Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Bud Selig Makes How Much?

Bud Selig, according to AOL, makes $14.5 million per year, and don't expect a link because I'm extremely lazy. In any case, that's a lotta skrilla for some questionable results.

I'm not going to wax poetic for that long on this because my anti-Selig thoughts are well established. I agree that Selig, economically, has been a great commissioner for the owners, as he made them a ridiculous amount of cheddar, but come on... Roger Goodell, i.e. the guy who runs the biggest, most profitable sport in the country, far bigger than MLB in terms of prestige and viewership, makes $10 million per year. David Stern, i.e. the Godfather, makes $10 million per year. Would, nay, COULD anyone argue that these guys aren't better at their respective jobs than Selig is?

Selig is a fucking idiot. He's responsible for leaving a giant skid mark on baseball that will never be forgotten, he's totally accountable for the Steroid Era, nobody else, not Don Fehr or the Players Union, not the chemists, it's Bud Selig, the buck stops there. Now, for all intents and purposes, a professional sport's commissioner is the CEO, he runs the show and he's responsible for the fortune or detriment of his charge.

Lets go to an example that may, or may not, fit...now I'm sure the CEO's and chair heads at WorldCom and Enron made their respective company's shareholders a TON of money. They also made themselves a TON of money. But they were crooked, they were low-down dirty assholes who deserved everything they got and, honestly, should've received a far worse penalty. Regardless, they were removed from their positions in shame.

How is Selig any different? He made the guys invested a ton of money. He's also responsible for the sport becoming an absolute joke, and who would've thought that about baseball? The strike really screwed things up for the sport, something that again, Selig could have done something about, but even then he's such a bumbling idiot that you couldn't expect him to fix it capably. Bud Selig is the equivalent of Fredo Corleone running the Family.

Back to the point, why is this man the highest paid commissioner in all of professional sports? Baseball is in a tailspin in terms of TV viewership, certainly in terms of public regard, and most significantly in youth participation. There will always be kids playing baseball, it's an American tradition, but look at the current rosters of MLB teams. Where are the black guys? You never hear of inner city youth coming out and becoming professional baseball players, it's basketball and football now. Baseball has devolved into a rich white and poor Caribbean sport almost entirely. Soon, baseball is going to be devoid of the best athletes America has to offer, and I'm not just saying it's a racial issue, even the best white athletes are more inclined to play football and basketball or even golf because it's more lucrative and appealing.

I've gone on longer than I wanted to so I'll wrap it up. Why is an idiot the highest paid commissioner in pro sports? It doesn't make sense that HE EVEN HAS HIS JOB let alone is paid that much. You could pay my dog the same amount, and she'd probably do just as good a job because they're both about equally capable. It just doesn't make sense, and I fear if this goes on, baseball is going to suffer monumentally.

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