I love Russell Wilson. The quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks has continually shown poise and undeniable leadership in the face of adversity and doubt. As he enters his fourth season in the NFL, the Seahawks are already considered contenders for the next Super Bowl and many people believe that Wilson could be looking at his first MVP award. Thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement in the NFL, rookies cannot negotiate their contract until their third year in the league. So here we are with Russell Wilson’s third season complete, and the Seattle Seahawks have decided to officially make him the face of the franchise by offering him $21 million a year with generous guaranteed money and incentives.
Russell Wilson turned it down.
Twenty-one million dollars! Most of us have no idea what we would do with that kind of money. I know I wouldn’t. Buy a house? Invest? Give to charity? Buy a new Miami Dolphins hat? There would definitely be a lot of options. Now, I can spend all day explaining to you why I do not believe that Russell Wilson is worth $21 million, but that would distract from my purpose today. Well, what the heck. Quickly, he simply is not an elite quarterback. He has amazing playmakers on the other side of the ball that confuse and frustrate offenses all over the league. He has his legs; running for 849 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. Those are great numbers for a running back let alone a quarterback. However, he simply does not do for his team what Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Ben Roethlisberger do for their teams. He doesn’t. I want my quarterback throwing forty touchdowns; not twenty. Nonetheless, the man has been to two Super Bowls in three seasons, winning one of them. If Seattle wants to pay the man, then that is exactly what they should do.
When the news came out about Wilson turning down an insane amount of money, the bloggers got heated up with the old “athletes are paid too much” headline and dove right in again. I personally support professional athletes, especially those that play in the NFL, going for every dime that they can squeeze out of their teams. I want you to think about what Russell Wilson has done for the Seattle Seahawks: home seats are always sold out, jersey sales are through the roof, free marketing gained by two Super Bowl appearances has done wonders for the organization, and his “good guy” appearance and actions have not distracted the club from playing some serious football. The Seattle organization has vaulted into stardom over the last three years, and a lot of that has to do with the play and leadership of Russell Wilson.
So, how has Russell Wilson been reimbursed for his contribution to the team? He hasn’t. Not one bit. For the past three seasons Russell Wilson has made $662,442 annually; just barely over the league minimum. Last season Russell Wilson was the third highest paid quarterback; on the Seattle Seahawks. You see, when a lot of the superstars sign their first big contract, they are technically being paid not only for what the organization hopes they continue to do, but for what they have actually already done. So when you see an athlete “holding out” for more money than his team is willing to offer him, think about what that athlete has already done for that team before judging him as a greedy jerk. Remember, it is very difficult for anyone to make the professional level in sports, let alone thrive and become exceedingly successful.
Let’s look at that deeper. In Division I college football, there are approximately 12,650 young men playing football. That doesn’t include smaller schools, junior universities, Canadian football, or Arena football. The number of players playing in the NFL is 1,696 when the teams drop to their 53 man roster. There simply is not much room for NFL hopefuls trying to make it to the ultimate level. The NFL level truly contains the best of the best of the best when it comes to talent. Now, out of the 1,696 “lucky” men who do play in the NFL, very few are considered elite andare paid accordingly. Also, very few actually stay in the NFL for too long. The average salary for an NFL player is just south of $2 million, and the average lifespan of an NFL player in the league is three seasons. So after spending your entire life injured, pushing hard in the weight room, monitoring your diet closer than a fitness trainer, and losing sleep in the film room, the average player is going to have very little chance at securing multiple millions of dollars for his future and the future of his family.
Wait a minute! That means the average NFL player makes about $6 million for his career. It would take the average working man in America multiple life times to come up with that kind of money! I know. I know. I hear you. However, the average American male is not sacrificing his body to excruciating pain on a daily basis. The average American male isn’t running steps by moonlight at midnight or pulling a dump truck tire behind him in order to reach some goal. The average American male doesn’t help the economy of his city by filling every bar, restaurant, hotel, and arena on game day. The average American male doesn’t provide some of the highest grade entertainment to millions of Americans, producing revenues for his company upward of $9 billion. The average American male doesn’t get booed and hissed every time he makes a mistake at work, and he definitely doesn’t get his name plastered throughout social media in a negative manner if he had a bad day at the office.
Personally, I am sick and tired of hearing about how athletes are overpaid. You want my honest opinion? I think they deserve more than what they currently receive. These athletes had a dream, for many of them, since they were younger children. These athletes have chosen to sacrifice their free time and family time to pursue that dream in order to prove that dreams do not have to die. These athletes have overcome hundreds of obstacles and hundreds of critics telling them that they can’t make it; that they weren’t good enough. They provide quality entertainment, boost their local economies, and breathe life into the dreams of thousands of young men across the country. Are they heroes? They sure are to the ten year old in his back yard running sprints. These men chose to go all in, to risk everything, and they have my upmost understanding and respect for what they do and how they sacrifice their bodies to do it. If you think that athletes are overpaid, then that is fine. I disagree. In fact, I think you’re nuts. Pay the man!
http://www.shmoop.com/careers/football-player/odds-of-getting-in.html
