season, the difference is about $2.5 million. That difference is the combined average income of 50 American citizens, and that number is going to continue to grow with the new salary cap.
Truly, players have become businessmen compared to the glory days of the league when the athletes played for the opportunities for titles and their teams. These men have now become players of the owners and not players of the sport.
