Entertainers receive paycheques that are completely disproportionate to the rest of society, whether we’re talking about athletes, actors, musicians, etc., as do corporate executives at the pinnacle of their professions.

Is it unfair?

Sure it is. 

Does that mean that we must secretly loathe athletes and “hate the players/business but love the game,” as so many sportswriters suggest? 

No.  The fact that Nicklas Lidstrom drives a Bentley and lives in a million-dollar-home doesn’t make me hate him.  I don’t begrudge him his earnings, as disproportionate as they may be.  I don’t dislike him as a person because he enjoys luxuries I’ll never be able to enjoy.  That’s the way the world works, and it’s not his fault, or mine.

There are bigger things to worry about, like whether the unemployment benefits extension will be passed tomorrow in the Senate, like how I’m gonna pay my bills, real life stuff.  I’d rather let sports be sports and real life be real life.

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 07/20/10 at 09:27 PM ET

George,

I appreciate your blog and love that you unearth so much material on and related to the Wings.

As for the statement above, I agree with you except for the part that it is unfair. It is in fact, VERY fair. It is the American way, a free society, Capitalism, you know all that good stuff that made our country prosper and become the greatest nation on earth. It used to be a good thing to “earn a lot of money”. Now it seems to be looked at by many like some kind of evil to actually make a profit. I’m glad to see you don’t hold it against people for making lots of money. I’ll stop there without going into all the politics of it all.

I’m happy as heck that King Lidas has chosen to stay in Detroit for his entire career. Obviously he’s one of the greatest hockey players of all time playing for my favorite team, so he is amply compensated for his services, which in turn spends a lot of money into the local economy to support his lifestyle.

Anyway, keep up the good work George.

Posted by TheFreak on 07/20/10 at 09:47 PM ET

Unfair from the perspective of someone who looks at Kovalchuk’s deal and thinks that it’s just out of whack.

To me, in all honesty?

It’s not that unfair.  It is capitalism and Kovalchuk’s an incredibly talented player who’s worked his butt off to earn the opportunity to earn tons of money, and I don’t begrudge him a cent of it—when the Devils eventually get down to making that contract “legal” again…

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 07/20/10 at 09:57 PM ET

I don’t really find it unfair at all. There are lots of people in this world who are qualified to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, master electricians, or any other job that pays well, but requires high amounts of training and skill. But there are only a select few who have the talent to play at the elite levels of the NHL, MLB, and any other top professional league out there. And fewer still who have the work ethic to maintain the discipline and work ethic to make a career out of it while they are physically able.

Granted, they’re just entertainers, getting paid to play a “kids game.” But they are the elite, and we want to see the best. They deserve every penny.

Arguing about one players worth compared to another *CoughLebdaCough* or the overall operations of a league that promised lower ticket prices is a different matter entirely.

Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 07/20/10 at 10:15 PM ET