@ArsenalFan700 ; Americans have a different point of view where they do not believe in giving money to Sportsmen.
Americans who win gold medals in London Olmpics 2012 will receive a $25,000 bonus, while silver medals will bring $15,000 and bronze medal winners will net $10,000.
This little money is very low for Olympic Medals as cost of living is very high in USA. Our players get crores of rupees plus lifetime jobs for medals.
Food Stamps are like what we have Below Poverty Line card for extreme poor in India. Olympic Medal winners are dependent on that or in the past even homeless as that country do not believe in giving money to sportspersons.
Even MLS salaries are very low in Soccer. In that country, only TV channels, CEOs and some top stars of NBA or NFL are expected to make money. That model is a failure if implemented in India. Nobody will play socccer at slave wages.
I want a sensible conversation but I am sorry, that post, would literally give anyone with any knowledge of the American sporting landscape a heart-attack or cancer... or the black plague... it is without a doubt the worst post you have done on IFN and I truly mean that. Am I saying you should never post here again, no, but this, this, oh my god, that first line... I literally had to walk out of my seat for a minute. Okay, here we go.
The US will pay BIG in sports IF YOU DESERVE IT!
In the NFL (American Football) the minimum salary is $300,000 for being in the bloody practice squad... not the team! In the MLB (Baseball), the minimum salary is $400,000. In the NHL (Ice Hockey), the minimum salary is $525,000 to $750,000 In the NBA (Basketball), the minimum salary is $473,604 (2010-11 season). That is serious money for probably doing nothing a whole season! Specially since if you do well enough you could earn more than a $1,000,000 a year from year 3 onwards!
In NASCAR, you can make a base salary of $100,000-$500,000 depending on who you sign with. If you play on the PGA Tour in the US you could make $50,000-$200,000 or more (depending on ranking).
As for the olympians. That is easy to explain. Popularity and sponsors. Ryan Lochte, the swimmer, probably made only $50,000 for his 2012 Summer Olympic performance... and at the age of 29 that is pretty bad to live on unless your single and okay with the apartment lifestyle... but look, he then made an extra $2,000,000 just from sponsorships! All top olympians in the US probably make over $250,000-$500,000 just from sponsorships.
And for the rest, again, it is easy to explain. We are spoiled for sports in the US. We have the top 4 (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL), soccer, lacross, NASCAR, olympics etc that not all of them will be popular or even have professional set-ups. Many of these olympic athletes know the risk of doing what they do. No one will watch gymnastics on a Saturday for example, especially when there is something else on like College football, NHL, or College basketball on. They won't make much money at all from the small event they are in and they probably won't even gain much if anything in sponsorships but again that is the risk you take. You do this because you love the sport and will do anything to play and if you work hard enough, be resilient, then you could perhaps make it and if not, no worries, go back to college or university and earn money in an actual job.
Welcome to the reality of sports. It can be glamorous but like acting or singing or making an investment or anything that could lead to "fame and glory" you need to remember that it could also lead to "bad memories and heartbreak". You need to be smart and you need to understand what you are getting into.
That Emily Scott you mentioned above (who was not even confirmed in the Olympics yet btw if you read the article), plays a sport which I bet she loves but is sadly not popular in this country. Also, she is not even a college graduate! People may be sad for her because she is dealing with small money from this sport and her minimum wage job but for gods sake... she will be fine! I am not saying that she is whiner, I am sorry for her that her sport is not as lucrative but hey, she got to make a trip to Sochi, Russia, she got to represent her country in her favorite sport, and she probably lived well and made some great friends while hanging with other athletes. I would take that today if I could and I am a kid who is on minimum wage and who is still in high-school, even if I had to pay. Let her finish her degree, get a real job, and she will make some real money that can help her live. Not every athlete needs the hot babe/mazzaratie/mansion life-style that top guys make... as will be described now.
Now, as for Major League Soccer... the minimum salary is $33,000-$45,000. Almost every player on that salary is aged between 16-25. At those ages... that is a good, respectable salary to have, especially after college. It is not great but its livable. The average salary is $155,000 which for anyone in the country is great!!! The highest salary is to Dempsey or Bradley at $9,000,000 and $8,000,000. Thierry Henry makes $5,000,000. Top Americans make $100,000-$300,000 or more.
Is that bad? Sure, in world soccer that is no where close to standard but hey, this is MLS, not the Premier League. We are paying these players what they are worth, some even more. Red Bulls rookie, Chris Duval, is making $35,000 this year. He wont play a game (some 3rd tier games or US Open Cup perhaps) and he will make that. In the Premier League he would probably not make anything as he would not even be on a pro-team! He would not make the squad of any top 4 tier side in England. Why is this? The reserves in MLS are not as good as the starters. If Henry is tired and Bradley Wright-Phillips and Tim Cahill and Peguy are playing then all the Red Bulls have is Andre Akpan... a reserve. You would never see that in England in a pro-league or anywhere else.
Is this slating MLS, no. Because the reason is simple, the negative of the salary cap is that we can spend on a great starting line-up but that would take up 60% of the cap. The other 40% would be used on player spots 12 to 20 which means they need to be reserves or 2nd tier players. Slots 20-30 are for reserves/academy kids. As the salary cap gets higher (which it should next year) we will see a better minimum salary and better quality overall.
