Is Haynesworth Worth $100 Million?
Do you think professional athletes are paid too much? Recently on my Facebook a good friend encouraged me to post on this subject. She was enraged to learn that Albert Haynesworth had signed a contract for 7 years worth $100 million to play for the Washington Redskins.
I understand the theory behind this. The owners and managers of the team believe Haynesworth can generate enough revenue for the team to justify the expense. When one considers the business of sports, the truth is that every player is a profit center. Ultimately, every player either needs to earn his keep or help others earn theirs so that in the end the team is profitable.
If Haynesworth is his own profit center, for example, he would need to earn $100 million for 7 years to cover his pay, plus he would need to generate enough revenue to cover his percentage of the team’s overheard, including coaches, support team, advertising, facility costs, etc, and still provide the owners with a profit. Which probably means 1 player will have to generate several hundred million dollars over the course of 7 years to be a good deal for the team. Evidently the Redskins think they can do that with Haynesworth.
That’s not the point though of my friend’s frustration. She sees the current state of the economy. She knows that the public is frustrated with CEO pay and bonuses. She’s fully aware that many Americans are personally struggling. My friend also has walked among some of the poorest people of the world doing mission work, and she knows what a little bit of that wealth could do to help others. For example, Blood: Water Mission reports that $1 will give a person in Africa clean drinking water. If Haynesworth was paid just half of his amount, in 7 years 50 million people could potentially have life-saving water to drink.
I think when I consider it like that I understand what my friend is thinking.
What do you think?
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