Where it all Started…
Money in sports is a common day occurrence with players from all sports earning their keep and raking in millions upon millions. It all had to start somewhere though, the first time a player was paid was November 12, 1892 when Pudge Heffelfinger received $500 to play for Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Pudge unknowingly redefined the sport world for centuries to come bringing a new meaning to playing “professional”.
Many years later in 1956, the NFL Players Association or (NFLPA) held its first player rep meeting. In this meeting players submitted proposals to the commissioner for a minimum salary of $5,000. This would change the landscape once again for the NFL and its owners. It now gave them the responsibility and the right to pay their players with fair and equal restrictions.
Modern Day Money
Professional athletes have two things in common: they love to compete and they love to make some money doing it. This idea is most evident in your common American sports such as Football, Baseball, and Basketball. Besides NIL for college athletes the pros are still making the big bucks. One notable league that has made a huge jump in modern day pay is the NFL. In the 1960’s the average NFL salary was around $25,000. It now stands a staggering 3.2 million. For the NFL, that average is considerably low, but life changing money none the less.
The NFL the 2025 offseason has been wild with teams handing out millions left and right. Some notable examples are the Buffalo Bills signing Josh Allen to a six year, 330 million dollar contract. Yet another is the Cincinnati Bengals signing star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase received a four year, 161 million dollar deal with Tee getting 115 million as well. This signing makes chase the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Different Sports – same pay day!
Besides the NFL, other athletes are still getting their pay day. A very recent and large pay day was for Mets outfielder Juan Soto. Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets. That broke Shohei Ohtani’s record for MLB’s largest ever free-agent contract set in December 2023, when Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers. Another big time star, Aaron Judge got a six year 330 million dollar deal similar to Josh Allen from the Bills.
Many large market teams around the MLB have more money available to them than say a lower market team like the A’s or the Rockies. Teams like the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers can afford these high profile players because of their large budget and market.
Switching sports, another large market team in the NBA would be the Boston Celtics. Boston, coming off their most recent 2024 NBA championship, had to pay their star players: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.Going into the 2025 season, Tatum signed a five year, 314 million dollar deal and Brown signed a similar five year, 286 million dollar deal. The NBA has always been driven by large player contracts.
Even though all these numbers seem similar and fair for some sports, they’re not. Some talents are underpaid and some talents are overpaid. An evident example of this is when Cowboys star edge rusher Micah Parsons was talking with Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero.
Micah was saying how NFL superstar Saquon Barkley only makes 13 million dollars as the best running back in the entire league. Paolo said, “Doesn’t Saquon only make $13 million a year? The seventh man on our bench makes $13 million a year, it’s crazy how ya’ll don’t get paid.”
This just goes to show how money in sports can differ depending on sport and your ability to perform in said sport, but one thing is true, athletes truly make the big bucks.
