Money is Everything

It is no surprise to us that professional baseball players make a lot of money, especially the superstars. I’ve always been curious to see how much they make. But I think what would surprise us the most (it surprised me) was how much they actually do make.  

But lets go through the past and see what kind of money baseball players made in 1967. I found this really good website about baseball salaries throughout the years. In 1967, the average player payroll was $19,000. The minimum was $6,000. Every year the average player payroll had a steady increase, it never decreased or flat lined. The pattern seemed to me, was the later the years the larger the increase. Once it hit the new millennium the average player payroll was $1,895,630 and the minimum was $200,000. Now in 2011, the average payroll for a single player is $3, 305,393. The minimum is $400,000 and has stayed at that number since 2009.

It is also no surprise that the the team with the highest pay roll is the New York Yankees. They are almost always a power house in the MLB. Because they can pay the best players what they want so they stay. According to USA Today , their 2011 total team payroll is $202,689,028 and the average is $6,756,300. The  MLB team with the least payroll is the Kansas City Royals. Their payroll comes in at $36,126,000 and the average being $1,338,000. 

According to CBS Sports's top 50 highest paid baseball player list. The number one highest paid player is New York Yankee, Alex Rodriguez. No surprise there. Rodriguez's 2011 salary comes in at a whopping $32,000,000. That means he makes almost as much as the Kansas City Royals combined. Just $4,126,000 short to be exact.

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez

32 million dollars...that is outrageous. Any normal person would be lucky to even see a million. I love baseball and the entertainment it provides for me. However, I don't think players' salaries should be this high. There are millions of firefighters and policemen risking their lives day in and day out who don't make anything near that amount of money. But that is just how our society is. Entertainers, whether it be in sports, movies, or music are paid a lot more by entertaining than everyday heroes are. I don't agree with it, but that is how it is. But until there is a solution I will continue to watch these millionaires hit home runs and making outstanding plays...'cause that is what they are paid for, right?