The Average Pay in Professional Sports
Andrew Thornton Quick Links
We work our butts off at least eight hours each day, five days a week, from the time we graduate from college until we retire when we reach our 60s. And what do we get out of it? Maybe a modest home, probably a decent car, plus a little savings to help our kids with their college tuition. And the sad part is that your kid is bound to repeat the same cycle. He will spend several years after graduation trying to pay off his college loan, before spending the next two years trying to meet mortgage for his car and home.
The average American salary is $32,390 a year. Compare that to the average salary of a professional basketball player in the NBA of $5.2 million a year. Of course, an average player can play around seven to ten years only. Still, at this rate, you will need to work more than 160 years before you can match the salary for one year of a basketball player.
These 20 jobs pay at around the average salary.
1. Forest and Conservatin Technicians
2. Floor Sanders and Finishers
3. Medical Transcriptionists
4. Electronic Home Entertainment Equipment Installers
5. Automotive Glass Installers
6. Printing Machine Operators
7. Semiconductor Processors
8. Dental Assistants
9. Parking Enforcers
10. Structural Metal Fabricators
11. Loan Clerks
12. Accounting Clerks
13. Log Scalers
14. Metal Casters
15. Engine Assemblers
16. Opticians
17. Broadcast Technicians
18. Jewelers
19. Meter Readers
20. Painters and Maintenance Workers
On the other hand, you may want to aim high and go for the highest paying regular jobs, such as:
1. Doctors and Surgeons - $234,950
2. Dentists and Orthodontists - $204,670
3. Chief Executive Officer - $176,550
4. Petroleum Engineer - $138,980
5. Lawyer - $130,490
6. Architectural and Engineering Managers - $129,350
7. Natural Science Manager - $128,230
8. Marketing Manager - $126,190
9. Computer and Information Systems Manager - $125,660
10. Industrial Psychologist - $124,160
11. Financial Manager - $120,450
12. Pilots - $118,070
13. Sales Manager - $116,860
14. Air Traffic Controller - $114,460
15. Pharmacist - $112,160
Even the salary of the most renowned doctor pales in comparison to that of an average NBA player. It will take the doctor more than 22 years before he can match the salary for one year of a basketball player with average NBA talent. Of course, this is even worsened by the thought that it takes a doctor several years of top-class education and training before he can start earning that figure. A basketball player probably muddled through high school and maybe spent a year or two of college before he starts earning ridiculous amounts playing a sport he has loved since he was a kid.
Average Salaries of the Major Sports
North America has four major sports, namely basketball, baseball, football and ice hockey. Golf and tennis are two of the biggest individual sports. The average salaries for these sports are:
- Basketball (NBA) - $5.2 million
- Baseball (MLB) - $2.5 million
- Football (NFL) - $1.75 million
- Ice Hockey (NHL) - $1.3 million
- Men’s Golf (PGA) - $0.973 million
- Women’s Tennis (WTA) - $0.345 million
- Men’s Tennis (ATP) - $0.260 million
- Women’s Golf (LPGA) - $0.162 million
To ensure that the major team sports stay competitive with the salaries of the players not running wild, salary caps have been implemented. Huge penalties are imposed to those who go over the cap. The caps per league are as follows:
- MLB - $178 million
- NFL - $120 million
- NHL - $70.2 million
- NBA - $58.04 million
Of course, it can also be argued that the leagues of these major sports bring in billions of dollar in revenue. It is therefore just right that the players earn substantially from it as they serve as the league’s products that are sold to the public. Yearly revenues of the major sports are as follows:
- NFL - $9 billion
- MLB - $7 billion
- NBA - $3.8 billion
- NHL - $2.9 billion
Highest Paid Players
The leagues’ selling points are its marquee players. They are the ones that earn the huge bucks because they are also the ones that ring in the cash register in terms of tickets, advertising and merchandise. The highest paid players by sport are as follows:
Basketball
1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers - $27.8 million
2. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks - $20.9 million
3. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks - $20.5 million
4. Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks - $19.9 million
5. Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets - $19.8 million
6. Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers - $19.5 million
7. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers - $19 million
8. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers - $17.8 million
9. Chris Bosh, Miami Heat - $17.5 million
10. Lebron James, Miami Heat - $17.5 million
Baseball
1. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees - $30 million
2. Vernon Wells, Los Angeles Angels - $24.2 million
3. Johan Santana, New York Mets - $23.1 million
4. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees - $23.1 million
5. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees - $23 million
6. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins - $23 million
7. Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers - $23 million
8. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers - $21.8 million
9. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies - $21.5 million
10. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers - $21 million
Football
1. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens - $20.1 million
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints - $20 million
3. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos - $19.2 million
4. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions - $18.8 million
5. Mario Williams, Buffalo Bills - $16 million
6. Eli Manning, New York Giants - $15.3 million
7. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals - $14.1 million
8. Tom Brady, New England Patriots - $14.1 million
9. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers - $14 million
10. Julius Peppers, Chicago Bears - $14 million
Ice Hockey
1. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators - $14 million
2. Brad Richards, New York Rangers - $12 million
3. Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres - $12 million
4. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild - $12 million
5. Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild - $12 million
6. Ilya Kovalchuck, New Jersey Devils - $11 million
7. Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning - $10 million
8. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburg Penguins - $9 million
9. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals - $9 million
10. Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes - $8.5 million
