Lists. I am that person that just love lists. I don’t know why but I just love them, whenever a Forbes list drops you know I’m going to be peeping that. TIME 100? On that like icing on a cake!
So all in all, I live for lists and when I saw ESPN and SportingIntelligence team up to list 333 Sports teams from around the world based on their average salaries, I could not wait to sink my teeth into it.
Now yes, my job description is to write about the NBA and I’ll talk about them, especially the top 2 in the NBA, but let’s take a look at the most dominant sport on the list. Football. (soccer to you)
“Foreign ownership, and oil money in particular, has transformed elite English soccer in the past decade and is now making a significant impression in other leagues — and sports,” says the editor of SportingIntelligence.com, Nick Harris, who has compiled the survey for ESPN since 2010. “Before Qatar Sports Investments bought France’s PSG in 2011, they weren’t among the top 10 French clubs in all-time title wins. Now they’re on a hat trick of title wins and the world’s richest sports team.“
Now you may not be into European football like my fellow countrymen are, but this is why I hate football at the moment, Middle Eastern royalty pretty much buying trophies. It’s not right, it’s a complete far cry from the NFL.
Do you know the highest ranked NFL team in terms of average annual salary? The Miami Dolphins, they’re placed 124th on the list. Crazy right? The Houston Astros are above them, the Miami Marlins are above them. Nearly every NHL team are above the Dolphins. Think the NFL players are overpaid? Think again.
This is a list that truly shines a light on how much sportsmen get. If you have never kicked a football in your life, trust me, it’s the easiest thing in sport, I am not joking. Throwing a pigskin, shooting a basketball, hitting a cricket ball are all harder than kicking a football.
Another interesting thing I found out is how American sports and their champions are not judged by the salary. Example, the Brooklyn Nets are 11th on the list with $6.2 Million average salary, do you see them in the Eastern Conference Finals? How about we go to the MLB. The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are both in the top 10. Alright the formula is less proved with the Yankees, but you all see Clayton Kershaw pitch and go “They’ve got the championship locked up”. Don’t lie, you were caught up in the hype.
Have a look at the list yourself and then have a sigh of relief that your national sport(s) isn’t corrupted by oil tycoons and Russian billionaires. Your team will always have a chance to succeed, most teams in the EPL will never get a cup until a King buys them out and splashes their seemingly endless wealth.
