The Money Aint A Thing

Up until a few days ago, I really didn't know much about the NBA lockout except that both sides were arguing about how much of the "too much money" they'd get to keep. Now, I'm a little more informed and my views have changed a bit. The lockout basically boils down to this:

The players want the revenue to be split 50/50. Revenue. That's the word of the day. Revenue is how much money comes in the door whereas profit is how much money you have left after all expenses have been paid. The owners pay expenses. They players do not. So basically the owner's beef is that they don't want to split the money evenly if they're left to foot the bill for everything else. Not all teams are profitable, so it is possible that after the players walk away with 50%, the owners are left spending more money to keep the team going than they actually made that year.

In all honesty, I think it is silly that someone gets paid millions of dollars to play a game. But I don't think the solution is simple as some people would argue. If you pay athletes less money, then that money would simply shift to the pockets of the owners and other people who make a living promoting professional sports. It bothers me when people pretend like its the athlete's fault that they make so much. It's society's fault as a whole.

Basketball shoes cost about $125 on average. NBA 2K12 on PS3 and X360 is $60. Decent seats to a game start in the hundreds, while jerseys and hats aren't cheap either. Don't even get me started on those Total Access Cable Packages. These aren't arbitrary numbers pulled out of a hat. There are marketing strategists in every business that have their finger on the pulse of consumer spending who can determine to the penny what the average person is willing to spend. The only reason this stuff costs so much is because people are willing to pay it and the NBA gets a chunk of the revenue from every item sold.

They wouldn't build multimillion dollar stadiums if people weren't willing to pay big money to sit in it and have a crappier viewing experience than if they watched from home.  We're in a recession and they're still making bank. The fault is with us. Sports have an intrinsic value in society. They're our source of escape. They give us reasons to gather together in a bar to cheer with strangers, they bring excitement and adrenaline rushes to our self-imposed monotonous and often mundane lives. We rally behind and cheer for athletes who become our champion each season. When they win, we win. Do they deserve millions of dollars for that? Apparently we think so.