I was reading the British papers this morning, like I always do, and discovered an incredible statistic. Manchester United’s annual salary bill stands at a little under $200 million. When you compare that to the NFL and NBA which teeters a little above $100 million, it is astounding. How about when you compare it to the MLS salary cap of $2.3 million…
It is staggering, when the world is struggling financially, that professional sports can pay out such exorbitant amounts of money on players. Just look at the Yankee’s. They just signed Alex Rodriguez to a $275 million contract, Jeter is already on a $189 million contract, and CC Sabathia just signed a $161 million dollar contract. The kicker is, they are all guaranteed.
April 17, 2009 at 7:30 am
Don’t forget that not only do Man Utd pay those huge wages, they’re also in huge amounts of debt since the Glazers’ takeover.
The figures in sports are like monopoly money- a different world!
April 17, 2009 at 2:33 pm
It is wild. Professional athletes make a lot over here, but the NFL is the only major league in the world for football (American). They can pay lots of money because all the TV and commercial investments are with them. There are so many soccer clubs in the world that pay large salaries. It would be frightening to add up the total amount of money that is paid to soccer players. I can’t imagine what the old school players of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s must be thinking …..