Are NBA Players Overpaid?

GloriaJames · Post #61 » by **GloriaJames** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 10:32 pm

kingOfqueens wrote:
GloriaJames wrote:That money has to go somewhere.

Would you prefer that the billionaire owners get even richer?

I'd prefer the tickets and merchandise to fall to a reasonable price, but thats never gonna happen

You're right, it won't happen unless people decide that they don't want to pay that much money to watch basketball games/purchase merchandise. That's why Nets tickets cost significantly less than Bulls tickets.

KembaWalker · Post #62 » by **KembaWalker** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 10:41 pm

JG024 wrote:
KembaWalker wrote:Many of them are. The whole "supply and demand" thing kind of gets thrown out the window with long term guaranteed contracts. There are plenty of guys in the league that are paid far above their current fair market value.

But there are also many guys on rookie contracts and the top superstars that are under their fair market value.

Its really a terrible system but impossible to fix.

That's just the nature of contracts. Using this logic, virtually everyone that is a contract employee is either overpaid or underpaid relative to their current market value unless they signed their contract today.

at least most employment contracts have early termination clauses for poor performance

Don Draper · Post #63 » by **Don Draper** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 10:48 pm

KembaWalker wrote:Many of them are. The whole "supply and demand" thing kind of gets thrown out the window with long term guaranteed contracts. There are plenty of guys in the league that are paid far above their current fair market value.

But there are also many guys on rookie contracts and the top superstars that are under their fair market value.

Its really a terrible system but impossible to fix.

It's possible to fix but a lot of people don't like the obvious solution. If you remove cap and salary restrictions players would get paid exactly what their worth.

And long term guaranteed contracts aren't really an issue. Teams aren't obligated to give out guaranteed contracts, but its the best way to retain and attract talent.

Salary caps and floors are the worst things in sports.

KembaWalker · Post #64 » by **KembaWalker** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 10:56 pm

Don Draper wrote:
KembaWalker wrote:Many of them are. The whole "supply and demand" thing kind of gets thrown out the window with long term guaranteed contracts. There are plenty of guys in the league that are paid far above their current fair market value.

But there are also many guys on rookie contracts and the top superstars that are under their fair market value.

Its really a terrible system but impossible to fix.

It's possible to fix but a lot of people don't like the obvious solution. If you remove cap and salary restrictions players would get paid exactly what their worth.

And long term guaranteed contracts aren't really an issue. Teams aren't obligated to give out guaranteed contracts, but its the best way to retain and attract talent.

Salary caps and floors are the worst things in sports.

Players wouldn't get paid what they were worth, the system would end up with massive inflation even from the small minority of owners that are willing to take losses to win. meanwhile the other teams either have to pay big to stop losing those guys or accept inferiority and watch fan support plummet, put their teams up for sale etc. that system would cause a disastrous chain of events imo

DrKnick · Post #65 » by **DrKnick** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 11:07 pm

somewhat

Don Draper · Post #66 » by **Don Draper** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 11:20 pm

KembaWalker wrote:
Don Draper wrote:It's possible to fix but a lot of people don't like the obvious solution. If you remove cap and salary restrictions players would get paid exactly what their worth.

And long term guaranteed contracts aren't really an issue. Teams aren't obligated to give out guaranteed contracts, but its the best way to retain and attract talent.

Salary caps and floors are the worst things in sports.

Players wouldn't get paid what they were worth, the system would end up with massive inflation even from the small minority of owners that are willing to take losses to win. meanwhile the other teams either have to pay big to stop losing those guys or accept inferiority and watch fan support plummet, put their teams up for sale etc. that system would cause a disastrous chain of events imo

This actually doesn't have to be the case.

1. The league can set capital requirements to prohibit teams from piling debt on teams or taking heavy losses (ie. like what UEFA is doing with FFP).
2. The system wouldn't cause a disastrous chain of events, it would just function as a normal market and attract owners who willing to build a successful business model rather than just ones who only care about turning a profit (ie. Donald Sterling)
3. Salary caps do not ensure popular or profitable leagues, nor does it ensure parity. Salary caps only exist for the purpose of stifling competition and capping wages so the owners can make money without taking risks.

And if the NBA really cared about parity they would change the rules to increase the effect of star players on a team.

