Tom Brady makes more than you do. So does Peyton Manning.
Their multimillion dollar contracts lead ESPN's Sports Center and dominate the front of the sports page. Fans salivate at their earning power and can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy.
That's why, when seven of week one's NFL games began with players putting their finger in the air as a gesture of solidarity in their negotiations with the owners, most fans could not help but feel outraged.
This sentiment is largely justified. But while the NFL's premier players are overflowing with riches, most make far less than we think they do.
Let's crunch some numbers.
The median NFL salary in 2009 was $770,000, while the median income in the United States for persons age 25 or older is $32,140. So far, the disparity persists. But factor in taxes and career length, and the picture becomes fuzzier.
The average NFL career lasts somewhere between two to four years, while the average person works roughly 40 years, assuming a retirement age of 65. Additionally, given the above salaries, due to different tax brackets, the football player pays a 35 percent tax, while the average worker pays 15 percent in taxes.
Using these numbers, the typical NFL career yields a total income of just over $1.5 million. Meanwhile, the average American earns slightly under $1.1 million.
Of course, these numbers do not factor in the time value of money, inflation and other factors necessary to make this a precise calculation. They are presented not as a scientific study but merely as the background for a picture that suddenly is not as clear as we originally thought.
It is undeniable that the job of a professional athlete is more glamorous and desirable than just about any other. But the externalities that come with such a profession are not always considered. NFL players take a physical punishment that the rest of us cannot imagine. They are perpetually hurt, risk their health every day and, according to experts, have few marketable skills to continue earning money after their career ends.
Is it any wonder then that 78 percent of NFL players are either in severe financial distress or entirely bankrupt within two years of retiring?
Perhaps we need to stop picturing the NFL player as the owner of a brand-new $100 million contract, and instead picture a person whose short-lived career yielded hardly enough money to last his entire life.
Is the truth somewhere in the middle? Of course. But if that is the case, why is our sentiment toward the contract negotiations so extreme?
