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Professional athletes earn a king's ransom to play children's games. Even though they're just being paid what businessmen and agents determine as "market value" for their unique and suddenly expensive skills, the contracts they command are absurd. We weeded out a bunch of facts for you to read in horror and disgust—from the amount of money Lance Armstrong made through his lies, to the fact that MLB's minimum wage is 32 times larger than New York State's, and even news that Aaron Hernandez still stands to get paid from prison. Check out these 25 Facts About Pro Athlete's Salaries That'll Turn You Into a Hater.
JaMarcus Russell just made another $3 million.
JaMarcus Russell will probably go down as the biggest bust in NFL history. Other No. 1 picks have had just as disastrous careers as Russell, but they didn't cost their teams $36.4 million in salary. Russell was owed $3 million when he was released by the Raiders—a payment which the Raiders never made good on. On July 2, a court ruled that the Raiders had to come through with the check. He's been out of Oakland since 2009, but he still haunts their accounting books.
Gilbert Arenas is still being paid by the Magic.
Even though Arenas only played eight games during the 2007-08 due to a knee injury, the Wizards still handed him a six-year, $111 million contract. He played 55 games over the next three seasons before being traded to the Magic, who took on the three years and $62 million left on his deal. (No wonder Magic GM Otis Smith got canned in 2012). After only 49 games, they amnestied Agent Zero. Although his contract doesn't count against the salary cap under the amnesty provision, the Magic are still on the hook to pay the man. He'll pick up another $22 million check and be the third-highest paid player in the league next season.
Ilya Kovalchuk currently has $100 Million worth of job security for 15 years.
Given the state of our economy, most of us would leap at 15 guaranteed years of work. Ilya Kovalchuk doesn't have to worry about that at all. The Devils gave him a 15-year, $100 million contract in 2010, but only after the NHL rejected the original 17-year, $102 million deal. Kovalchuk's 15-year contract is the longest one in sports history.
Lance Armstrong made $218 million by cheating.
Lance Armstrong is the Bernie Madoff of sports. Nobody (except maybe A-Rod) has made more money off of sports by lying about steroid use and cheating his sport. The Armstrong Empire of wins and endorsements has netted him a personal fortune of $218 million, but all because of "one big lie." Disgraceful.
Aaron Hernandez will probably make $3.25 million in jail this season.
Can you believe this shit? Aaron Hernandez will likely rot in jail this upcoming NFL season (and possibly the rest of his life), but his bank account will still be raking in Ms. His $2.5 million base salaries for the next two seasons were voided by the Patriots, as was his $1 million workout bonus, but his $3.25 million signing bonus was technically already supposed to be paid to him—the Patriots just deferred that payment to a later date.
Contract law and the Collective Bargaining Agreement fully guarantees that bonus no matter the circumstances, but um, murder charges might make room for an exception here. Until further court proceedings, Hernandez is on track to stack some serious cash in a prison cell.
The average Real Madrid player earns $149,935 per week.
It'd be great to make $149,935 in one year, much less a SINGLE WEEK. Real Madrid isn't the worst offender though-the average Barcelona player actually makes $166,934 a week. Footy fans should stop calling their clashes "El Clasico"—"El Ca$hico" is a much more fitting name.
Amar'e Stoudemire will earn $21,679,893 and $23,410,988 the next two seasons.
He'll actually be making more than Carmelo Anthony for these next two seasons. Hopefully the Knicks will be able to dump his soon-to-be expiring contract to free up some cap room for useful signings.
The highest paid MLS player makes 123 times more than the league minimum.
The Red Bulls' Thierry Henry is currently the highest paid MLS player, taking home $4.35 million this year. The MLS minimum currently stands at $35,125, a full 123 times less than Henry's salary. That's some serious income inequality.
The Mets paid Johan Santana $48 million for not pitching.
