Ichiro to sign for 20MIL a year!? [Archive]

Jyeatbvg69

Jul 13th, 2007, 10:42 AM

SEATTLE -- Although all indications point to center fielder Ichiro Suzuki signing a huge contract in the near future, no one would be happier about that than Mariners manager John McLaren.

Multiple media outlets in Seattle, including the Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer, have reported the Mariners' All-Star outfielder is close to signing a long-term contract possibly worth $100 million over five years.

The deal would be a good move in McLaren's eyes, if for nothing else, sentimental reasons.

"I love seeing guys play their whole career for the same organization," McLaren said. "It doesn't happen these days because of contracts and whatever reasons, and I'm hoping for the best."

Ichiro, who was chosen as this year's All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, received a standing ovation from Mariners fans prior to Thursday's series opener against the Tigers. He went 3-for-3 and hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history on Tuesday in San Francisco.

Fans, too, can relate to having a career Mariner, as designated hitter Edgar Martinez spent his entire Major League career in Seattle. Neither McLaren nor the fans want to imagine life without No. 51.

"He's the face of the franchise, and I can't imagine the Seattle Mariners taking the field and him not being out there," McLaren said. "Hopefully things are moving along, and we'll get something done. ... It will be great to see him out there for a long time, retire a Seattle Mariner, in the Hall of Fame with 3,000 hits and the whole nine yards."

that is way too much for an athlete, especially in baseball where you can't be as dominant as a basketball star or hockey goalie.

skyblue12

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:19 AM

kevin01

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:22 AM

You have to look at it from Seattle's perspective. In the last decade, they have lost both Griffey and A-Rod because of money. They did not pay them and they left. Ichiro is a superstar in this league, no matter what you say. If he was in the MLB for those 6 years he played in Japan, Ichiro would have been a 4000 hitter over his career. He wont be now, but would have been. This contract is worth it for the Mariners, if Ichiro had left too then they would really have lost a lot of fan support.

rdtx2002

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:23 AM

Ichiro is better defensively (GG ever since his rookie year). Though I agree with most of what you said about ARod.. hard to argue with a Japanese player that hits almost .333 every year with 50+ stolen bases.

kevin01

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:26 AM

not sure if anybody heard the clip but the GM of the florida marlins expressed his disbelief over this contract.

imo $100M over 5 years isn't the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard, but considering he hasn't brought the mariners to any sort of world series or anything, i don't think this money is being well spent. ichiro is a tremendous player with lots of speed and skill, but if he's not going to bring you a world series i don't care if he hits 50HRs over the season and steals 100 bases, i'd rather spend the money getting players who can get me to the post-season and ultimately to the world series. though i don't know what is going to happen in the next 5 seasons, from what ichiro has shown so far he has a lot of talent and he is a great player, but alone i don't think he can carry this entire team to the world series.

a-rod was payed $252M over 10 years, avg-ing to $25.2M per season, and although the NYY have not been able to win the world series either, a-rod has made some pretty "nice" (for a lack of a better word) offensive contributions. ichiro has been never hit below .300 for a season, and he has the potential to steal 50+ bags over the course of a season, but he has offensive numbers nowhere NEAR a-rod's. although i'm not saying a-rod's money was well spent, the difference is that 1) a-rod at least has more offensive numbers to show for his contract and 2) NYY has such a big payroll that they can afford to basically sign anybody to a ridiculous contract at times, and seattle does not have that luxury (at least i don't believe they can, i'm not exactly sure about their payroll each season).

Ichiro gets 230-260 hits a year. He is a totally different player and brings a whole different dimension to the game. You dont need home runs from every player. You say you dont care if he hits 50HR next season, but then acknowledge A-Rod's stats and use them for the argument. Seattle has been a poor team for the last couple of years but were developing players. Now this season they will most likely make the playoffs unless they collapse in the second half. In baseball, one player cannot get you to the world series. One player can not bat 9 times a row. A pitcher can maybe, but not a hitter, unless the hitter hits 100 home runs and gets 250 rbis. Ichiro is more important to Seattle than A-Rod is to the yanks.

skyblue12

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:26 AM

i think one of the most important factors i didn't mention was what kevin01 mentioned, and that's basically "ichiro being the face of the mariner's franchise"

the mariner's don't have many, if at all any other stars other than ichiro, at least at an all-star caliber level. the way the mariners have been playing lately i don't think they can really afford to lose a player like ichiro, because they really don't have anybody else on the team that can produce like he has produced for the team.

carmaster

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:30 AM

MLB and NBA players are overpaid.

