In the last few weeks, the world of sport has brought to mind the lyrics of a wonderful song from ABBA:
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In a rich man’s world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In a rich man’s world
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Or perhaps, more appropriate are the words of the late Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois who once said, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” The world of sport is now awash in some of that real money.
The Los Angeles Dodgers in a matter of a few weeks signed a 70-million-dollar contract with Shohei Otani, a 325-million-dollar contract with Yoshinobu Yamamoto , a contract with newly acquired pitcher Tyler Glasnow for $136.5 million, and a contract with Teoscar Hernandez for $25.5 million. The Dodgers seem to be spending “real money,” or are they? Not exactly, because Otani will defer $68 million of his contract. This can best be described as Otani giving the Dodgers a $68 million line of credit to be paid back to Otani between 2034 and 2043.
In the recently concluded College Football Playoff that crowned the mythical national champion, four teams were in the finals of the competition. Oddly they were not chosen for this playoff on the basis of on-field competition, but rather by a committee created by the powerful conferences in college football. What these four teams have in common is, as The New York Times recently reported, the ability to outbid others for players. The Times called them, “the best teams that money could buy,” and so they were.
At the end of the 2021 season, Texas football coaches turned to a tax-exempt charity called “Horns with a Heart” for some budget enhancement. This enabled the Longhorn recruiters to offer $50,000 to any high-quality lineman they wanted. They were able to attract seven huge linemen who were a key in leading Texas to the playoff this season.
At the center of this new system are the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules that allow players to be paid for their NIL in endorsements. There are now an estimated 140 of these entities across the country. The process has also been aided by the new liberal transfer rules that have made the term “transfer portal,” known to all football fans across the country.
In 2022, Alabama coach Nick Saban complained that Texas A&M had bought all of their players. Alabama now has two collectives operating to match or outbid Texas A&M or any other member of the opposition. The University of Washington created a new collective in 2022 designed to get and keep players in all sports. The Michigan Wolverines created two collectives and, at the start of the season, one of the star linemen told an interviewer that he expected to make between $225,000 and $500,000 during the season.
This, added to the building of luxurious training centers, athletic dorms, and other athletic facilities, has added to the appeal of a school’s athletic program. The facilities arms race is not new; it is just more spectacular than in pervious years.
One player being recruited for football by the University of California was impressed with their facilities. When that same player arrived for a visit at Michigan, he was awed by the size of the weight room, the training room, and the entire building housing the Athletic Department. He was also impressed that road trips were by plane.
Money, Money, Money
College coaches have been paid higher salaries than the presidents of their universities for well over a century. In 2023, the Head Football Coach at Michigan was paid approximately $10,000,000. The Washington Coach was underpaid at $4.2 million, but that will be corrected by a new contract very soon. Nick Saban topped the list at $11.4 million, while more than fifty coaches have salaries of $4 million. All these are base pay with a massive number of other perks and incentives inflating the numbers. These are single season numbers. Most coaches have long-term contracts with huge buyout numbers, the latter creating the phenomenon of “dead money.”
And so it goes. Across all sports, at all levels, across the globe, the key is, MONEY.
The College Football playoffs have validated the notion that one essential to success is money. In baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been trying for several years now to demonstrate the same principle. To date, money has taken them only so far. It will be interesting to watch and see if billions can take them further than millions were able to do.
My money is on the money.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don’t have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
Copyright 2024 by Richard C. Crepeau.
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