Billionaire's playground: the world of professional sports

[theHandpuppet]

I'm not sure why this subject has been so taboo on DU (previous attempts to broach this subject have been met with surprising reproach) but let me wade in here once again. Perhaps we all need to be reminded that at a time when Americans are losing benefits, having pensions slashed, cities are going bankrupt, schools are locking their doors, the poor are being told there's simply not enough money to feed, clothe and house their children, there's at least one tier of citizenry who are laughing all the way to the bank -- owners of professional sports franchises. While most families in America work multiple jobs to make ends meet, owners of team sports hold financially strapped cities in a type of financial blackmail, demanding taxpayer monies to build their stadiums and all manner of compensation packages, right down to breaks on their utility bills. Even better for these owners, the federal government seems a willing partner to this sham with the huge taxbreaks proffered to sports industries from NASCAR to the NFL which, in case you didn't know, has tax-exempt status.
Then again, perhaps I'm being too hard on these shining examples of American entrepreneurship. It could just be a matter of.. well, as Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen put it so simply, "I'm better at life than you."
What is it about the sacred cow called professional sports that no amount of greed and corruption can stir an ongoing debate, much less the slightest outrage, about the inequity of it all. To the billionaire owners it's just a game, and one they play with house money.

To begin, let's take a look at a sampling of some non-sports jobs and what they pay. The following wage figures were garnered from several sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Forbes and ESPN

Average salary (median) for the following professions (in thousands of dollars)
Elementary-high school teacher: 40 –44.6
Firefighter: 42.4
State governor: 124
Mail carrier: 40 – 56.7
Day care worker: 21.3
Staff nurse, RN: 67.4
Maids and housekeeping cleaners: 21.8
Plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters: 46.6
PFC, US Army <2 yrs experience, active duty : 20.3
Speaker of the House: 223
Retail salesperson: 25.3
Sanitation worker: 28.9
President of the United States: 400
Housewife: 0; calculated compensation due: 134.1

Now let's compare those incomes with the median annual salaries in professional sports: (in millions)
MLB: 3. 4 (Alex Rodriquez, per game: 150 thousand)
NBA: 5.1
NHL 2.4
NFL: 1.9
NFL Commissioner, including compensation: 29.4
Highest paid college coaches, top 50: 1.49 - 5.19
Highest paid golfer: Tiger Woods, 78.1*
Highest paid tennis pro: Roger Federer, 71.5*
*includes monies paid for endorsements; figures provided for MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL do not include monies paid for endorsements.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/26/paul-allen-is-the-richest-nfl-owner/
Paul Allen is the richest NFL owner, by far
Posted by Mike Florio on March 26, 2013, 1:50 PM EDT

Like Seattle star cornerback Richard Sherman recently told Skip Bayless,
Seahawks owner Paul Allen once again can declare to his NFL colleagues, “I’m
better at life than you.”

Forbes has issued its annual list of worldwide billionaires. Not
surprisingly, more than a few of them own NFL teams. The richest of all NFL
owners, via SportsBusiness Daily, is Allen, at a whopping $15 billion.

A full 11 figures in the distance is Rams owner Stan Kroenke, at $5.0
billion. (Coupled with wife Ann Walton Kroenke’s $4.5 billion, that’s a
$9.5 billion power couple.)

The bronze is shared by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Buccaneers owner
Malcolm Glazer, both of whom are listed at a net worth of $4.4 billion.

Next on the list is Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, at $2.9 billion. Giants
co-owner Joan Tisch also has a net worth of $2.9 billion.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is worth $2.7 billion, followed by Patriots owner
Robert Kraft ($2.3 billion), Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III ($1.8 billion),
Texans owner Bob McNair ($1.8 billion), Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti ($1.8
billion), Falcons owner Arthur Blank ($1.6 billion), Colts owner Jim Irsay
($1.5 billion), Titans owner Bud Adams ($1.2 billion), Saints owner Tom
Benson ($1.2 billion), 49ers co-owner Denise York ($1.1 billion), Redskins
owner Dan Snyder ($1.0 billion), and Chargers owner Alex Spanos ($1.0
billion).

That’s 19 teams owned by billionaires, with every team in the AFC South
owned by a billionaire. Which means, excluding the publicly-owned Packers,
12 teams are owned by non-billionaires.

Which makes us wonder what those owners are doing with the money that owning
an NFL team allows them to print.

Follow these links for a small sampling of articles on the subject :

Congress Gives NASCAR a $40M Tax Break
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2010/12/24/congress-gives-nascar-a-40m-tax-break.htm

Why Does the National Football League Deserve Tax-Exempt Status?http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-frederick/nfl-tax-exempt_b_1321635.html

Big-time sports tax breaks: 'How much does it bother you?'http://www.wral.com/nfl-is-tax-free-how-much-does-it-bother-you-/12063209/

House panel OKs $60M in tax breaks for sports facilities (Florida)
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-03-20/business/os-sports-facilities-tax-break-bills-20130320_1_sales-taxes-house-tax-committee-new-tax-collections

Kentucky govt. diverts economic development funds from Appalachian counties for basketball arena
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023147631