Spliffy

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:30 AM

Another HUGE draw for Seattle is Ichiro's japanese presence. Seattle gets alot of japanese tourists coming to see him and I think they even show some games in Japan. Even some of the banners in the field are in japanese.

He may not get the offensive numbers, but he does bring in $$$ so it's a good return on investment.

DuDe1411

Jul 13th, 2007, 12:27 PM

MLB and NBA players are overpaid.

NBA players runs more and has to be more physical than MLB player.

NBA teams has less player. MLB players eat and spit 2/3 of the game.

afterall, blame the rich teams for making crappy teams even crappier
...

so. to conclude. NBA players arent overpaid.. some are, but most of them deserve it

Jyeatbvg69

Jul 13th, 2007, 12:33 PM

NBA players runs more and has to be more physical than MLB player.

NBA teams has less player. MLB players eat and spit 2/3 of the game.

afterall, blame the rich teams for making crappy teams even crappier
...

so. to conclude. NBA players arent overpaid.. some are, but most of them deserve it

wrong. id give 3 million to a cop, doctor, firefighter, etc. anyday. darn, if i could run around and throw a ball in a hoop 82 times a season for 3 mil, id certainly do that.

Spliffy

Jul 13th, 2007, 12:38 PM

darn, if i could run around and throw a ball in a hoop 82 times a season for 3 mil, id certainly do that.

You can't, and that's why you're not getting paid ;)

wesleyw

Jul 13th, 2007, 01:00 PM

nfnx

Jul 13th, 2007, 01:18 PM

well how much is the highest player being paid in the mlb?\
wheres arod in all this?

wesleyw

Jul 13th, 2007, 01:33 PM

well how much is the highest player being paid in the mlb?\

A'Rod, 10 year/$252 million

well how much is the highest player being paid in the mlb?\
wheres arod in all this?

Here

a-rod was payed $252M over 10 years, avg-ing to $25.2M per season, and although the NYY have not been able to win the world series either, a-rod has made some pretty "nice" (for a lack of a better word) offensive contributions. ichiro has been never hit below .300 for a season, and he has the potential to steal 50+ bags over the course of a season, but he has offensive numbers nowhere NEAR a-rod's. although i'm not saying a-rod's money was well spent, the difference is that 1) a-rod at least has more offensive numbers to show for his contract and 2) NYY has such a big payroll that they can afford to basically sign anybody to a ridiculous contract at times, and seattle does not have that luxury (at least i don't believe they can, i'm not exactly sure about their payroll each season).

And here just from this thread.

Ichiro gets 230-260 hits a year. He is a totally different player and brings a whole different dimension to the game. You dont need home runs from every player. You say you dont care if he hits 50HR next season, but then acknowledge A-Rod's stats and use them for the argument. Seattle has been a poor team for the last couple of years but were developing players. Now this season they will most likely make the playoffs unless they collapse in the second half. In baseball, one player cannot get you to the world series. One player can not bat 9 times a row. A pitcher can maybe, but not a hitter, unless the hitter hits 100 home runs and gets 250 rbis. Ichiro is more important to Seattle than A-Rod is to the yanks.

skyblue12

Jul 13th, 2007, 01:36 PM

A'Rod, 10 year/$252 million

Here

And here just from this thread.

apparently he didn't read the previous posts.. :lol:

Yaowsers

Jul 13th, 2007, 01:43 PM

He's worth it.

nfnx

Jul 13th, 2007, 03:02 PM

sorry i skimmed them through, its a lot to read at work. but thanks for the heads up.

i wish toronto signed him for 20 mil a year. baseball would sell out to the asian demographic.

Yaowsers

Jul 13th, 2007, 03:19 PM

sorry i skimmed them through, its a lot to read at work. but thanks for the heads up.

i wish toronto signed him for 20 mil a year. baseball would sell out to the asian demographic.
I always thought the same.

Ted could afford Ichiro by raising my internet another $5 every year.

Slippery_Pete

Jul 13th, 2007, 03:37 PM

Suzuki (sorry I hate the fact that he goes by his first name and not his last, but thats just me :) ) is a great player, and is great for baseball in general. He is worth the cash. Well nobody in my opinion is worth that much for almost anything, but thats what the market dictates, so he is worth it.

afong56

Jul 13th, 2007, 04:46 PM

that is way too much for an athlete, especially in baseball where you can't be as dominant as a basketball star or hockey goalie.

i'll bet you that he's worth 10X that to the mariners franchise in terms of revenue.

back when jordan was finishing up with the bulls, there was a financial impact research study generated to determine what additional revenue was produced because of his influence--i think the numbers were something in the $200 million range for the bulls, and over $2billion for the nba, per season. and people thought mikey was overpaid at $35 million.

i think the bulls didn't mind paying him, and pocketing the extra $165 million.

you can expect that ichiro has that kind of impact on the mariners bottom line.

overpaid? in relative terms to the profit he'll make for the team, no way.

onehaehyuk

Jul 13th, 2007, 04:58 PM

i'll bet you that he's worth 10X that to the mariners franchise in terms of revenue.

back when jordan was finishing up with the bulls, there was a financial impact research study generated to determine what additional revenue was produced because of his influence--i think the numbers were something in the $200 million range for the bulls, and over $2billion for the nba, per season. and people thought mikey was overpaid at $35 million.

i think the bulls didn't mind paying him, and pocketing the extra $165 million.

you can expect that ichiro has that kind of impact on the mariners bottom line.

overpaid? in relative terms to the profit he'll make for the team, no way.

good point and good example. Ichiro is the most recognizable face on the Mariners, his numbers are consistently great every year, he's made every all-star game since his rookie season, he's won the gold glove award for his position every year, and he's a future hall-of-famer, and add to that his support within the asian community and he's definitely worth the $18 mil a year (which is officially what the terms of the contract were - $90 mil for 5 years). Seattle's definitely banking off his name recognition alone each year.

LonesomeDove

Jul 13th, 2007, 05:43 PM

MLB and NBA players are overpaid.

Most professional sport players are overpaid, including NHL and NFL. Guys in the NHL scores a dozen goals and get more than a million bucks. Sheesh.

Only the CFL underpays its players but the CFL is a semi-pro league.
In fact, getting paid for less than $100,000 and risking permanent injury is not worth it if you ask me. Those guys must really like to play football.

adehbone

Jul 13th, 2007, 06:45 PM

don't why people think this is so crazy or overpaid, MLB players been getting money like this for 10 years or so now.

Bill Simmons already said it in his latest chat, hes a singles hitter who scores some runs, he hasnt taken them to the playoffs, and wasnt that big of an impact player since his first season. He has never had an OPS over .900 even. A player like big papi or a-rod can change the game with one swing, ichiro can get on first and hope someone else can hit the ball. In the playoffs if I was a manager for sure I would pitch to him.

But hes such a likeable player and brings so much attention and media dollars to the team so hes worth on that scope, sort of the same way Beckham was worth all that crazy $$$ on madrid when he was the worse of all their midfielders.

Also look at his 2003and2005 seasons where he hit .312 and .303, what if he does that again for 2 of 5 years, would you pay 20million a year for basically 2006 Reed Johnson?

Jyeatbvg69

Jul 13th, 2007, 07:51 PM

Most professional sport players are overpaid, including NHL and NFL. Guys in the NHL scores a dozen goals and get more than a million bucks. Sheesh.

Only the CFL underpays its players but the CFL is a semi-pro league.
In fact, getting paid for less than $100,000 and risking permanent injury is not worth it if you ask me. Those guys must really like to play football.

the average income in canada is $40,000. if i had a choice to play the game i love and make $100K, i would definately do it. and there are many, MANY more jobs that are more dangerous than playing football. if injured in football, it is mostly physical injuries which will heal fully within a year. thats better than farmers who work with pesticides everyday or all those long term injuries ppl dont look at.

afong56

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:37 PM

the average income in canada is $40,000. if i had a choice to play the game i love and make $100K, i would definately do it. and there are many, MANY more jobs that are more dangerous than playing football. if injured in football, it is mostly physical injuries which will heal fully within a year. thats better than farmers who work with pesticides everyday or all those long term injuries ppl dont look at.

actually, most people don't realize the physical punishment that football players take.

