How hard does Ben Roethlisberger have to work for $100k?
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Career, Celebs & Money
We all know that professional athletes make big money, but did you ever imagine that it takes the average U.S. citizen four years to make what Ben Roethlisberger makes in four snaps? According to the number crunching done by The Wall Street Journal Roethlisberger's not the only one who earns $100 large in the time it takes you to order lunch.
Some of the breakdowns are simply stunning. Did you realize that Tiger Woods pulls in $2,329 every time he swings his club? Most of us would be happy to make that kind of money in a year's worth of skins games! On the low end of the scale sits professional bowler Norm Duke, who has to bowl 2,360 frames to make $100,000, but at $2 a pin it's still not too shabby.
I'm a little surprised that the list left off soccer star David "Bend it Like" Beckham, who pulls in $6.5 million a season playing for the L.A. Galaxy, which breaks down to $1.3 million a goal, or $812,500 per assist. With stats like that it's hard to believe that he actually has to play 38 minutes to earn $100,000 during the 08-09 season.
It's easy to break down athletic salaries into bullet points like this and stare, slack-jawed at the seemingly minimal efforts required to make more money than most people make in a year, but when it comes down to it, these athletes put in countless hours of practice and training to hone their specific skills into a paycheck.
However you feel about the effort it takes professional athletes to make $100,000, you won't find me doing the calculations to see how many blog posts it will take to make $100,000. I'm pretty sure that Nelson Pizzaro, who at $15,300 is the lowest paid MLS player, will agree that not everyone needs to know the exact breakdown of what it takes to make $100,000.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-31-2009 @ 8:02AM
Hugh said...
Rebecca, if you were really making any money from that scam, you wouldn't be peddling it here. How much do you get, 2 cents for every time you post those lies? Get a real job, become a hooker. You already suck anyway.
Reply
9-02-2009 @ 9:29AM
Agnes said...
I thought I was going to read " How much Tiger Woods makes per swing " ??????
Reply
8-31-2009 @ 10:06AM
Josh Smith said...
It's in there: "Did you realize that Tiger Woods pulls in $2,329 every time he swings his club?"
8-31-2009 @ 10:19AM
Ed said...
Agnes
Read it again.
Reply
8-31-2009 @ 10:27AM
Sev said...
I bet before Tiger makes that money on a nationaly televised event, he takes 100s and 100s of practice swings which probably aren't included in a formula. He would not be making that much if he doesn't take those unaccounted for swing no one sees. :) ....
Reply
8-31-2009 @ 10:36AM
dougo said...
I'm tired of hearing about all the money the pros make ! maybe some of them deserve it but alot of them are in it for the big bucks and could give a shi.... about the team. sports announcers throw around the numbers like candy . maybe they should stop and concentrate on making the games more fun . all the gmes ! .
Reply
8-31-2009 @ 11:23AM
Dee Dee said...
Recently, on a TV program depicting real emergency 911 responses, paremedics, emergency room staff and surgeons delt with a accident patient who had fractures throughout his body, multiple puncture wounds, had lost his arm and had lost so much blood he was at death's door. All those healthcare professionals helped to save this man's life and his family is glad to still have Dad and Husband in their lives. Let's pay the health care workers more and people who play games for a living, less.
Reply
9-01-2009 @ 11:21AM
Elton said...
Dee Dee,
i agree that paramedics, teachers, firemen, etc. should be paid more, but to suggest that we pay them more and the sports athletes less is ridiculous. That's a kinda socialistic. If you want to see the sports guys make less, then tell your family and friends to stop going to sports games, buying sports jerseys and stop watching ESPN or any television sports, because that's where the money comes from. In addition, everyone needs to stop bitching about paying higher local and state taxes, because that's where the teacher, paramedic, police and firemen's money is based on. Don't hate the athletes, blame yourselves.
8-31-2009 @ 11:29AM
Don said...
This article makes no sense, If Tiger makes $2329 per swing, then it follows that he makes more money if he swings his club more. The truth is he makes more money for fewer swings. He doesn't make $2329 per swing, he makes millions for the one or two fewer swings he makes than the guy in second place.
Reply
8-31-2009 @ 12:45PM
cris said...
People have a choice in what they do for a living. Health care workers and emergency personnel know about the wages and the crappy hours before they start working. Footballs players are aware of the potential of life-threatening or at least, career-ending situations. Athletes get paid more simply because there are fewer of them that can get the job done Really, only a handful of people can do what Tiger does or what Ben does. Doctors and nurses are a dime a dozen in comparison. Insurance companies basically pay the doctors salary. Do you want to pay more for insurance just so that they can make even more money? Maybe the health care profession should think about endorsments if they want to make more.
Reply
8-31-2009 @ 2:45PM
Howard Hambrecht said...
As a retired physician, I feel your argument for paying health care workers lower wages based on the fact that "they know about the wages and crappy hours before they start working" a spurious one. One should be thankful these dedicated people are available when we really need them i.e. life altering or potentially life altering situations.As far as doctors and nurses being "dime a dozen" you are obviously ignorant of the shortage of nurses and the pending shortages of physicians. You allude to insurance companies "basically paying doctors salaries". There is truth to this statement and therein lies part of the problem. The transaction would be less costly if it involved the patient paying the doctor not involving a third party (the insurance company)which takes it's significant cut.Doctors charges were paid this way until 1947 when health insurance first appeared. Can you imagine how much more other services (auto repair, accountants, lawyers, gardeners etc.) would be if you added a third party.
Hopefully the health care profession will retain it's high standards and not resort to "endorsements"or the withholding of services to "make more"
8-31-2009 @ 1:51PM
rspangjr said...
That doesnt take into account how many practice swings Tiger takes, nor how many snaps Ben takes in practice of the off season. There is a little more to it than the article would lead you to believe
Reply