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OT slightly: Dwayne Wade says players should be compensated for Olympics
If he doesn't want to go unless he is paid, then fine, stay home, and let others more willing to play for country and whatever is left of the Olympic spirit play instead.
Yes, I agree, and Id go even farther, suggesting that professionals from any of the Big 4 Sports be ruled ineligible to play at all. However, Teams USA & Canada would be hard pressed to compete in hockey for example, as Rene'h Fasel, head of the IIHF, overseer of all of the European Professional Leagues & sitting member of the IOC, Chairman of the Hockey Committee, would make life very difficult for the NHL with respect to player transfers from Sweden, Finland, you name it.
So maybe rather than the NHLPA as a body demanding its players be allowed to compete, shutting down the league, the NHL nor the players receiving dime one, the players agents in negotiating contracts asking for an optional "leave of absence" if any given player would like to compete in the Winter Games. Insurance would be a key factor, the USOC & COA through Hockey USA & Hockey Canada would have to provide absolutely iron clad policies that if a players injured or lost for a season or God forbid his career while competing, the club compensated accordingly, and of course the player would foresake his renumeration while away playing in the games. League play meanwhile would just carry on as per usual instead of shutting down for 10 days or 3 weeks. I dont know. But in a perfect world, rather than the Olympics, Id much prefer to see a "World Cup" type dealeo every 2-3 years... but for Rene'. Problemo.
I dont believe "Pro's" of any ilk have any business competing in the Summer or Winter Games.
Then you disagree with de Coubertin's ideals from the late 19th century. Not that there's anything wrong with that per se but you seemed to be using them to help your argument.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Killion
Their making an absolute killing off the backs of the leagues, teams, sports federations, pro tours etc in securing the best of the best professionals, shutting down businesses for 3 weeks and all without any compensation whatsoever.
They make a killing off the backs of athletes, not leagues. Athletes have negociated the right to be available for the Games. If the employers were stupid enough to not get anything in return, it's none of the IOC's business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Killion
Yes, I agree, and Id go even farther, suggesting that professionals from any of the Big 4 Sports be ruled ineligible to play at all. However, Teams USA & Canada would be hard pressed to compete in hockey for example,
Then you disagree with de Coubertin's ideals from the late 19th century. Not that there's anything wrong with that per se but you seemed to be using them to help your argument.
They make a killing off the backs of athletes, not leagues. Athletes have negociated the right to be available for the Games. If the employers were stupid enough to not get anything in return, it's none of the IOC's business.
Wouldn't be surprised if a lot of professional athletes that also participated in the Olympics thought this, though most of them have the good common sense to not mention it to the media because of the obscenely obvious backlash that would obviously come from such a statement.
Common sense does not apply to NBA players. Proof that going to college does not have any impact on becoming eductated.
Then you disagree with de Coubertin's ideals from the late 19th century.
Ahh yes, the ideals that athletics should be the province of the idle rich - to keep out that working class riff-raff - despite the fact that the athletes in Ancient Greece were quite professional, competing in circuits of athletic competitions (including the Olympics) that paid handsome prizes - and that the Greek etymology of the word Athlete is "one who competes for prizes".
There should be a prize pool of half the money spent on TV contracts for the games for ALL Olympians. The Olympics are so professional and geared to money making it is not funny. The Olympics can then earn all the money from ticket revenue, merchandise sales, advertising rights and half the money from ALL worldwide TV contracts and use that money to build facilities and so on, or profit or pay ridiculous bribes to whomever they wish to pay them.
Let's say this is the Summer Olympics. $2 billion is paid for TV rights (approx and round number) There are 2500 athletes (approx and round number). There are 300 events approx.
Then you take that TV revenue... and give 50% split up among ALL participants in the Olympics equally. If there are 2500 Olympians and there is $1 billion in TV money to be given to the athletes... Then $500 million is split up among the athletes equally. So $200,000 per athlete. Then each event is treated equally. There are say 300 events. Each event has a payout of $1,666,666. Let's say you break it down to 50% for Gold, 30% for Silver and 20% for bronze. $833,333 for a gold medal, 555,555 for Silver 333,333 for Bronze.
So if it is an individual event... the individual gets the full medal amount. If it is a team event the team splits the money. So if it is a hockey team it gets split 23 or 24 ways or whatever. But each of the players in team events gets the full $200,000 per athlete.
This is a fair breakdown, gives athletes likely 20-30% of the total revenue generated (estimated) which is less then they get in most other pro sports but still quite substantial and fair considering the Olympics need to build tons of facilities and so on.
All athletes are essential professional and if a speed walker gets paid $200,000 for being on an Olympic team once in 4 years he/she gets to have a decent salary to train for that 4 years at $50,000 a year. Usain Bolt might make a fortune as a 100M sprinter or Lindsay Vaughn or whoever high class athlete it is but there are another 2,000 athletes that dedicate their lives to the sport and are just getting whatever pittance their countries give them.
Also makes it more fair for athletes from Mali or Haiti or pick your poor country... that doesn't get funding like an athlete would in Canada or Australia or China.
And if I was Dwayne Wade or Alex Ovechkin or Pete Sampras, Phil Mickelson etc... I donate ALL the money I earn to my countries sports federation or the Special Olympics or some charity that helps poor or injured athletes... or I am kind of a ****** being that I make many million a year and getting paid to go to the Olympics for a guy making $$$millions is uberlame.
And yes the Olympics makes out well for the merchadise they sell with Dwayne Wade's name on it... but so do all the athletes there. Not fair to the established famous athletes but who cares?
If you win 5 gold medals you win millions of $$$$ which is fair in my eyes. You just go and participate.. you get your approx $200,000.
The NHL, NBA etc makes no money from shutting down their leagues but TOUGH COOKIES.. both sports get many more fans from having their best players compete in front of hundreds of millions of eyes and benefit so much from that that the fact they probably lose money when the league is shut down is not important.
Yes, I agree, and Id go even farther, suggesting that professionals from any of the Big 4 Sports be ruled ineligible to play at all.
Where do you draw the line at professional then? AHLers get paid to play. As do ECHLers. Even Canadian Hockey League players. I guess it'd be NCAA players only in the olympics then? What about those on scholarships, that's sorta like getting paid, no? How do you determine who has made money at some point off their sport? In all the countries around the world, among the thousands and thousands of athletes?
