Do you ever dream of one Australian football code that everyone follows?
I do. Will it ever happen? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s exciting to think of the benefits that would come from having fewer sports to follow in this country.
Put simply, fewer sporting codes would mean more money in the pot. Club memberships, broadcast dollars, merchandise sales, athlete wages, ticket sales and sponsorship would all skyrocket.
Everyone marvels at the amount of money sport attracts in America and Europe. And while we’ll never match those guys (due to population and economics) we can do better. But first we must cull a few sports.
Let’s take a look at the 15 highest paid NFL players in 2010:
1. Peyton Manning, Colts $30.8 million total earnings (9th among US athletes, $15.8m salary/$15m endorsements)
2. Matthew Stafford, Lions $27.6m (11, $26.9m/$0.7m)
3. Eli Manning, Giants $26.5m (T13, $19.5m/$7m)
4. Philip Rivers, Chargers $25.8m (17, $25.6m/$0.2m)
5. Terrell Suggs, Ravens $24.9m (19, $24.9m/$0.0m)
6. Albert Haynesworth, Redskins $24.6m (20, $24.6m/$0.1m)
7. Brett Favre, Vikings $24m (21, $17m/$7m)
8. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Raiders $21.5m (28, $21.4m/$0.0m)
9. Jason Smith, Rams $20.6m (33, $20.5m/$0.0m)
10. Julius Peppers, Bears $20m (36, $20m/$0.0m)
11. Vince Wilfork, Patriots $18.9m (38, $18.9m/$0.0m)
12. DeAngelo Hall, Redskins $18.5m (40, $18.5m/$0.0m)
13. Tyson Jackson, Chiefs $18.1m (42, $18.1m/$0.0m)
14. Mark Sanchez, Jets $16.9m (48, $16.4m/$0.5m)
15. DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys $16.8m (49, $16m/$0.8m)
These wages are difficult to comprehend but take a closer look at the money pouring into the sport and you begin to understand why Peyton Manning has three cars……. two Escalades and one Cadillac SLR for the record.
According to AdAge, Anheuser-Busch recently signed a six-year, $1.2 billion agreement to reclaim its position as the league’s official beer sponsor. The deal takes effect in April of 2011.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Verizon Wireless agreed to fork over $720 million over the next four years to replace Sprint as the NFL’s exclusive wireless partner.
And then there is PepsiCo who are in the final season of two deals totaling more than $1 billion: $560 million over six years for its Pepsi, Frito-Lay and Tropicana brands, and $500 million for Gatorade. And let’s not forget the league’s other 20 sponsors who pay anywhere between $10 – 15 million per year (and then outlay $1.5 billion collectively to leverage their sponsorships).
If that’s not enough money, then let’s include the NFL’s broadcast deals worth $3.7 billion per year (Monday Night Football is worth in excess of $1.1 billion alone) and you have a budget that slightly trumps the AFL, NRL, ARL and A-League put together. Oh, and we haven’t even discussed the individual NFL clubs and their sponsorship, membership and merchandising rights and their athletes who command individual endorsements on the side.
So if you’re an Australian footballer who couldn’t previously understand why the Redskins DeAngelo Hall is on $18.5m and you’re on $400,000 then maybe you can now?
Right now, we have a very fractured sporting landscape in Australia. Too many sports competing for a pie that isn’t that big.
Let’s do the maths. America has over 300 million people. And six big sports – NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, USPGA and NASCAR.
Australia has over 20 million people. A much smaller population, yet we have five big sports including the AFL, NRL, ARU, A-League and Cricket Australia.
It’s little wonder athletes are heading overseas for better pay, footy clubs are struggling to make a profit and memberships are not where they should be.
Based on the above equation, Australia should concentrate on having three big sports, minimum. The rest can battle for the scraps.
Now, the only problem is deciding on those three sports? Which three would you choose and why?
