These "mother fuckers" are the product. Who should get the money then? Would you feel better if Jerry Jones got it all? Someone's got to get it. Jerry Jones doesn't throw touchdowns but if he didn't give some of the money to Tony Romo then he'd keep it all, would that be "more right"?
People routinely pay $100 or more to go watch these guys play a game for an hour, nobody pays that to watch a cop do his job.
Do you have any idea what the damage inflicted upon "these mother fuckers" by the end of their careers? I think they deserve every penny they make and until people stop shelling out hundreds of dollars to see them play, they will continue to deserve it. It's simple supply and demand, Econ 101 again. These aren't taxpayer funded teams, the money comes out of the bank accounts that the teams own. I ask you again, who should get that money? Nobody likes a billionaire team owner making even more, do they?
I understand your points. And they are solid and logical, though a bit dry (IMO).
However, my objection is moral.
There are few people in the world who are less necessary for it's smooth running then athletes. They exist strictly to provide entertainment. And are eminently replaceable.
If every single NFL player died tonight there would be at least 50 players waiting to replace each and every one of them tomorrow. People would mourn for a few weeks. They might even cancel a few games. But the NFL would go on just as before. And any thoughts that people would not watch it due to the reduced quality of play should take a gander at US college football tv ratings.
Sports are strictly for the entertainment of the masses. And they owe the masses their very existence as stinking rich people (both the athletes and the owners). So when the masses put their lives on the line en masse (like in Iraq/Afghanistan or in Canada's case 'just' Afghanistan) for the greater good of the nation (whether one agrees with the policy/war or not); then the entertainment industry should make a sacrifice for those that are literally dieing for their country.
So I believe that when there are soldiers in harms way from the country in question (especially one as rich as the US or Canada); every athlete/owner/employee employed in said country that makes over 1 million per year should donate at least 10% of their salary to a fund.
And this fund would be divided up amongst the returning soldiers and their families (and of course, the families that lost soldiers over their).
I guarantee you that if enough people suggested it that all major sporting leagues would not dare disagree with it for fear of looking unpatriotic.
As for the morality of making that much money in the first place for such a completely unnecessary job? I will leave that for another time.