Also, our salaries are low but that does not mean we can not get top players at non-marquee deals. Players like Vincent Nogueira who was just the captain of Ligue 1 club Sochoux choose to come to MLS for like $150,000. Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi was also a captain for a Ligue 1 club recently and choose MLS for a $150,000-$200,000 salary. José Mari choose MLS over the Spanish 2nd Division as well on a non-DP deal.
So ya, these deals are not killing MLS and really, they are helping. It also helps that we actually pay our players and offer a good living.
Oh, and not to forget, some MLS teams do provide living and things for their players. The Red Bulls do it for their players up until a certain point. Hell, many players room with each other and they are fine with it. They can pay the bills, provide for family, and make a living off the sport they love.
Just couple of days i was watching a show on TV, 2 girls were goven a award for their performances in sports. They showed a video clip of them, they had lot of trophies, may 30-50 even more but when you look at their house you would realized what we are talking here @rohan ;
If they were American then yes, that is probably where we lack. Womens sports here are behind in professionalism. Its organized sports where you would guess everyone is pro but really, its looks... many women athletes need to really do well to make it long-term here.
If they were Indian then please, I know very well what we are talking about. I am not an idiot, I wont say that these footballers in India are truely in great situations, I know where they come from, I know what struggles they have, I know the poverty they come from. I have heard of players leaving their families in huts in Mizoram just to walk to Imphal or Shillong to play football... some to even get to Kolkata. I know that the standard is a lot lower in India, I am not that dumb to say not... however, does that mean we pay them over there value... no.
We need to pay our footballers salaries that they can live on and, as professional clubs (if we are) we need to help the players settle in. We need a minimum salary, we need a maximum salary, we need a salary cap. Unless these things are done then we will forever be stuck in a cluster fuck in Indian football where we have guys believing they can make more than they can.
One day, a player in India who makes $125,000 will get an offer abroad where they are given $50,000-$75,000 for one year and they will have to make a choice... better football and lower salary or shit football with great salary.
@ArsenalFan700 ; Dont fall for Average or Mean salary. A very high salary for Dempsey or Beckham will skew the entire statistics. Median salary will be a better gauge. 33000 to 45000 Dollars is a pathetic salary for a Professional Soccer player in MLS. Have you thought abt cost of living in USA? NBA and NASCAR people are like superstars equivalent to Tendulkar and Ganguly superstar status in India where these people earn millions here. I am not talking about that. I never complained abt low salary for Dhoni or Tendlkar. Olympic medalists get so little in USA-you read about prize money. What about College Football, College Basketball???
In Economics, there is a term Purchasing Power Parity. 1 Dollar is equal to 60 rupees. but in reality 60 rupees is worth more then 1 dollar.The real PPP value of a Dollar to Rupee is 16 Rupees.
Again, that is why I said that if we do go the minimum salary/salary cap route we would also need things like helping players get settled, helping retired players, and other things which I can't be bothered to repeat. Fine, for some reason a player in India needs $75,000-$100,000 a year or he should kill himself as he is a failure at life and also a player has only like 10 years before retirement etc but if we are to really become professional we need to become financially responsible.
We talk of these names we would like in India, we talk of these magic improvements we want... but for all that we need money and that is something we don't have in Indian football and part of that is because of how the players are payed. Most players would only make the money they have in India and nowhere else.
If we don't take action soon then we will never get better and slowly it will all colapse on its ass and we will be left wondering why when the answer is easy to understand and fixable NOW.
Comments
Americans who win gold medals in London Olmpics 2012 will receive a $25,000 bonus,
while silver medals will bring $15,000 and bronze medal winners will net
$10,000.
This little money is very low for Olympic Medals as cost of living is very high in USA. Our players get crores of rupees plus lifetime jobs for medals.
In USA, http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/03/speedskater-emily-scott-food-stamps-donations/
Food Stamps are like what we have Below Poverty Line card for extreme poor in India. Olympic Medal winners are dependent on that or in the past even homeless as that country do not believe in giving money to sportspersons.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/13/ncaa-rules-trap-many-college-athletes-in-poverty/
Even MLS salaries are very low in Soccer. In that country, only TV channels, CEOs and some top stars of NBA or NFL are expected to make money.
That model is a failure if implemented in India. Nobody will play socccer at slave wages.
NBA and NASCAR people are like superstars equivalent to Tendulkar and Ganguly superstar status in India where these people earn millions here. I am not talking about that. I never complained abt low salary for Dhoni or Tendlkar.
Olympic medalists get so little in USA-you read about prize money.
What about College Football, College Basketball???
In Economics, there is a term Purchasing Power Parity. 1 Dollar is equal to 60 rupees. but in reality 60 rupees is worth more then 1 dollar.The real PPP value of a Dollar to Rupee is 16 Rupees.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/harish-damodaran/inflation-exchange-rates-and-ppp/article1540678.ece
Imagine an MLS player getting 50000 dollars yearly. Thats in PPP value 8 lakh rupees yearly. People will laugh at that salary in India.