IWB
04-13-2012, 11:07 AM
A lot has been made out of the comments made by DWade about being paid to appear in the Olympics. DWade even said his comments could be taken out of context, that it wasn't about being paid, it was about the business side of it.
Here is my take.....
These guys don't care about getting paid to play in the Olympics. They have issues with the Olympics making billions off of them. Yes, billions.
Guys like Loul Deng, Andrew Bogut and Ricky Rubio are proud to play for their home countries. Their home country's Olympic committees will probably make a few thousand dollars selling their Olympic jerseys.
The US Olympic Committee will make billions selling Olympic player's jerseys, showing players on the network TV promos and putting their likeness all over every other corporate deal they make. NBC paid $4.4 Billion for the TV rights alone. How much will they make off of the tv commercials during the games? Before the games, after the games? A crap load. So, the Olympic Committee is making money off of players, NBC making money off of players, corporate sponsors and advertisers making money off of the players.....
Fine, don't pay them, but don't use their likeness in commercials, memorabilia sales, tv promotions, or any other Olympic related corporate deal (think McDonald's etc) where the Olympic committee, the TV network and the advertiser is raking in the cash.
Yes, in the league the NBA owns all rights, but the players are paid in exchange for that. With the Olympics - a whole different story. Everyone is making cash off of the athletes, and not just the basketball players, but all of them.
Take Olympic sprinters - yes, they are put up for years, given professional training, professional coaching, housing, food and world class facilities to train in - all in exchange for participating in the Olympics. So, spend a few million on them - make a few million off of them, sounds like a fair trade. What about basketball players? They are put up for a month and that is all. Spend a few thousand - make several million. Where is the trade off there?
Personally, I would like it all to go back to amateurs, but there is no way you will get other countries around the world to agree to such things.
Here is my take.....
These guys don't care about getting paid to play in the Olympics. They have issues with the Olympics making billions off of them. Yes, billions.
Guys like Loul Deng, Andrew Bogut and Ricky Rubio are proud to play for their home countries. Their home country's Olympic committees will probably make a few thousand dollars selling their Olympic jerseys.
The US Olympic Committee will make billions selling Olympic player's jerseys, showing players on the network TV promos and putting their likeness all over every other corporate deal they make. NBC paid $4.4 Billion for the TV rights alone. How much will they make off of the tv commercials during the games? Before the games, after the games? A crap load. So, the Olympic Committee is making money off of players, NBC making money off of players, corporate sponsors and advertisers making money off of the players.....
Fine, don't pay them, but don't use their likeness in commercials, memorabilia sales, tv promotions, or any other Olympic related corporate deal (think McDonald's etc) where the Olympic committee, the TV network and the advertiser is raking in the cash.
Yes, in the league the NBA owns all rights, but the players are paid in exchange for that. With the Olympics - a whole different story. Everyone is making cash off of the athletes, and not just the basketball players, but all of them.
Take Olympic sprinters - yes, they are put up for years, given professional training, professional coaching, housing, food and world class facilities to train in - all in exchange for participating in the Olympics. So, spend a few million on them - make a few million off of them, sounds like a fair trade. What about basketball players? They are put up for a month and that is all. Spend a few thousand - make several million. Where is the trade off there?
Personally, I would like it all to go back to amateurs, but there is no way you will get other countries around the world to agree to such things.