When Johan Santana's been healthy for the Mets, he's pitched like the ace they paid him to be. Problem is, he missed the entire 2011 season due to injury, and he recently suffered another shoulder injury that ended his 2013 season, and might end his career. He's earned $48 million for those two missed seasons—talk about money going down the drain.
Kobe Bryant will earn $30,453,805 next season.
There's a chance that Kobe Bryant won't touch the hardwood for the Lakers next season. He's targeting an Opening Night return from his torn achillies, but that may be wishful thinking on his part. Even if he does end up returning, there's a strong possibility that given his advanced age, and the severity of the injury, that he'll never regain his classic Black Mamba form. Regardless, the Lakers are on the hook for $30,453,805 in 2013-14. Dedicating over half of the $58.5 million salary cap to a player who might not play at all next season just doesn't seem like a smart basketball decision. Could the Lakers amnesty the Kobe Bean Bryant?
Albert Haynesworth made $1.78 million a game for the Redskins.
The Redskins have had more than a few free agent fiascos during Dan Synder's ownership. In 2007, Albert Haynesworth signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with them, but only about 40 percent of that money was guaranteed. He was cut after two seasons, but not before collecting $35.6 million from them for 20 healthy games of service. In case you don't have a calculator handy, that comes out to $1.78 million a game. Said Haynesworth when he initially signed: "You're not going to remember Albert Haynesworth as a bust." Whoops.
Jerome James once earned $5.8 million for playing five minutes.
Allan Houston, Eddy Curry, Amar'e Stoudemire have all crippled the Knicks on the court and within the salary cap, but at least they were awarded with contracts based on a prior history of strong performances. Jerome James had exactly two good playoff series before the Knicks threw a five-year, $30 million contract at him. He battled through injuries and overall poor play, but in the 2008- 2009 season, he picked up a $5.8 million check for playing a grand total of five minutes.
Alex Rodriguez makes $13,942 an hour.
He hasn't even played an inning this year for the Yankees, and yet he's making $13,942 an hour. Take the $29M he's owed this season and divide it by 2,080 work hours (based on a 40 hour work week over the 52 weeks of the year). So, while you're busy watching one 30 For 30 on Netflix, A-Rod is raking in racks on racks whether he's at home on the couch or suited up for a minor league team.
Albert Pujols can potentially be paid $7 million for one hit.
As part of the insane 10-year, $240 million contract that Albert Pujols signed in 2012, a handful of bonuses are included for reaching select career milestones. The largest of them is a $7 million bonus for breaking baseball's all-time home run record. If he can hit his 763rd career homer as an Angel, he'll collect a helluva check.
Baseball's minimum wage is 32 times New York State's.
Major League Baseball's minimum wage has doubled over the past decade, coming in at $480,000 this year. Comparatively, New York State's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Prorated over a year for a standard 40 hour work week, that comes out to $15,080, or about 32 times less than a scrub on the Mets will make this season.
The Yankees are paying $17.9 million for A.J. Burnett to pitch for the Pirates.
Like Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Jaret Wright, Hideki Irabu, and Kevin Brown before him, A.J. Burnett became another pricey free agent pitcher who didn't work out for the Yankees. Eager to rid themselves of Burnett's erratic pitching, they traded him and the remainder of his $82.5 million contract to the Pirates. To force the move through, they agreed to pay $17.9 million of the $30 million left on the deal. He's gone on to pitch like an All-Star for them, notching 20 wins in 35 starts and posting sub-3.6 ERAs in two seasons—all on the Steinbrenner family's dime.
Adam Archuleta got paid $10 million for seven starts.
After the 2005 season, Redskins owner Dan Synder made Adam Archuleta the highest paid safety in NFL history with a six-year, $30 million contract ($10 million of that was guaranteed). He certainly didn't deserve to be paid as handsomely. Archuleta started seven games before being demoted to special teams duty, and was traded to the Bears the following offseason.
Liverpool paid $64 million for Andy Carroll's six EPL goals.