by the time a guy makes it to a pro league, they've most likely been taking snaps for a decade (if not more) of brutal, full speed contact and the damage that ensues. as a result, the average 'career' for most running backs, as an example, is about 3 seasons. only kickers and quarterbacks can expect really long careers without serious physical damage--and even that is changing with the increasing speed of the game.

quite often football players need to get paid well because by the time they are 40, their body has aged like they're 60. assuming no brain damage from concussions (multiple), they will have their mental capacities, but you can bet most of their joints will be hammered--knees, rotator cuffs, etc. most will be arthritic well before average joes, and will have had numerous surgeries.

the ones that don't suffer this fate, are probably the exception, not the rule

kevin01

Jul 14th, 2007, 01:16 AM

man the florida guys a fool... what would it matter to him, that franchise is known for being cheap and using their scouts to win. Their scouting system can easily be the best in the league, but man they will not pay anyone. Their team salary is what, 14 million? That is pathetic. I would not take any advice from this guy, nobody shows up to his games, he is not making money, the team is terrible. This could be because Florida as a whole doesnt watch baseball that much but seriously you should get at least 20 thousand.

Florida needs to move, and while their at it, sell the Devil Rays to someone like Cuban and help that franchise out. Worst franchise in north american sports, maybe even the world.

stillmatic11

Jul 14th, 2007, 03:55 AM

the average income in canada is $40,000. if i had a choice to play the game i love and make $100K, i would definately do it. and there are many, MANY more jobs that are more dangerous than playing football. if injured in football, it is mostly physical injuries which will heal fully within a year. thats better than farmers who work with pesticides everyday or all those long term injuries ppl dont look at.

It's pretty funny to hear someone say something like this when they've never gone through the training professional athletes do. Are they overpaid in general? Probably, but the average career in the NBA lasts 4 seasons, same deal with the NFL. It's common sense really to get what you can when you can. If you were working any other job, you're probably going to take the job that pays the most. Saying a professional athlete is overpaid is like saying any celeb, businessman and etc is overpaid.

Have you personally went through anything even close to what professional athletes do? Their bodies take a pounding and they do permanent damage to their bodies. Most athletes are going to be walking around with a limp by the time they retire. I don't think any of them live a totally pain-free life after sports, it's just not possible with the type of physical strain they put on their bodies and the way they push it.

Have you ever suffered a major injury before? A torn ACL, torn achilles tendon and etc is no joke. You don't just recover after 1 year, you may get back on the field/court in 1 year, but you're nowhere near 100% and that's only the case if you rehab like crazy. For the normal average person, they probably won't even get close to getting healed fully and back to normal.

somemale

Jul 14th, 2007, 04:18 AM

wish he went to the yankees!

Jyeatbvg69

Jul 14th, 2007, 09:54 AM

actually, most people don't realize the physical punishment that football players take.

by the time a guy makes it to a pro league, they've most likely been taking snaps for a decade (if not more) of brutal, full speed contact and the damage that ensues. as a result, the average 'career' for most running backs, as an example, is about 3 seasons. only kickers and quarterbacks can expect really long careers without serious physical damage--and even that is changing with the increasing speed of the game.

quite often football players need to get paid well because by the time they are 40, their body has aged like they're 60. assuming no brain damage from concussions (multiple), they will have their mental capacities, but you can bet most of their joints will be hammered--knees, rotator cuffs, etc. most will be arthritic well before average joes, and will have had numerous surgeries.

the ones that don't suffer this fate, are probably the exception, not the rule
k well well i didnt know football players get punished this badly, but my initial point was that there are many jobs on this planet that are much worse than being an athlete, not just football, but all athletes. football players are only one athlete, how about the rest who make millions as well?

ps: ichiro signs for 18MIL/season

Jyeatbvg69

Jul 14th, 2007, 10:06 AM

It's pretty funny to hear someone say something like this when they've never gone through the training professional athletes do. Are they overpaid in general? Probably, but the average career in the NBA lasts 4 seasons, same deal with the NFL. It's common sense really to get what you can when you can. If you were working any other job, you're probably going to take the job that pays the most. Saying a professional athlete is overpaid is like saying any celeb, businessman and etc is overpaid.

