$130,000 Salary – Per Day??

business, lessons learned, sports 1 Minute

Earlier this week, quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Super Bowl champs Kansas City Chiefs, signed a record-breaking, 10-year extension worth up to $503 million, making it the largest contract not just in NFL history, but in sports history.

This means Mahomes will earn an average of over $130,000, per day.

To put that number in perspective, the median individual annual income was $40,100 in 2019 in the United States. In other words, Mahomes makes more than three times the annual median income, in just one day.

Another item that stood out to me is that there is a workout bonus of $550,000 per year, starting in 2022 of the contract. As far as I can tell, the workout bonuses kick in if a player attends a certain number of supervised training sessions during the months of April through June.  That’s $6,000 per day. I’d happily work out for a few hours a day for half that amount.

But there are some downsides to Mahomes’ contract.

As you might guess, people are coming out fo the woodwork asking Mahomes for money. Including LeBron, who simultaneously congratulated Mahomes, and then asked t borrow $5.

There are certain activities that Mahomes may not engage in while under the contract. This includes sports such as baseball, basketball, and water skiing. I’d gladly give up such sports in exchange for a contract like this.

In fact, I’d probably use that freed up time to go to the gym. Especially if I was paid extra to do so.

Congratulations and best of luck to Mr. Mahomes.

*image from Yahoo Sports

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

Published

44 thoughts on “$130,000 Salary – Per Day??”

      1. Those who believe in markets should have no problem with Mahomes’ contract even if we are shocked by it. People making the big bucks should celebrate it whether or not they are professional athletes. IMO the precipitous rise in CEO compensation has been driven in part by CEO consternation at being out earned by those they feel superior to in terms of education and intellect. CEOs serve on boards of directors of other companies, and boards have adopted a “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” approach to CEO compensation. As they see athletes make more and more, they have figured out ways to greatly increase their own compensation in an effort to keep up. The rise in CEO compensation continues despite shareholder efforts to reign it in. Rising CEO pay has a trickle down benefit on officers, executives and other groups as well.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. when CEO compensation is out of sync with firm performance, that’s when it becomes a problem. And what about when Mahomes has a bad year, he will still be paid an enormous sum. I’m happy for him; he is making what the market determined he is worth.

        Like

  5. The salaries are insane, but I’d rather the player get more of the dough than the team owner who isn’t contributing that much. I don’t even begrudge athletes (and other entertainers) receiving exorbitant amounts of money. If fans stop going to the games/performances, ticket prices will go down. What bothers me more is that people in professions that genuinely benefit society beyond entertainment receive so little.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. These outrageous salaries is why the cost of going to a sporting event has become outrageously expensive. I don’t begrudge a person being worth a lot of money, but for that kind of dough, an incomplete pass should never happen. We have made sports about the money rather than about the competition or pride of winning. This is the road we have gone down and there is no coming back. Great post, Jim!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      2. I think the higher you go up the academic ladder, the less essential the teachers are. My wife, the pre-school teacher – she’s essential. Me, not so much…

        Liked by 1 person

  10. I wouldn’t wish ill on the guy, but is the contract invalid if he gets a career-ending injury in his first game? My warped mind says that would be karma for such a ridiculous amount of money for playing a game!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I don’t know the details, but even if he is not injured, it is going to be hard to replicate the magical year he just had. I wonder at what point, if ever, people will start complaining that he is no longer worth the money he is getting paid…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. You just can’t trust these American football players. First, they try to take over the name of your game, and then they start taking your money. I’ll see what I can do about getting the money back. Getting the word football back could be tougher…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment