Phillip Fulmer receives $1.4 million a year. Ken Griffey Jr. signed a $160 million contract. Alex Rodriguez gets $225 million over seven years.
George Steinbrenner values the Yankee-Nets Corporation as worth more than a billion dollars. Think about that: One billion dollars.
In fact, when baseball announced the arbitration results the other day and player received “only” $500,000, I caught myself thinking, “Wow, that’s pretty cheap.”
For the time being, I won’t point out the values of a society that places such esteem on athletes; to do so would be hypocritical.
I have a Reggie White poster on the wall and a cheesehead in my closet.
However, I would like to point out the results of our athletic obsession.
Although many athletes choose to spend their millions on themselves and their friends, living in the lap of luxury, there are several athletes who have become smarter about their wealth.
Magic Johnson is a perfect example. At one point he ran a TV show, made some major investments and became a serious player in the business world. Remember, money is power. Where would the LA economy go if all the Lakers decided to invest in a certain company?
What if they decided to do free commercials for that company? Take this power a step further. Let us say that a man on the LA city council, or perhaps in a court somewhere, owns a business.
The Lakers come to him and promise to invest in his company and do his commercials exclusively if he will use his power for them; say to get some legislation passed or look on a specific case favorably.
Conceivably, the two most influential Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, could have a significant influence in L.A. if they played their cards right.
As troubling as this is, there is yet a more disturbing trend in sports. Tom Osborne, the longtime Nebraska coach, was just elected to Congress.
Pat Swilling, the longtime saints linebacker, is currently running for a New Orleans political office.
I’m sure you can think of a number of other athletes who assumed political office.
All of this adds up to a rather troubling equation. The Ameri-can people are handing large amounts of economic and political power over to their athletes, not to mention an incredible public relations source.
Channels like ESPN, ESPN2 and CNN/SI are constantly running shows about the athletes, showing how decent and hardworking they are.
Regardless of the truth, most of America has a favorable view of Michael Jordan, due mostly to his constant publicity.
Remember that this country has long elected presidents who had very little political experience.
In the first half of the 18th century, we elected two presidents and nominated a third (Zachary Taylor, Andrew Jackson, and Winfield Scott) based primarily on their military exploits. These men – with the possible exception of Jackson -ran almost completely on the strength of their fame.
They remained silent on the controversial issues of the day, promised to make America a better country and shook a lot of hands. Because the country was hopelessly divided, these men were elected
Since then, we’ve seen many more military heroes run, including the relatively recent election of Eisenhower. America has also elected an actor. Granted, many of these men proved competent; some, excellent. However, many proved to be a disaster.
What do you think would happen if Michael Jordan walked into your home and said he was running for president?
Let’s take it a step further and pretend he finished his bachelor’s (remember, he left college early) and got a graduate degree in economics or law.
How would the country react? What if the sports world united behind their champion-picture Tiger Woods wearing an “MJ” polo shirt and the Sup split as it is.
Regardless, the most serious issue has yet to be discussed. What would happen to America if all of the owners in the four major leagues (the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB) united to form a congress?
First of all, a pretty significant amount of money is involved (I would estimate that the overall worth of the combined teams is over $50 billion, and that’s pretty conservative).
Second, they control several downstream industries: certainly sportswear and athletic companies, but also networks like ESPN and CNN/SI.
Third, there’s a huge amount of popularity.
Who’s the most famous Tennessean of the last five years? Peyton Manning is on anyone’s list.
What if the congress included the presidents and athletic directors of the top fifty Division I colleges?
Can CBS afford to give up its coverage of the NCAA tournament?
Not hardly.
I make no claim that this is a bad idea. After all, Ronald Reagan and Andrew Jackson were two of our greatest presidents; Michael Jordan might be the same.
However, it is high time for the American people to realize the scope and breadth of the power we are handing to our athletes. It is time to stop smiling indulgently at them.
Many athletes complain that they are held to a higher standard, that they are considered “heroes,” and “role models.”
They ask us to remember that they are just people.
Well, Kobe, Peyton, Brett, Sammy, Pedro and Kurt, you are not just people. You stopped being a person when you signed that contract.
With enormous power comes enormous responsibility, and it is time our athletes and their owners held up their end of the bargin.

Author