Have you personally went through anything even close to what professional athletes do? Their bodies take a pounding and they do permanent damage to their bodies. Most athletes are going to be walking around with a limp by the time they retire. I don't think any of them live a totally pain-free life after sports, it's just not possible with the type of physical strain they put on their bodies and the way they push it.

Have you ever suffered a major injury before? A torn ACL, torn achilles tendon and etc is no joke. You don't just recover after 1 year, you may get back on the field/court in 1 year, but you're nowhere near 100% and that's only the case if you rehab like crazy. For the normal average person, they probably won't even get close to getting healed fully and back to normal.

1) the average nba career lasts 4 years, but the minimum income or what not is around $500,000, and by the time its 4 years the player wouldve made more than most of us make in decades. and where did u get the average nba career is 4 years anyways?? it may be true but looking at the current nba, most teams have almost the same team every year except for rookies so its hard to believe.
2) celebs and businessmen are totally different things. as for celebs, like i said in a previous post, in my opinion its too bad we live in a society where we pay to see the celebs and etc., while soldiers and police are putting themselves in danger everyday, and dont tell me they dont push their bodies to the limits..
3) i know what a torn ACL is, and i was wrong in saying that football injuries only last a year. but when u say that most athletes are going to be limping after they retire..i think your taking that a little too far. and what u said about rehabing like crazy..thats what professional athletes do, i never talked about normal people.

skyblue12

Jul 14th, 2007, 10:15 AM

well, he ended up signing for $90M over 5 years, which avg's out to $18M a year.

mau77on

Jul 14th, 2007, 10:46 AM

It's a good signing for Seattle if they can just get a bunch of people to hit him home

kleptodathief

Jul 14th, 2007, 11:08 AM

yet another overpaid pro sports player... i mean if arod is worth 30mill per year, i guess ichiro is worth 18$m ? they shud stop giving 'guaranteed' contracts...like the nfl

if ichiro avgs... .300+, 200hits per year then sure its ok but hes 33 and getting old and slower each year...

gordholio

Jul 14th, 2007, 11:39 AM

Interesting to see people here throwing around numbers like $90 million.
None of us will ever make that type of money in our lifetime, yet we talk about it like it's no big deal.

afong56

Jul 14th, 2007, 12:05 PM

Interesting to see people here throwing around numbers like $90 million.
None of us will ever make that type of money in our lifetime, yet we talk about it like it's no big deal.

well let me ask you this. . .

imagine at your job, your work and presence was directly responsible for your company making revenues of $200 million a year.

if you had the chance to negotiate your salary, what do you think would be a reasonable salary for you?

Rocketo

Jul 14th, 2007, 12:32 PM

i don't understand why u guys keep complaining he is a bonafide superstar and it's not like ur paying him so why the hate?

Tiberius

Jul 14th, 2007, 04:37 PM

If any player is worth a large salary - Ichiro deserves it. He truly is a great baseball player - even to the point where he doesn't sell out to hit more home runs, etc...

Whether *any* athlete should be paid 20 million per season is something I feel is highly questionable. But, should Ichiro be one of the highest paid baseball players... sure! He's a throwback... a real professional baseball player who plays the game the way it is meant to be played.

Mintmaster

Jul 14th, 2007, 05:23 PM

Guys, championships don't matter as much to the value and revenue of a baseball team as in other sports for several reasons:

A) A championship team may play 34% more games that a non-playoff team in hockey and basketball, but that figure is only 13% in baseball.
B) Only 8 out of 30 teams make the post-season. Business decisions don't revolve around that goal.
C) Baseball has no competition in the summer and is deeply loved by America, greatly reducing the bandwagon effect of a good team (relative to other sports).

Ichiro is the face of the franchise regardless of where the Mariners wind up. He's a unique talent that people want to watch, and is responsible for a huge part of their revenue, whether from the ballpark, mechandise, or TV. It's the only reason, for example, some people want Iverson and (to a lesser degree) Kobe enough to pay them insane salaries. They aren't important parts of a championship team, but they're worth every penny because of the revenue they bring.

Baseball players earn huge amounts of money for their owners. As sorry of an excuse as baseball is for a sport and as unathletic as the players are (not Ichiro, but overall), on the whole they deserve every penny they get.

