By Zach Persing ’15, Staff Writer

Over the past several decades there has been an undeniable trend of increasing salaries for American professional athletes.  With several players being paid salaries north of 30 million dollars, some people have asked whether it is moral for people to earn such exorbitant sums merely for playing sports.  Additionally, many argue that these high salaries diminish the level of competition in sports.  Regardless of one’s feelings about these earnings, it is inarguable that they have had an impact on the landscape of American professional sports.

According to Yahoo.com, the average athlete in one of America’s four major sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) will make more money in one season than the average American will make in his/her entire lifetime.  Some people are nauseated by the fact that the average American professional athlete makes approximately five million dollars per year, while the average American schoolteacher earns a more modest salary in the range of 45 thousand dollars per year.  However, Soven Bery ’15, a student at Newark Academy and a columnist for the noted sports website bleacherreport.com believes that sports contracts are fair. “I don’t think sports contracts are that enormous,” he said.  “If one was to complain that pro sports contracts are too huge and shouldn’t be bigger than those of other jobs, they should realize that fans are the ones who pump money into teams like the [Los Angeles] Lakers and the [New York] Yankees, making it possible for players like Kobe Bryant and Derek Jeter to make as much money as they do.  Pro sports contracts are directly linked to how much revenue that sports generates, which is based on how much fans watch, buy, and talk about that sport.” Soven points out the economic reality of professional sports — supply and demand. Fans crave an intense sports culture, and thus those athletes that are of exceptional talent are in high demand. When one considers the size of the industry, the salaries are not really so immense.

Regardless, people are concerned that the business aspect of the game affects what happens during competition.  While some teams based in large media markets have nearly unlimited bank accounts with which to pay players, other teams based in smaller markets have more financial restrictions.  Additionally, the rise of the mega-contract has created many situations where players are making very large amounts of money even when they are far past the prime of their career.  As a Yankees’ fan, Aidan Fox ’16 has seen his team affected during the current baseball offseason.  Aidan said that while he was sad to see Robinson Cano leave the Bronx, he noted that it would have been unwise for the Yankees to award him with a contract that would pay him “more than 20 million dollars per year even when he is older than 40.”  When asked about newly-signed Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, Fox said “I’m a Yankees fan, but this is a horrible signing.  We have no idea how this guy will perform in the MLB.  We don’t know if he can pitch once every five games.  The Yankees gave him a $155 million contract based on a hunch.”  Many people believe that while the Tanaka signing is undoubtedly risky, it does offer a potentially significant reward if Tanaka performs as well as he did in the Japanese league, and it will have a big impact on the team one way or the other.

The future of American sports contracts remains very much up in the air.  While some teams are continuing to pay athletes big money, other teams are starting to shift their focus. Rather than acquiring the most expensive players, teams may look into developing younger talent — which is typically more affordable under the salary structures in these leagues.  Regardless of which route teams ultimately choose to take, it is unlikely that there will be a day when the business of sports does not overlap with what happens on the field.  These two things are forever and inextricably linked.