Sirak: PGA Tour Players Should Take 2% Pay Cut in '09
by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 18, 2008 10:42 PM EST
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PrintHey, it's December. The economy is hurting, the Big Three are likely to go bankrupt in one fashion or another, and we're still not sure when we're going to come out of this financial meltdown that we face.
At the same time, the PGA Tour announced a schedule that is basically unchanged from last season. Thanks to the Tour's ability to negotiate lengthy sponsorship contracts and its luck when it comes to timeliness, the PGA Tour's players will compete for about the same amount of money as last year. Actually, they'll compete for a little bit more.
The stark comparison of the real economy versus the PGA Tour economy has compelled Ron Sirak to come up with this idea:
Next season, every player who makes a cut in a PGA Tour event donates 2 percent of his winnings to the benefiting charity of the tournament.
Take the Buick Invitational, for example. Is there a title sponsor more distressed right now? Or one that's been more loyal to the tour over the years? With a purse of $5.2 million, a 2-percent giveback from the players would yield $104,000. The winner's check of $936,000 would be reduced by $18,720.
All of the money would go to charities that are supported by the PGA Tour. As we have noted, charities are the first stakeholders to lose in the equation when the economy hits the skids.
The rationale, though, troubles me:
Why is this fair? The median household income in non-adjusted dollars for an American family in 1987 was $26,061, according to the Census Bureau. In 2007 it was $50,233. That's an increase of 92.7 percent over 20 years. The PGA Tour purse in 1987 was $32.1 million. In 2007 it was $270 million. That's an increase of 741 percent.
While I think it is ridiculous that more than 100 guys made over $1 million this season on the PGA Tour, it would be silly to try to compel them to give to charity on the basis of fairness. If you or I were in the same position, we would want to keep every penny that we could - especially considering our tax system.
Yes, Sirak is onto something and it would be a great thing for players to do. But, not on the basis of fairness. It should be done because players feel an intimate connection to the communities in which they compete and the charities that are beneficiaries of their play and the millions that are committed by sponsors to make these events happen.
I don't want a bailout or an expression of sympathy from the PGA Tour. Hell, I don't want a bailout from Washington.
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oh that Ronny
pssttttt – hey Ronny – the players aren’t on SALARY !!!!!!!!! They don’t punch a clock !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The players play for whatever the purse is that week.
This is an incredibly shoddy article – and clearly based in class warfare from the media.
“FAIRNESS” has nothing to do with it – you moron. It doesn’t matter what the “median family income” is – idiot.
Guess what – if the players from the good ol’ days of Hogan and Nelson could have made more than they made and put themselves in a position to live behind gated walls in private subdivisions – they would have !!!
The job of the PGA Tour is to set up sponsors that are willing to put up as much money as possible – mostly for the players and also for charities. If those businesses are willing to pay the price – who are YOU to say that they make too much money ?
Guess what, Mr Sirak – if all these sponsors decided that they couldn’t pay this price anymore – the PGA Tour would either disappear or they would cut the cost of doing business – but UNTIL that point – you need to go away with your failed Marxist/Roosevelt/Clinton/Obama economic theories.
Why don’t you take your soapbox to Hollywood and demand that Jim Carrey and Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, and (ick) Keanu Reeves, and Angelina Jolie, and all those other actors and actresses who make $10-$20 million to make a movie take a pay cut ? THEY get paid by contract – regardless of how much the movie pulls in.
The PGA and LPGA players get paid by performance and they play for what is available. If they stink it up – they don’t make any money.
Got it, comrade ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
quoting...
RB wrote: If you or I were in the same position, we would want to keep every penny that we could – especially considering our tax system.
You might just want to consider speaking for yourself – because if “you” meant me, then you’d be wrong. I might not choose the exact charity method described in the article, but if I had the opportunity to make those earnings, “giving back” would be a no brainer. And the truth is many players already do.
ahem...
…RB is RYAN – not Ronny. Ronny is Ron Sirak…the guy who wrote the article.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
ahem...
RYAN (RB), wrote the comment I quoted, it did not come from Mr. Sirak’s piece – things not in green are Ryan’s commentary on things, correct?
RT
If we were in the same position, I agree with you, that I would make charitable contributions with that million plus. But, like you said, I would want to do it on my own terms – and quietly.
by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 19, 2008 2:54 PM EST up reply actions
now wait a minute...
…just the other day YOU were the one wanting to be able to dig into people’s personal finances. :-D
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
By quietly
I mean not trying to make a big deal out of it. I’d be happy to tell anyone where I donate my money if it were a matter of public record. I just think Sirak’s idea of doing it because golf does this kind of thing and we make an example is dumb.
by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 19, 2008 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
thanks for clarifying
I didn’t think you were the greedy type, but when I read that comment it just sounded that way. And I agree with the “quietly” – although I do think that “celebrities” can sometimes be an example and encourage others by their own generosity. Now it’s time to figure out how to make a million dollars…
correct...
…but you were giving me a hard time for RB’s comments – and I didn’t say anything about what he wrote.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
actually...
I was attempting to respond to the original post (hence me quoting RB), not to your response to it – I clicked Reply on the post, not your comment – I apologize if it sounded like I was trying to respond your post…I wasn’t.
oh well...
…hey, it’s Christmas…all is forgiven ;-D
have you read “A Nasty Bit of Rough” by David Feherty ? Every time I see your nickname, I think of the chapter where the local women’s rights group demanded rights at the club, so they put in a set of red tees for the women…50 yards behind the regular tees – but they welcomed the women to play the regular tees any time they wanted. :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
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