All blame for "overpaid athletes" in any sport should be directed towards the audience.

kleptodathief

Jul 15th, 2007, 09:25 AM

fact: ichiro has the MOST HITS EVER in his first 7 seasons in MLB history ....my only beef is hes 33 and on the DOWNSIDE of his career...if he were like 27/28, then sure 90mill is FINE! how many more productive seasons will he pump out??? thats the question...

Madchester

Jul 15th, 2007, 01:51 PM

^

Ichiro has a crazy fitness routine which includes unorthodox stretching exercises.

thecharlie

Jul 15th, 2007, 03:17 PM

Isn't Fatass Clemens the highest paid player right now? I thought he signed a one year/$28mil or something along those lines.

YnD

Jul 15th, 2007, 03:33 PM

i don't understand why u guys keep complaining he is a bonafide superstar and it's not like ur paying him so why the hate?

Exactly... as Bob McCowan would say... "Its not your money... its Ted Rogers Money" (In reference to Toronto Blue Jays Spending)

Jyeatbvg69

Jul 15th, 2007, 08:21 PM

Isn't Fatass Clemens the highest paid player right now? I thought he signed a one year/$28mil or something along those lines.
yea and hes not even putting all star calibur numbers, even though hes 63 years old

kevin01

Jul 15th, 2007, 09:32 PM

Isn't Fatass Clemens the highest paid player right now? I thought he signed a one year/$28mil or something along those lines.

he is getting paid 18million... it is gonna cost new york 28 million for him though.

stillmatic11

Jul 16th, 2007, 04:17 AM

1) the average nba career lasts 4 years, but the minimum income or what not is around $500,000, and by the time its 4 years the player wouldve made more than most of us make in decades. and where did u get the average nba career is 4 years anyways?? it may be true but looking at the current nba, most teams have almost the same team every year except for rookies so its hard to believe.
2) celebs and businessmen are totally different things. as for celebs, like i said in a previous post, in my opinion its too bad we live in a society where we pay to see the celebs and etc., while soldiers and police are putting themselves in danger everyday, and dont tell me they dont push their bodies to the limits..
3) i know what a torn ACL is, and i was wrong in saying that football injuries only last a year. but when u say that most athletes are going to be limping after they retire..i think your taking that a little too far. and what u said about rehabing like crazy..thats what professional athletes do, i never talked about normal people.

1) The average NBA career is 4 years, because theres about 350 players or so in the NBA and most people would know probably less than half of them. Your forget the players that get signed on 10 day contracts, 1 year minimums and the ones that get released and don't have guaranteed money contracts. Of course they get paid more than the average person, they do something at a level better than anyone else in the world. If you were a doctor that put in years and years of studying into medicine and work a crazy schedule, would you not expect to be rewarded by getting a higher pay than someone like a nurse?

2) How are celebs and businessmen any different than professional athletes? Athletes entertain and they are in the elite in what they do. If you are elite in what you do, should you not be rewarded accordingly? How you are rewarded depends on the economic situation of what you do. In the case of pro sports, the owners make a ton of money, therefore their employees ie. players, coaches and etc are entitled to make a lot as well. I'd say the CEO's, CFO's and etc of companies like IBM make a damn lot of money too. Sure, being a policeman, soldier and etc is dangerous work, but it's also something that anyone can do. Let's be real here, 1 in a million people maybe make the NBA, but a lot of people could be a cop or soldier if they chose to. If cops were being paid a million dollars a year, I bet everyone would become one.

3. Let's just say being a professional athlete is much tougher than you would think it is. Training like 6 hours a day isn't exactly the easiest job in the world.

One more thing to add is that the biggest reason why professional athletes get ripped on for being overpaid is because their salaries are constantly mentioned in the media. No other profession is your salary constantly mentioned in the news. We don't hear how much money an actor makes for every movie, there's no press conference to announce the salary/signing. If sports were done the same way, we would not be hearing about people complaining about overpaid athletes all the time.

blizzah

Jul 16th, 2007, 08:35 AM

I hate people bitching about athelete's salaries. The owners of these teams are all wealthy, billionaire businessmen and current or former CEOs of billion dollar companies, if they weren't getting a return on investment on players like Ichiro or Vernon or Rashard or Garnett etc, then they wouldn't be signing these players to the big contracts. It's also not like Tom Hicks asked you to help pay 1% of A-Rods salary when he figured out it was a bad move, he had to stomach the loss along with his partners, so it affected you in no way aside from the fact you could read about it in the papers and tell your buddies how you are 1000 times smarter than Tom Hicks because you made the smart choice by buying a Camry and if you were in his shoes, you would never have signed a player coming off a 320/420/600 season with an OPS+ of 170 playing one of the most demanding positions defensively.

