Business as Usual

“Sports is a business” has almost become a cliché that we fans hear from athletes whenever they are having contract negotiation troubles, or a teammate is traded, but rarely do we really read into their words.

Sports have evolved so much in the past few years, in every sense. A few years ago, players made a few hundred thousand dollars, these days, players are receiving record breaking hundred-million dollar contracts, such as Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, who both just received contracts worth over $100 million from the Yankees this past offseason. Just the other day at the MLB Network was playing the 1977 World Series, in which the Dodgers played the Yankees. While watching the game, I noticed how there was absolutely no advertisements around the stadium on the outfield walls, behind home plate, or anywhere else. It got me thinking about how much money had gone into sports in just the past 30 years. That year, 1977, one of the highest contracts was Reggie Jackson’s, Mr. October, who made a then groundbreaking one million dollars.

The point of all this is, is that once marketing and advertisement evolved to the point of bombarding consumers constantly, in this case during their form of entertainment, sports was the natural beneficiary. Advertising dollars allowed owners to do more with their teams, whether it was improving stadiums, hiring more workers, or most importantly; paying higher contracts to players. As this went on over time, higher contracts snowballed to the point of where we are today. Owners may complain, and fans may say it is ridiculous to pay a player that much money, but the fact of the matter is that it is corporations and the owners who are at fault, not the athletes. For every dollar that these athletes make, an owner is benefiting more than double.

For better or worse, professional sports have evolved beyond entertainment. We must take the good with the bad, because despite how corporate sports have become, we the fans have also benefited through the up to the second media coverage that sports have attracted, or even the creation of fantasy sports, allowing fans to get even closer to the game. Was it not for the money that was thrown into sports, all of that would never have become possible today. Sports have become a business, but it has also become one of the most fascinating and captivating forms of entertainment. For many people, sports has almost become an obsession, constantly seeking the newest news or keeping an ear to the ground about their favorite team’s next move. As fans we may not always like the fact that someone is making ludicrous amounts of money as we shell out five dollars for a hotdog to watch the game, but in all honesty I wouldn’t have it any other way, because I love what sports have become.