Really the only way to make athletes get paid less is to start ignoring them.

No. The organizartion could install a realistic salary cap, and be done with it. If people chose to leave and play elsewhere, that's fine. It only reinforces their greed.

Saying "Well, they're paid this much, and here's why" is all well and good, but irrelevent. I know why they're paid as much as they are. That does not mean they deserve to be paid as much as they are.

That's my point.

The leauges are simply afraid to impose a realistic salary cap because they worry that it will mean less money for them. And they, like the players, are greedy.

Well that's a ridiculous reason to impose a salary cap.. because you don't think they deserve that much? And I don't think Ron Jeremy should get to bang hot chicks all day so what does that mean? We should cut his dick off?

I can agree with you that I think professional athletes are paid a lot, too much in fact. But your argument doesn't hold water. So you're saying athletes would be greedy because they chose to leave a league that dramatically reduced their pay? That's ridiculous. First off not all athletes are greedy, some are, but that's life. Some of the people I work with are greedy.

What you're saying doesn't make a lot of sense, they should stop being paid as much because you don't think they deserver it? That's not how it works. The only way that they're going to start getting paid less is if their sports lose their profability like the NHL currently is or say the WNBA like I mentioned previously.

No. It's a very good reason to impose a salary cap. Professional athletes are paid to much. Period.

Sure, you can say all you want "Oh, this is why, and this is how we can change it."

But you know as well as I do that that will never happen. Professional athletes should not be allowed to make as much money as they do. Nor should CEOs or any number of other "professionals", but this is about athletes.

Demo is right. Pro atheletes get paid more money than they deserve. Why should pro football players get paid twenty million dollars to go out on a field for three hours in alot of padding and try to get the ball from one end of the field to the other?


All the league is trying to do is stay alive. They see that the only way to be viable and to make money is by a cap, and I agree with them. The NHL has stated that even with the cap, the players will still make over two million dollars on avarge, with the better players getting paid more, but not over the cap.

I see it as a win-win situation, the league stays alive so we can watch hockey, and the players still get paid alot of money.


Anyway, here is an update

Thursday's Meeting Concludes;
No Date Set For Future Talks

Jan. 20, 2005

TORONTO - Representatives of the National Hockey League met today with representatives of the NHL Players' Association to discuss collective bargaining matters.

The meeting lasted approximately four and a half hours, including several breaks for caucuses by the individual groups.

The NHL was represented by Bill Daly, NHL Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, and outside counsel Robert Batterman. The NHLPA was represented by Trevor Linden of the Vancouver Canucks, NHLPA president; Ted Saskin, Senior Director, Business Affairs and Licensing; and outside counsel John McCambridge.

After the meeting, Mr. Daly released the following statement, which will serve as his only comment: "We had two good days of discussion. We continue to have some strong philosophical differences. The lines of communication are open, and we're going to continue to work on it. We don't have anything scheduled."

Well Vodo in the case of the NHL I think there needs to be a salary cap or the league itself will not survive. Sounds like Demo's saying there should be a salary cap just so that atheletes can't make as much money as they are right now. If that's your opinion that's fine but you're not really giving a reason. Well.. athletes shouldn't make that much money because I don't want them to because I don't think they do any good. Well that's stupid.

And Vodo the whole 3 hours worth of work for 20 million a year is complete bullshit. Yes NFL athletes get paid a hell of a lot of money but anyone that doesn't think they do any kind of work is ignorant to the facts. Would I love to get paid millions to play Hockey? Hell yes I would but the fact remains that there's a hell of a lot of work involved, a hell of a lot more than you're normal 9 to 5.

But yes as far as the NHL is concerned I agree 100% that there HAS to be a salary cap in order for the league to survive.

Demo just because you say "period" at the end of your point doesn't validate it. You believe that professional atheletes get paid too much and that's fine you're entitled to believe what you choose, this is after all America. Which also means that private corporations can pay their employees however much they choose and as long as the NFL is a multi-billion dollar business players will continue to make millions.

I'm Canadian.

And the reason is simple. They're not contributing anything to society. I wouldn't be opposed to them making the money they do if people with important professions (i.e. teachers, doctors, etc.) made the same.

I said that in my first post.

Professional Sports are a hoax.

The Media Monster loves you on Monday Night Fights. Hockey Night in Canada is CBC's fluffer.

Sell your soul to a beer commerical. I want 5 million dollers a year to play Professional Videogames.

I don't understand why our society embraces the professional sports 'system'. The players, some of them egotistical snobs who openly look down upon us as they cruise around town in their decked out SUVs (I should know, the Buffalo Bills live all around this area during football season and some of them are real asses, while others are just regular nice guys), demand millions and millions of dollars more per few years than most of us will ever make in a lifetime. And the American public loves and supports them all the way, because heaven forbid a season of NFL football is canceled while the players all figure out that hey, while they do have tough jobs they aren't worth near so much damn money.

Everyone should pressure the NHL players to shut the hell up, not pressure the league to give into the greedy bastards who in no way need (or I would say really even earn) that extra xxx millions of dollars. I don't understand what reason other than pure greed could be behind the NHL players' whining, and I understand even less why the American public would have let things get so ridiculous in the first place. Oh wait, we're greedy too. "Who cares whose pocket those millions come out of, as long as its not mine and I get to see my professional games every week!" is what most must think when they hear about so and so's new multi million dollar contract.


How can the US be the leading world power when the common population is so STUPID!?


I used to be an avid hockey fan, and then this came along. I would just as soon see seasons canceled for as long as necessary, rather than watch the NHL give into the players' ridiculous demands.

How much is enough?

OS made a very good point in that not all of the pro athletes are ass holes although of course some of them are. Hell there are ass holes where I work and they don't need to get paid millions to be complete asses.

To say that they don't contribute anything to society is just not true. Personally as a season ticket holder for the Chargers, they provide a hell of a lot of fun for me and all of my friends. Not to mention the charitable contributions they make to our city. When the fires hit San Diego and there were many homes lost, the Chargers organization was right there to make donations to the victims and so were many of the players.

Look at all of the NFL players urging people to donate to the Tsunami Relief, some of these players are donating more money than most of us make in a lifetime.