Shaun Groves
We’re sitting in Moe’s today with the kids. The TV’s on – ESPN. Gresham, age 6, is riveted.
“Do you know what that says?” I ask him.
He nods his nu-uh.
“There’s this guy who just got a job playing football with this team for the next seven years. Guess how much he’s getting paid to play football for that team, buddy.”
“A hundred!”
“Nope. They’re paying him a hundred million dollars. To play football.”
“Why???”
“Great question, buddy.”
What would you say?
Thomas says:
Even though Haynesworth signed a contract that can pay him up to 115 million dollars by the end of the contract, only 41 million dollars of the contract is guaranteed for the first three years of the contract. Do to his age and length of the contract he probably will not see all of the 115 million dollars. If current trend continues, he will be released by year five of the contract because it will be detrimental to the salary cap that teams are required to operate by.
Thomas
Compassion dave says:
I wish I could say, “Good for him,” (like the Bible tells me too), but I’m not there yet.
Molly says:
I am having a hard time with “good for him” as well. Part of that is because I don’t understand how our values got so skewed to pay an athlete so much while our educators and protectors get so little.
Sigh.
Compassion dave says:
Well that kinda reminds of the story of the African missionary who traveled home on the same steamer as Teddy Roosevelt.
Long story short, the missionary was doing the ‘Lord’s work’ and ‘ol Teddy was shooting anything that moved. As they lit off the boat we can guess who received all the accolades. Needless to say, the missionary was little miffed and uttered to his companion something to the effect of, “Look at all the attention he gets when he comes home.”
His companion (I dunno, his wife perhaps) replied, “Just remember, you aren’t home yet.”
I suspect I messed up the details abit, but that doesn’t negate the truth of the tale.
Molly says:
Oh Dave, I like that story. I will have to remember that one.
Compassion dave says:
I should google it and get you the more accurate version…
(BRB…googling)
Well that was way to easy. The story comes from “The Bible Exposition Commentary,” written By Warren W. Wiersbe. Here is the entire story (sorry Shaunie for take’n up so much space)…
Dr. W.A. Criswell told about the faithful missionary couple who returned to the United States on the same ship that brought Teddy Roosevelt home from a safari in Africa. Many reporters and photographers were on the dock, waiting to see Roosevelt and interview him and take pictures; but nobody was on hand to welcome home the veteran missionaries who had spent their lives serving Christ in Africa.
That evening, in their modest hotel room, the couple reviewed their arrival in New York City; and the husband was somewhat bitter.
“It isn’t fair,” he said to his wife. “Mr. Roosevelt comes home from a hunting trip, and the whole country is out to meet him. We get home after years of service, and nobody was there to greet us.”
But his wife had the right answer: “Honey, we aren’t home yet.”
So my fellow believers, when you get discouraged because it seems to so hard to live in this world…so much heartache, anxiety over finances, so many problems to deal with—it can seem almost overwhelming. Be encouraged! We’re not home yet!
Mel says:
My kids would have answered the same way…amazing.
bryan a says:
literal answer: “Well Gresham, he is qualified to do a job that only a sliver of the population can do well. not only that, but he is probably the best in the league (aka in the world) at doing that job (playing defensive tackle in the NFL). that makes him special…and what makes him rich is that hundreds of thousands of people pay a lot of money to watch him do that job in person and on TV for half the year.”
snarky answer: “I don’t know why, Gresham. Many in the know think he will not play nearly as well now that he has his contract. Plus, why would you pay a lineman that much money? The risk of injury is so high. It was probably another bad signing by Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins.”
cliche answer: “You’d think we should pay teachers that much money and give the guys who play games for a living a $50,000 salary to chase a leather oval in matching spandex uniforms.”
jmac says:
Why you ask? His effect on a double team. Although I believe his best years are behind him.
Texas in Africa says:
Because he’ll bring in much more than that for his company? Ah, free-market capitalism.
LeAnn Rice says:
As a Redskins fan, I agree that this is probably another dumb decision by Dan Snyder. I’ll not recount the others. Albert Haynesworth is a very good football player and might possibly help the Redskins in that position. However, with the economy we are in right now, you would think we could find better ways to spend $100 million.
jimmyd3 says:
silly humans
Grovesfan says:
He gets paid that much money because the public is willing to pay the ticket and merchandising prices that are required in order to garner him that salary. Kinda ironic how quick we are to judge the corporate executive his/her extravagant bonuses and jets, but no one says anything about pro athletes salaries, etc. I’m not condoning either, just pointing our our twisted priorities.
michele says:
Well, I always tell my kids that each person is responsible to choose what they do with their money for God’s glory. So, we have to look at our own balance sheet … and they are pretty smart, they fill in the blanks.
I have no other answer. I know that when I look at entertainers of some sort (be it sports or other celebrity) … I think that they have so much money and wonder what they do with it. But I also recognize that people in the majority of the rest of the world would look at me and say the same. I pray that I am a good steward of what we have been given. God has been good to us and we’ve been so thankful to use it for Him.
brendasue says:
As a society, we value football, and thus football players. we show that we value it by spending our money on it.
Following a football team allows us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. When walking down the street, if I see someone wearing a Green Bay Packers shirt, I automatically have a bond with that person. We’re on the same side, and friends even though strangers- because we have been called to something bigger than ourselves and it is the same something for both of us. Seeing someone with a Dallas Cowboys shirt has the opposite affect.
Wouldn’t it be great if two people who are part of the Body of Christ felt the same unity? And valued it more than millions of dollars and some Sunday afternoon TV?
Veretax says:
First off, Skins fan here too, and while I disagree with those who think it was a bad move, I agree with the earlier poster that he won’t see the entire 100 Million. These days the numbers never translate to reality, and I don’t think they get all those millions in cold hard cash, I’d imagine some is put into deferred compensation or some such.
However, for Football players, they are lucky if they get 5-6 years in their career as a player. After that they get to work like the rest of us do.
I’d tell him not to worry about how much the man makes, that sports athletes, (You think Football is bad go look at Baseball or Basketball) are many times overvalued by our society in general.
I agree though, its a shame we don’t pay teachers more.