How do athletes get so much money? Are professional athletes worth the money they earn? Do their roles in society equate to more than what a doctor or police officer does? To some, AFL players’ whole careers center around kicking a ball around and bumping other guys over. In the 2019 season, which excludes finals, the AFL had 6,894,771 people in attendance of the games. Even at home, 41% of Australians will mostly or always watch the AFL when it’s on TV, making it the most watched Australian sport. The Grand Final alone has almost 7 million watching it from home. It’s clear to see that the AFL is our most popular sport.
It doesn’t just make good entertainment. It makes good money too.
In 2019 the AFL released their Financial Statement, which says they has a $27.9 million surplus which has been reinvested in many different places in the AFL environment, from Community Leagues to the Players Association. As the AFL increases revenue, it can also increase salary caps on teams, allowing them to give greater wages to their star players. A new pay deal made in 2017, “lifts the average player wage from $309,000 to $371,000 and the player salary cap from $10.37m to $12.45m.” and will last until 2022 where the average player wage will be $389,000 and the player salary to be at $13.54 million.
In an economy, this makes complete sense. There is a huge demand for entertainment which has been provided by the AFL. As a private cooperation, they’ve pooled profits and reinvested in various areas, importantly in youth leagues, in the new AFLW league and back to the players pockets. The people realistically you bring in all the money in the first place.
In my opinion, they are worth every cent. On the outside, players provide strong competition to Australian sport weekly, for 3 hours at most. But becoming an AFL player is a long and difficult road financially. Thousands of hours of training, running, strengthening has gone into each and every player before they even start playing for their first AFL club. The assurance of a good wage at the end of it is what makes their devotion a reality and I hope kids will always be able to follow their dream without fear of their finances. This incentive will also continue to improve the game as more people compete for positions.
How do athletes get so much money? They make money for their league. Are professional athletes worth the money they earn? They are worth every cent.
Year 11 MHS Economics 2020 