Adding up everything Andy Carroll cost Liverpool (the infamous £35 million transfer fee, his £80,000 per week wages, plus the £1 million sweetener they gave him to transfer to West Ham), he's burned through approximately $64,528,425 of Liverpool's cash for one and a half seasons of service. And the return? Six Premier League goals, a host of injuries, fleeting memories, and one massive disappointment.
Average athlete income has increased over five times more than average American family income.
According to a 2002 University of Wisconsin-Parkside study, average pro athlete income increased over 1,000 percent from 1978-2002. Over that same period, median U.S. family income only increased 200 percent.
The current Chelsea FC has cost nearly $3 billion to acquire.
Since taking control in 2003, Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich has spent a mind-boggling amount to carry his new toy to the top. Combining all of the transfer fees, wages payed, and manager buy-outs and re-hires (right now, he's on his 11th manager in ten years of ownership), the total cost has pushed $3 billion. Thus far, Chelsea's taken home 12 trophies, including three EPL titles and one European Cup, during Abramovich's reign. Worth it?
Eddy Curry is broke.
When the Knicks tried to buy their success during the short-lived and much-maligned Larry Brown-Isaiah Thomas era, Eddy Curry was supposed to be their centerpiece. Instead, he became a poster boy for the failure of those times. The Knicks handed him a $56 million contract back in 2005, and he's managed to burn through all of that.
In 2010, his house was foreclosed and his expenses were detailed for the public to awe and gawk at. Or just throw up at. He took out a $570,000 personal loan at a suicidal 85 percent interest rate, and had a litany of bills: payments for 17 cars, $6,000 a month for a personal chef, a $350,000 mortgage, $17,000 a month rent for another home, $15,000 a month allowances for his parents, sister, and in-laws, and $30,000 on "household expenses." OH MY GOD HOW DO YOU SPEND $30,000 ON GROCCERIES AND UTILITIES? He must've been dropping grips on lobsters at Costco daily AND leaving every single light on in the house at all hours. Wasteful, wasteful, WASTEFUL.
Kimi Räikkönen's annual salary was more than an entire country's GDP.
In 2007, Kimi Räikkönen was tipped to be Michael Schumacher's successor at Ferrari. They certainly paid him as more than that. He earned $51 million a year at Ferrari, nearly double what Schumacher made per year. He won the F1 Driver's Championship in 2007, repaying Ferrari for their belief in him, but holy sh*t is that a lot of cash. Comparatively, Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation, has a nominal GDP of $37 million.
Floyd Mayweather earns more per fight than the entire Houston Astros team.
Back in February, Showtime signed Floyd "Money" Mayweather to a six-fight, 30-month deal. His last fight with Robert Guerrero on May 4 saw Mayweather pocket $32 million in purse money, and an additional $10 million+ in PPV revenue sharing. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros 2013 Opening Day payroll was $21,133,500. Major League Baseball has got to do something about teams bottoming out their payrolls.
Alex Rodriguez is the two-time richest athlete ever.
The biggest douchebag in sports has also earned more money from professional sports franchises than any other athlete in history. The 10-year, $275,000,000 contract he got from the Yankees in 2008 is the largest contract in sports history. Guess who has the second-largest sports contract? Alex Rodriguez. The $252,000,000 deal he got from the Rangers in 2001 was the largest in history before his Yankees deal. Those are some serious Ms.
Bobby Bonilla will be rich forever.
Bobby Bonilla, despite not having played for the Mets since 1999, got paid more this year by the Mets than everyone on their' roster aside from six players. When they released him in 1999, instead of paying the $5.9 million still owed on his contract, they decided to defer that amount to be paid over time from 2011-2035, but with interest. Now, he picks up a check from them every July 1 for $1.2 million. The Mets weren't the only one who screwed themselves into a deal like that with Bonilla—the Orioles pay him $500,000 every year too. He'll be 72 by time he's off the Mets' books.