MaxRider · Post #67 » by **MaxRider** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 11:22 pm

that's because people are paying to watch them
if no one watch them
they will force to lower their ticket price
that mean lower their profit
then they can't offer bigger contract

crazybranman360 · Post #68 » by **crazybranman360** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 12:54 am

The people dictate who gets paid and we want to watch basketball so no they're not overpaid

83SixersRocked · Post #69 » by **83SixersRocked** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 2:36 am

Not when it's what the market will bear. They bring in big money.

D.Brasco · Post #70 » by **D.Brasco** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 2:47 am

Most NBA players are i'd say it's about 10% of the actual players who probably bring in 90% of the revenue. There are a lot of players riding out huge contracts while doing close to nothing.

Wasn't allan houston being paid 15 million one season even though he was technically retired or something?

Post #71 » by **Froob** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 2:50 am

Archerbro wrote:
Dutuctive Depp wrote:All sports stars are really but its all relative to what $$$$ they generate.

pretty much this....

since they generate so much revenue, they have to make something relative to what they're "worth." -

Yep, if life were fair the guys risking their lives overseas would be making more. But, such is life.

Frank Mulely · Post #72 » by **Frank Mulely** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 2:52 am

CHA_77_Bobcats wrote:Celebrities in general are overpaid. Cut a little bit of their salaries and you can save kids in Africa or something instead of letting them buy all sorts of mansions and luxury cars they can easily go without.

this is silly. entertainers like ballplayers and actors actually earn what they make. elite entertainers are irreplaceable, you can't just pay more and get another guy like kobe or tom cruise who can pack the butts in seats. the CEOs doing a job that many others can do who have their buddies on the compensation committee giving them fat pay packages are overpaid. proof is that US CEOs make a much larger multiple of their workers' salaries than comparable CEOs in europe and asia.

anyway, the bottom line is rich people should be paying higher taxes. the system is rigged so ceos can live in luxury while everyone else struggles just to afford daily life.

BKing10 · Post #73 » by **BKing10** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 3:00 am

Yes and no. The great players are underpaid and the role players are overpaid.

Nowascki · Post #74 » by **Nowascki** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 3:01 am

The players are actually underpaid. A guy like Lebron or Kobe should be doing 50 millions a month.

Shaheen · Post #75 » by **Shaheen** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 3:04 am

I do not understand the reasoning behind this notion. The NBA generates revenue through us. We cause the NBA to be a billion dollar industry by watching the games and buying the products.

What is the solution then?
Pay the players less and give more money to the owners?

If we didn't make the NBA so popular, players wouldn't make a lot of money.

If you guys want teachers and police men to be paid more than stop buying Kobe jerseys and start donating to schools and police stations.

Shaheen · Post #76 » by **Shaheen** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 3:06 am

Prince187 wrote:Yes absolutely they are. Look what player got paid in the 90s and then look how they started getting paid in the 2000's. That's crazy how salaries just went through the roof. It's not like all of a sudden the league suddenly became more popular.

Don't know if you ever head of this guy named Michael Jordan but he might have had something to do with NBA's dramatic increase in popularity.

FlashKing · Post #77 » by **FlashKing** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 3:11 am

All athletes are ridiculously overpaid!

Down To Buck · Post #78 » by **Down To Buck** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 4:03 am

If you think the players are overpaid, where do you think the money should go instead? The owners, the management, the concessions people? Or do you think that tickets are overpriced? They're set at the price where people will continue to pay.

It's simple economics people, actors and athletes are paid a just sum considering the huge amounts of money they bring in. If anything it could be argued that the super-superstars like Kobe and Lebron are underpaid.

There is no comparison to be made here with normals jobs like doctors etc. None. Anyone who thinks that there is incredibly foolish.

Neutral 123 · Post #79 » by **Neutral 123** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 4:09 am

It's funny how many people become 'Communists' and 'Socialists' and 'Liberal flunkies' when it comes to discussing salaries of athletes. Have this as a general discussion, and you'd have an army of people blathering on and on about the free market. At least athletes actually compete to earn what they get, and don't work under a rigged or fixed system like many who exploit a so called free market.

GloriaJames · Post #80 » by **GloriaJames** » Thu Jun 7, 2012 5:15 am

Neutral 123 wrote:It's funny how many people become 'Communists' and 'Socialists' and 'Liberal flunkies' when it comes to discussing salaries of athletes. Have this as a general discussion, and you'd have an army of people blathering on and on about the free market. At least athletes actually compete to earn what they get, and don't work under a rigged or fixed system like many who exploit a so called free market.

The people "exploiting the free market" are the ones paying the salaries!