OC Register: Why most pro athletes — including Mike Trout — are worth every penny of their big money salaries

[AngelsWin.com]

• 

  Angels center fielder Mike Trout has succeeded as a low-key player in a low-key market, and he obviously has decided the stability and the lifestyle were worth agreeing to a 12-year, $426.5 million deal now and staying in Orange County, rather than waiting for 2020 and shooting for a $500 million-plus contract. (Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• 

  Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is greeted by teammate Mike Trout as he returns to the dugout after hitting a home run in a 2017 game against the Red Sox. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

• Sound

  The gallery will resume inseconds
• 

  “Good for him and his family,” Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun, right, said of Mike Trout’s agreeing to a long-term deal to remain with the Angels. “He’s the best player I’ve ever seen. He’s done everything to really deserve this. It couldn’t happen to a better guy, really.” (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

• 

  Between the cost of inflation and Mike Trout’s massive potential, you could consider a 12-year, $426.5 million contract to keep the world’s best baseball player in an Angels uniform a “team-friendly deal.” (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

• 

  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout in action against the Seattle Mariners in a spring training baseball game Sunday, March 10, 2019, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout takes a warm-up swing before batting against the Seattle Mariners in a spring training baseball game Sunday, March 10, 2019, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  Fans squeeze forward as they try to get an autograph from Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout before a spring training baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, March 10, 2019, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, center, is congratulated on his 3-run home run against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 5, 2019, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  The Angels’ Mike Trout connects on a three-run home run during the third inning of Tuesday’s Cactus League game against the Cubs in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout (27) singles as Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras and the home plate umpire look on in the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game Tuesday, March 5, 2019, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  The Angels’ Mike Trout, center, is congratulated after he hit a three-run home run during the third inning of Tuesday’s Cactus League game against the Cubs in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• 

  Los Angeles Angeles’ Mike Trout #27 during photo day at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels during spring training at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Friday, February 22, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels during spring training at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Friday, February 22, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  A Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels fan waits for an autograph prior to a MLB spring training baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the San Francisco Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday, February 23, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  An Angels fan in a Mike Trout hat shoots video during batting practice prior to Friday’s Cactus League game between the Angels and the Kansas City Royals in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

• 

  The Angels’ Mike Trout waits for a pitch during Thursday’s Cactus League game against the Texas Rangers in Tempe, Ariz. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

• 

  Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels signs autographs for fans prior to a MLB spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday, February 23, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels signs autographs for fans prior to a MLB spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday, February 23, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels signs autographs for fans prior to a MLB spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday, February 23, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

• 

  Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels signs autographs for fans prior to a MLB spring training baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday, February 23, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Show Caption

of

Expand

Mike Trout will get gobs of money to play baseball for the Angels for the next decade or so.

Some will grumble he’s yet another overpaid athlete in an era when adequate compensation is debated for seemingly mission-critical jobs — such as teachers and nurses and members of the armed forces. I won’t debate in this column the relative societal importance of certain professions, but I will note that humanity would prosper without pro sports.

But when looking at the employment marketplace that richly rewards Trout and other high-paid star athletes, we find this cohort is usually worth the eye-catching annual salaries. Here are my 10 reasons why giant sports paychecks make dollars and sense for athletes and owners alike…

1. No good ol’ boys club. Ponder the many corporate CEOs who often get paid equally big pay. Their compensation is typically set by a corporation’s board of directors. These are people who are aligned – if not friends with – that same chief executive. Yes, there is great demand for quality executive talent. But athletic pay is set solely in owner-player negotiations, not by a bunch of peers who are quite motivated to keep executive pay astronomically high.

2. Nobody forced team owners to pay up. Every one of these gigantic pro sports salaries was contracted in arms-length negotiations. There was no gun pointed at the head of the team management to make these deals. Big-dollar contracts were simply business decisions in which the franchise’s budgetary pressures were balanced against the need to be competitive. Look, the owner could hire bargain players … and risk suffering from disenchanted fans and empty seats created by loss-filled seasons.

3. It’s a very competitive marketplace. Dozens of top athletes fight to get the comparatively limited number of big-buck deals. That puts pressure on most star players to sign relatively quickly before team budgets get too stretched. Every season it seems there’s a story of one athlete who pushed the pay envelope too hard – and either had to sit out for higher pay or accept far less favorable terms.

4. Full transparency. There are a few secrets in professional sports. Most contract terms become public in one form or another. And the players’ on-field performance is hyper-analyzed by and for everyone – from team management to fellow players to fans – to see and contemplate. Do we have that kind of visibility, say, for how well high-paid CEOs are performing?

5. Union protection. There is a certain job market irony to these top-dollar pro sports salaries. All these athletes are union members. Without the ability to collectively bargain — something athletes fought hard to win and maintain – to gain “free agency,” these super salaries would probably have never materialized. You’d think these high-paid, union-member athletes would be perfect marketing fodder for a pro-labor movement in a period when typical household salaries and workplace benefits are largely stagnant.

6. These are huge businesses. Pro sports are massively profitable and valuable endeavors. The combined value of the 123 teams in four major U.S. pro sports is almost $200 billion, according to Forbes magazines. So what seem to be “mega” athlete contracts, in reality, won’t break the sports bank. And without the star athlete, the sports buzz would likely be lower — along with team owners’ net worth.

7. It’s hard work. Yes, these are young men playing boys games. Yes, they are pampered and paid well to perform. But these top athletes work incredibly hard to get to this level, then keep their bodies and skills at the highest level of performance and efficiency. Producing a steady stream of sports entertainment involves body-grinding schedules often involving intense traveling around the continent. And most pro athletes only last a few years in this profitable craft.

8. Not all athletes are richly compensated. For every nine-figure guaranteed-money contract, dozens of lesser-known, lesser-skilled athletes toil for far less money. That’s true for players in the four major pro sports to the minor leaguers, to folks working in numerous other athletic endeavors that don’t bask in the high-profit glow of major sports.

9. Marketable talents. Sports team owners aren’t stupid. They know paying a star athlete a headline-grabbing salary often earns a decent return on that investment. Star players, assuming they perform like star players after they’ve signed a big contract, help sell tickets and merchandise and get people to watch games on ad-filled television broadcasts. It’s the execution of an old-fashioned adage: spend money to make money.

10. If not the players, then whom? Where would all the money pro sports generates — from ticket sales and merchandise to broadcasting rights — if players were far less compensated? Should the already-wealthy team owner collect more? OK, let’s argue that if players were paid less, the prices of tickets or a beer at the stadium or merchandise could be lower. But consider how packed stadiums and arenas are these days. Or how long the lines at concession stands have become. Or how often you see folks wearing team logo apparel. Few are balking at buying a slice of the pro sports buzz that’s amplified by huge salaries the athletes get.

Related Articles

• Alexander: Mike Trout’s Angels deal rewards baseball’s best, and most humble, star
• A look at Mike Trout’s deal to remain an Angel through 2030
• Angels players bask in the glow of Mike Trout’s new contract
• Mike Trout’s lifetime contract with the Angels is just part of latest trend for MLB superstars
• Where Mike Trout’s deal would land among the 10 biggest contracts in pro sports history

View the full article