On Aug. 28, Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions became the highest paid player in NFL history after signing a deal worth $135 million, according to Bleacher Report. While impressive, this record is not likely to stand, as each new quarterback contract seems to set the bar a few million dollars higher.
There is plenty of speculation about who will be the next to break the bank, with our own Dak Prescott named as a possible candidate. No matter who receives the next massive contract and regardless of how much they earn, there is one indisputable fact: they will be underpaid.
NFL players are massively underpaid compared to the athletes in other major American sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB). According to Forbes in 2015, the average NFL player was paid just over two million dollars, the lowest of all the major sports (NHL: 2.9 million, MLB: 4.4 million, NBA: 6.2 million dollars).
A major factor in why the average football player is paid so much less than other professional athletes is the extent of income disparity between the players.
While certain players, like Matt Stafford and Derek Carr, are paid over $100 million dollars, there are more players being paid less than one million dollars, creating wide income outliers.
If all things were equal between the sport leagues, is it such an injustice if NFL players are underpaid? Maybe not, but it is impossible to look at the facts and believe “all things are equal.”
In terms of simple revenue, the leagues are not just unequal, the NFL is the undisputed king. According to Market Watch, the NFL made $13 billion last year.
They do not just lead North American sports in terms of profits, but lead all major sport leagues throughout the world. The next closest league is the MLB with $9.5 billion. The NFL leads all sport leagues by over $3 billion, and more than doubles the profits of the NBA and NHL.
This raises a logical question: Where does all the money go?
Well, the system the NFL uses to share revenue is far more complex than the NBA’s. According to SB Nation in 2016, NBA players earn half of all revenue collected by the league—about $3 billion—while NFL players earn just under half of all revenue—about $6 billion.
Ziller says that while NFL players may earn double that of NBA players, “that money is spread over almost four times as many athletes.”
It is simply impossible to pay football players fairly without a higher percentage of the revenue being used for paychecks.
While NFL players can fight for a better salary, it is hard to imagine NFL owners ever changing the current system.
Why? Because they simply do not trust the players.
Due to the violent nature of football, the average career length for a NFL player is almost two years fewer than any other sports league (NFL: 3.5 years; NBA: 4.8; NHL: 5.5; MLB: 5.6). Thanks to chronic traumatic encephalopathy—a neurodegenerative disease found in people with frequent head traumas—and other long term injuries, the average career length for NFL players is getting shorter.
This means NFL players earn less money in less time than any other professional athlete. They simply face a lose-lose situation.
I know it is hard to feel sympathy for athletes who earn millions of dollars while the average American cannot imagine earning so much over their lifetime.
Yet, while most Americans see football as a passion or a privilege, but for over 1,000 men, football is their livelihood. Every Sunday, they risk everything they have worked for on every single play.
NFL players risk their minds and bodies for our entertainment, only to earn far less than any other professional athlete.