Professional athletes work harder at their sport than anyone else in the world, but they’re also genetic lottery winners so it’s hard to not get a bad taste in your mouth when someone making more in a year than most people make in a lifetime goes on strike.
Average NHL Salary is 2.4MM/year. You would have to make over $50k/year from the day you turn 18 to the day you turn 65 to make that much in a career.
Whatever. It’s a business model that works. The players’ talents and the league’s marketing and management provide a ton of jobs and entertainment for all, but it’s still fucking bullshit.
^ Fry, your numbers kind of gloss over the level of effort a typical NHL player has put into hockey since they were basically toddlers. There’s a kid on my street who has a real shot at getting into the NHL, and between the insane practices and hockey camps where he goes to live there I think the kid has put more effort and dedication into this “game” than most people will ever put into their careers. All for a CHANCE to make it. Seeing what goes into actually making it to that level made me reconsider the whole, “bunch of crybabies who make millions to play a game” mentality.
I think you have me confused with someone who thinks my not spending money has any sort of impact. I’m not spending any money (directly) on their product because I don’t want to support it, the same way I don’t shop at Walmart.
They work hard but get paid millions to do something they love. That’s something a very small percentage of the world can say.
Aside from their monstrous salaries, stays in the best hotels, world class medical attention, a retirement before 40, and oh and that great intangible, FAME… they are MORE than fairly compensated. Who gives a shit how hard they work to get there; theyre typically not doing it for all of those reasons. Their performance for our enjoyment has placed the dollar value on what they do and historically, they’ve been compensated more than well enough for it.
moreover, most guys never really make it… some guys get a couple years in the league but aren’t good enough to last 10+ years.
these guys can spend their whole lives training to get there, make a couple million over a few years then be messed up the rest of their lives and shoot themselves in the head under the guise of depression.
truth is, most of us would trade our lives for the lives of the guys in the top 5% of professional sports; but the guys below that, even though they have a couple big years, sacrifice more than it’s worth over a lifetime.
lots of busted marriages, shitty family lives or a complete lack of family and life-skills to get a real job when the lights go out of the whistle blows.
They definitely work harder at their career than most. I’m not trying to play the “paid to play a game” card. That’s bullshit. Their careers consume their lives more than our careers do, and the free market says their talents (that they have been born with and have worked hard to build) are worth more than mine. So be it.
But I’m not nearly enough of an Adam Smith humper to be OK with the rich going on strike. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying it’s bullshit.
---------- Post added at 10:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 AM ----------
Don’t overly romanticise it. We all make our own choices.
This had nothing to do with the players. This was 100% driven by a couple power hungry and greedy owners, along with that shit stain Bettman. Yeah, the players lost money, but they are the employees of the owners. If they don’t like it, they can leave.
I don’t feel bad for anyone involved, except the fans. Now I can get back to not having a life and spending 6 hours a night watching hockey highlights.