Sometimes I wonder about the ability of people in America to exercise logic at all. When “news” broke that Vikings Offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie spent 100K on a bar tab during all star weekend, the logic went like this:
Bryant McKinnie spent 100K on alcohol> no one should spend 100K on alcohol > Bryant McKinnie doesn’t make the same decisions I believe I would make if I were him > Bryant McKinnie is therefore overpaid > Football players are overpaid
Oh boy, these must be the same people who put together the House Republican Budget for 2011.
Given the fact that a significant amount of Americans have a propensity to overspend, by this logic, we’re all over paid. Perhaps everyone should just work for free.
I’m fully aware of the fact that over half of athletes, especially NFL players, end up poor after retirement. I get it. I also know that McKinnie has a history of spending like a wild man at parties. But his perceived “overspending” has no correlation to being paid based on what you’re worth.
In other words, an employer has no right to say “Hey, this guy doesn’t know how to handle money so I’m not going to give him any despite the fact that he works for me.”
I’m also fully aware that McKinnie is somewhat of a party animal. But hell, if he was skinny and white we’d call him a socialite and make goo goo eyes over his purchases until he did, indeed, go broke. At that point is when the bashing would begin.
But when it comes to athletes I guess people like to start early. Especially the guys over at Pro Football talk who listed the bar tab as part of his lockout plan. Snark sells, but I have no access to McKinnie’s stock portfolio so I’m not touching that one. Not to mention the fact that 100K at a bar is really easy for a good accountant to write off as business depending who was there. Don’t hate the player.
Perhaps the logic should go in reverse. Maybe football players should make MORE money that way they can spend like the owners, keep their expenditures private, charge taxpayers for part of their expenses, leave obnoxious amounts of money to their heirs, and no one says a peep.
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