Big Money, Bigger Babies

One thing that has always bothered me about today's professional athlete is not how much money they make, but how they want you to believe everything is relative. For instance, if you do not get the $50/week raise you were hoping for, it can be a real downer. The avg NBA player then wants you to believe that is it is a big deal when he and his agent are $200,000 apart on a deal that averages $6 million per year. The discrepancy can mean a nicer apartment for Joe Average, but the difference between $5.8 mil and $6 is hardly going to affect the NBA player's lifestyle. I am not saying that pro athletes do not work hard for what they get. It is a competitive minefield for them to even reach the heights of high school athletics. But it is the rare athlete that opens up and says "You know, I am one lucky sonofabitch. I play a game for a living, and make enough money to put me in the top 1% of wage earners in the world. Thankfully I was blessed with size/quickness/strength/hand-eye coordination, because without those physical skills, all the self-determination in the world wasn't going to be enough to get me to this level."
It reminds me of Latrell Spreewell's comments a couple of years back when he was coming off a deal that paid him $14 mil/season. "I've got a family to feed". It is more tragic than funny, if you ask me.