The annual salaries commanded by pro athletes seem to be ...



The annual salaries commanded by pro athletes seem to be growing exponentially, don’t they? It just seems like every year, in every sport, somebody is breaking a record for most money paid to a grown man for playing a game.Some of us don’t really have a problem with this, and instead fantasize about what we would do with all that money. (Medium-risk mutual funds usually don’t play large roles in such fantasies.) Others think it’s ridiculous that a guy can get paid $20 million a year to hit a leather-wrapped ball of twine with a stick. But no matter what you think about it, one thing is certain: the guys with the 8-figure salaries don’t mind one bit.

Here’s an up-to-date list of the top player salaries in the world of pro sports today.None of these figures include endorsement deals or other income. They are the players’ minimum base salaries or earnings. For basketball, the figures listed are what players are scheduled to be paid for the hypothetical 2011-12 NBA season. For all other sports, the figures are for the most recently completed season.Enjoy reading about how great other people have it!

15. Todd Helton / MLB / $20,275,000

Rockies first baseman Todd Helton got paid just over twenty million bucks to bat .302/.385/.466 (AVE/OBP/SLG) with 14 HRs and 69 RBIs this year. The 38-year-old, who hasn’t hit 20 HRs or slugged better than .500 since 2005, is clearly being paid more for what he did than what is currently doing.

14. Valentino Rossi / Moto GP / $20,800,000

Italian motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi is a 7x MotoGP (Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix) champion. And apparently there’s a boatload of money in European motorcycle racing, because Valentino here made a killing over the last year. (Note: there are no representatives from North American motor sports on this list.)

13. Kevin Garnett / NBA / $21,200,000

Kevin Garnett had a decent year with the Celtics last season, averaging 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. But that’s a far cry from the 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists he averaged per game in his 2004 MVP campaign. So, um…yeah. Like Todd Helton, Kevin will be paid more for what he did in the past that what he’s likely to do in the future. Sorry, Celtics fans.

12. Johan Santana / MLB / $21,645,000

In 2011, New York Mets ace Johan Santana easily cleared $20 million. But if you’re saying to yourself, “hey, I don’t even remember hearing anything about Santana this year,” you’d be on to something. The 32-year-old Venezuelan started 0 games, pitched 0 innings, and struck out 0 batters. On the bright side, I guess that would make his ERA 0.00.

11. Tim Duncan / NBA / $21,300,000

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan hasn’t been among the NBA’s most dangerous players for quite some time. But as you can clearly see, pro sports franchises tend not to take the inevitable process of aging into account when working out player contracts. Hence, Duncan is scheduled to be the 3rd-highest paid player in the league in 2011.

10. Rashard Lewis / NBA / $22,150,000

Speaking of NBA players with absurd contracts, the Wizards’ Rashard Lewis takes the cake on that front. Somehow, this two-time all-star negotiated a contract with the Orlando Magic that will make him the 2nd-highest paid player in NBA for the upcoming season. But what is more amazing than Lewis actually being signed to this contract? The fact that the Washington Wizards actually traded for this contract in 2010. (If this story sounds familiar to baseball fans, it should. See #4.)

9. Fernando Alonso / F1 / $22,700,000

This Formula 1 race car driver may have finished #2 in the standings last season, but he was #1 in cash. The Ferrari Team member made a cool $22.7 million, which made him Spain’s highest-paid athlete. (What, you thought that honor would go to a soccer player? Please, the world’s highest-paid soccer player is Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and he “only” made $19.5 million. This would have to be a top 20 list for a soccer player to make an appearance.)

8. Joe Mauer / MLB / $23,000,000

Twins catcher Joe Mauer struggled mightily with injuries throughout the 2011 season. Luckily, it was the first year of his massive 8-year $184 million contract, so he had twenty-three million reasons not to feel sorry for himself. (Also, he got to be in a Head & Shoulders commercial with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Troy Polamalu. That had to be pretty fun, right?)

7. Mark Teixeira / MLB / $23,125,000

Mark Teixeira is a great ballplayer, but you can’t really judge his talent by the size of his contract. Sure, he made over $23 million this year, but that’s in U.S. Dollars. In Yankee Dollars, that’s only like $15 million or so, which is not nearly as impressive.

6. CC Sabathia / MLB / $24,285,000

Ditto what I just said in #7 about Yankee Dollars versus U.S. Dollars. Sabathia made $4.284 million more than any other pitcher this year (Roy Halladay pulled in $20 million), but his 3.00 ERA was only the 17th best in baseball. I’m no accountant, but that doesn’t like a good return to me.

5. Kobe Bryant / NBA / $25,150,000

If you’re talking about the best player in the NBA, Kobe is still in the conversation. His 25.3 points per game this past season was good for 5th in the league, only 2.4 points behind the top dog, Kevin Durant. So, in one sense at least, Kobe’s $25 million salary seems reasonable. Still, with guys like D-Wade and LeBron making less than $17 million per year, it should be pretty obvious that a decent chunk of Kobe’s salary was earned by those 5 NBA championship rings.

4. Vernon Wells / MLB / $26,187,000

That look on Vernon’s face is probably the look you will have on your face when you realize he was paid over $26 million to hit .218/.248/.412 this season for the Los Angeles Angels. To give you a frame of reference, Johan Santana and his $21 million dollar salary probably gave a greater return to the Mets even though he didn’t play a single game this year—because at least he didn’t take up a whole spot on the roster.

3. Kimi Räikkönen / WRC + F1 / $26,333,000

Finland’s Kimi Räikkönen isn’t even close to being one of the all-time great F1 racers. He’s won just one Championship. Yes, that’s a nice accomplishment, but how did he turn that into a twenty-six million dollar salary? What’s more, Räikkönen doesn’t even compete in Formula 1 anymore. He’s on the World Rally Championship now. I’m sure that’s great, but it’s no F1. But more power to you, Kimi, and good luck in the future.

2. Alex Rodriguez / MLB / $32,000,000

Like Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, A-Rod is a Yankee, and the Yankees obviously don’t have a problem overpaying athletes. However, $32 million is a lot even for the Bronx Bombers. That’s like $20 million for regular teams. And all for a guy whose ability was significantly enhanced by steroids. Oops!

1. Manny Pacquiao / Boxing / $32,000,000

Diminutive boxer Manny Pacquiao is not only the WBO Welterweight World Champion. He’s also an elected member of the House of Representatives in his native Philippines. Still, I think it was the boxing that earned him that $32 million.

“Highest Pro Athlete Salaries of 2011” 4 Oct. 2011

|Professional Athlete - U.S. National Averages |

|Base pay only |

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|10th% |

|25th% |

|75th% |

|90th% |

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| |

|[pic] |

|[pic] |

|[pic] |

|[pic] |

|[pic] |

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| |

|$18,941 |

|$24,609 |

|$37,048 |

|$42,705 |

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| |

| |

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|The median expected salary for a typical Professional Athlete in the United States is $30,834. This basic market pricing report was prepared using our Certified |

|Compensation Professionals' analysis of survey data collected from thousands of HR departments at employers of all sizes, industries and geographies. |

|Source: HR Reported data as of September 2012 |

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|Job Description for Professional Athlete |

|New Search    |

| |

|Member of professional athletic team. Practices with team members on a regular basis and competes in chosen sport (i.e., football, baseball, gymnastics, swimming,|

|etc.). Has knowledge of sport's practices, policies, rules and regulations. May act as a spokesperson for team and/or sport. No formal education required. |

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|Article #2 |

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Article 3

Ready for some jaw-dropping moves by your favorite professional athletes?

Just check out their tax returns. Behind every sports star who's hauling down the big bucks is a keen-eyed certified public accountant quick-stepping through a maze of state and local income taxes imposed on nonresident athletes, commonly known as the "jock tax."

Professional sports players get taxed by pretty much every city and state in which they play, says Ryan Losi, CPA and executive vice president of Piascik & Associates, a Glen Allen, Va., accounting firm that represents more than 70 professional athletes. "NFL players typically file in 10 to 12 jurisdictions. NBA is somewhere between 16 and 20. MLB is somewhere between 20 and 26, and the NHL is between 14 and 16," says Losi.

This is the reason New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning lives in Hoboken, N.J., instead of in the Big Apple. It's simple arithmetic, says Raiola. "If he were a resident of New York, he'd pay 8.97 percent New York state tax and another 3.78 percent New York City tax on top of that, not only on his wage income but also his endorsements and investment interest," he says. "In New Jersey, he only pays 8.97 percent."

Read more: Taxes: Cost Of Being A Professional Athlete |

(4th Article) Professional Athlete's Salaries - Capitalism On Steroids



by rclinton5280 Hub Pages

29 Followers

This topic hits close to home.

I was born and raised in the southern states, and have visited more impoverished communities than I would care to mention. America has countless millions of people living at or below the poverty level. On top of that, we have millions more who are just getting by. Our school systems are a mess, and the children in them are not much better off. We want to protect our children, but vast numbers of our citizens support those who would give corporate greed even more room to breed and spawn. Our national coffers are empty. As citizens, we are targets of the police for funding of the local economy, using any little infraction as a means to further deplete people who already have too little. When 75% of Americans make 32,000 a year or less, multi million dollar a year contracts for athletes may be a bit over board.

Professional athletes average income

looks to be approximately 4 million a year across the board. Some of the number that I used for my calculations were based on 2005 and averages, so the figure may be slightly higher today. Gone are the days when men played a game with passion for the thrill of the competition. There were stars who laid it all on the line and through their love and made the games what they are today. The Babe Ruths, Jackie Robinsons, Arnold Palmers, and so many more. Men who played different sports, but who all carried that same uncompromising respect for themselves and those who they competed with. Their legacies are timeless, even though their salaries were dismal. The money meant almost nothing to them, because they were being given the opportunity to do what they loved and make a living doing it. There weren't any spoiled brats destroying their respective sports reputation. Each man was a symbol of a group, and the group held each other accountable. That's a place where America is really missing out in our current society. Accountability is counted in dollars.

We have created a monster.

Through our love of characters like the Babe and company, the business of professional sports is booming. The average professional sports team was valued at around 527.5 million dollars in 2010 according to my calculations. That average is based on the W. R. Hambrecht sports market and valuation report for 2011. The numbers I used cover the major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL). Now, let's move on to single individuals. The most successful individual athlete in history is Tiger Woods, with his endorsements and tournament career earnings recently topping the 1 billion dollar mark. Wow, one BILLION dollars. Can you imagine making that much money for hitting a golf ball.That figure is as close to absurd as I have ever heard. On the hardwood, Kobe Bryant made 53 million last year alone. I am a fan of basketball, but don't you think that 53 million might be too much for playing basketball? Not only does the vast majority of the money get wasted, making this one the most profitable jobs in America is driving our society's morals in a concerning direction. 9th graders can jump through the roof, but they can't count to ten. Houston, we have a problem......

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