Colts raffling five Super Bowl rings

[wadea]

Colts raffling off five Super Bowl rings. It's to raise money for charity, but - unless these rings were donated by five people in the organization who now don't get rings - it doesn't seem right to me. I think it cheapens the other rings and maybe even rings from other years. They're not Beanie Babies. It used to be that you actually had to earn these rings by playing football well or by helping players play well.

[eviljeff]

it could even be a boat!

[illini43]

Sports teams are businesses.

Businesses like good PR.

Good PR brings in more $$$ through tickets and merchandise sales.

This is good PR.

It's sad, but true.

[illini43]

To clarify, I'm not saying the Colts are doing a bad thing by donating money to charity - it's just the emphasis on the sacredness of "the ring" and athletes playing for "the love of the game" has faded over the last decade or so IMO.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
...it's just the emphasis on the sacredness of "the ring" and athletes playing for "the love of the game" has faded over the last decade or so IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's a safe bet that a decade or so ago, you were a kid.

I think you could find adults in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s who would say "Today's players just don't play for the right reason. It used be different before."

[illini43]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
...it's just the emphasis on the sacredness of "the ring" and athletes playing for "the love of the game" has faded over the last decade or so IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's a safe bet that a decade or so ago, you were a kid.

I think you could find adults in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s who would say "Today's players just don't play for the right reason. It used be different before."

[/ QUOTE ]

Very good point.

However, I think there is some correlation between the inflated salaries (related to average or mean income) today than in the 60s and 70s.

Assuming the numbers used on this websites are correct, there is a disparity between the average MLB salary and the average salary of the US in general.

MLB

US Census

Note: I'm using the value of the dollar at each time period to stay constant with the comparison between MLB and avg. income.

Avg. MLB salary (in dollars of the time period):

1970: $ 29,303.00
1980: $ 146,500.00
1990: $ 589,483.00
2000: $1,987,543.03


US Median Family Income:

1970: 11,106
1980: 23,974
1990: 42,652
2000: 65,773

Percentage Differences between MLB salaries and Avg. US Household Income:

1970: 264%
1980: 611%
1990: 1,382%
2000: 3,021%

One might assume that if you extrapolated the salaries back into the early 20th century, the difference between MLB and avg. household income would approach each other.

My hypothesis is that with the massive increase in average salary size of professional athletes with regard to the average US household income, the motivation for playing becomes more monetary oriented and the notion of "love of the game" is displaced in favor of material gain.

Obviously, "love of the game" cannot be quantified, but I think there is a correlation between this motivation and playing for different sized salaries in relation to the general population. Basically, if an athlete makes the same or less than his neighbor who has an average paying job, he would be doing it for "the love of the game" - or to put it another way - the love of his profession regardless of monetary gain.

[kyleb]

who gives a [censored] why athletes play the game

mind your own business

[tarheeljks]

[ QUOTE ]
Colts raffling off five Super Bowl rings. It's to raise money for charity, but - unless these rings were donated by five people in the organization who now don't get rings - it doesn't seem right to me. I think it cheapens the other rings and maybe even rings from other years. They're not Beanie Babies. It used to be that you actually had to earn these rings by playing football well or by helping players play well.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is great. wtf do you care about the value of the ring?

i doubt this makes the players/coaches/staff feel like their rings are worth less.

[TheNoodleMan]

They give these things to so many no football people in the organization anyway that it doesn't really make a difference. The woman in charge of selling season tickets gets one, so whats the difference?

[Spellmen]

It's not like they're raffling off the Lombardi trophy here. The organization gives out the rings, not the NFL