The fact is that people with their talent is so rare, that they are compensated for this. You can't pay a policeman 1 million a year beacuse then everyone would want to become part of the police, and since policing does not require much more talent or skill than other everyday jobs, they are compensated accordingly.

Yes, they may be overpaid in what they should be making, but the market demands have made that salary what it is. My internet bill is overpriced at 35$ a month, but hell, it costs bell almost nothing to keep my service up, so they should drop the price of it. However, they never will because of the society we live in where people do everything for the money.

skyblue12

Jul 16th, 2007, 06:45 PM

so the $90M man gets hit by the ball and suffers an injury..

gman

Jul 16th, 2007, 10:39 PM

I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet. Why does Mariner give Ichiro $20 mil a year? Reason: he can earn that much for his organization. It is not about the winning the World Series. It is about getting all the Japanese advertisement money from Japan, all the Ichiro Jersey to sell to Japan, all the TV contract to sell to Japan, etc. Sony being a majority owner is important too.

gman

Jul 16th, 2007, 10:43 PM

so the $90M man gets hit by the ball and suffers an injury..

No problem the insurance will cover most of it. BTW, is Albert Belle still paid by insurance for his big contract? Probably yes but he was still being paid not too long ago.

blizzah

Jul 16th, 2007, 11:08 PM

No problem the insurance will cover most of it. BTW, is Albert Belle still paid by insurance for his big contract? Probably yes but he was still being paid not too long ago.

Alberts last game was in 2000, yet he earned 12, 12.5, and 13 million from 2001-2003.

gman

Jul 16th, 2007, 11:11 PM

Alberts last game was in 2000, yet he earned 12, 12.5, and 13 million from 2001-2003.

I mean to say probably no. :(

siriuskao

Jul 17th, 2007, 12:15 AM

Nobody's overpaid. Last time I checked MLB/NHL/NBA/NFL is open to everyone who's got the skills necessary.

Base on the position available, it's harder to make it to the pro leagues than being a police officer, fire fighter, nurse and doctor.

krash322

Jul 17th, 2007, 11:56 AM

We think athletes are overpaid becuz of the crazy ticket prices we have to pay in order to watch our favourite teams. If and when tickets are more affordable, then salaries will come back down. But that is just fantasy at this point. Owners will continue to build these crazy sports arenas and charge way too much money to us stiffs to see the teams play.

But Ichiro is a great leadoff hitter. Does his job better than almost everyone else. I would say only maybe Jose Reyes is better.

gman

Jul 17th, 2007, 12:00 PM

stillmatic11

Jul 17th, 2007, 07:00 PM

It's basic economics regarding ticket prices. The price for tickets is set for whatever price will maximize their output. A sell-out for an average ticket price of $50 would be less profit than an 80% sell-out for an average ticket price of $75, so obviously the tickets should be priced at $75 to maximize profit.

gordholio

Jul 17th, 2007, 09:41 PM

well let me ask you this. . .

imagine at your job, your work and presence was directly responsible for your company making revenues of $200 million a year.

if you had the chance to negotiate your salary, what do you think would be a reasonable salary for you?

Of course if someone can get a lot of money they will go for it (myself included).
But, we throw around millions of dollars in our discussions like it's nothing. Some are so excited when the next outrageous athlete contract comes along.
It's the way it is, but it's not fair.
It's all big business now, not like it used to be 30 years ago, when there was some innocence.

afong56

Jul 17th, 2007, 10:43 PM

Of course if someone can get a lot of money they will go for it (myself included).
But, we throw around millions of dollars in our discussions like it's nothing. Some are so excited when the next outrageous athlete contract comes along.
It's the way it is, but it's not fair.
It's all big business now, not like it used to be 30 years ago, when there was some innocence.

if a company is going to make $200 million a year from my presence, i think $18 million is more than reasonable. . .if the company made only $18 million from my presence (either on the field or off), then i probably wouldn't ask for $18 million.

for you to say "it's not fair", i think is pretty unreasonable.