NBA 2011-12 Season Dead

[The Larch]

Average salary is ~5 million.  I'm sure the median is quite a bit lower.

Also note there are 450 roster spots in the NBA, compared to ~1700 in the NFL and about 750 in MLB.

I looked it up. The median is lower.  Using the Miami Heat as an example the majority make more then a million.  http://hoopshype.com/salaries/miami.htm  Maybe the top three guys should give some of their salary to the bottom three.  You know, if they really care that much for their fellow players.  Still, 300,000 isn't something to sniff at.

I don't think that the Heat are the best example, as the Big Three eat up almost all their payroll and they have lots of guys making very little by NBA standards.

[crazy canuck]

Do you know how many people watch college basketball/football?

People watching college sports typically have a more personal emotional involvement with the outcome. Or they're junkies and there's no pro games on at that moment(especially true for football as they play most of the games on set days).

People who watch college are merely homers or junkies with nothing better to do?  That is not my experience but maybe that is how it is in the US.

But your low opinion of people who watch college sports aside - do you really think the NBA plays a better game and by better I mean all the intangeables that go into why someone might want to actually watch the game.

[jimmy olsen]

Is it just me, or does the tactic that professional sports unions have apparantly adopted of disolving when they don't get what they want in negotiations seem a bit, well, I'm not sure if dishonest is the right word exactly.  I mean, the unions seem to be saying, "well, there's no union anymore, nudge-nudge wink-wink, so individual players can now sue the league, but if the owners want to sign a deal that we're willing to agree to, well certainly the union leadership is still here to negotiate the details with them".

If it's a legal strategy I can't fault them for using it. If they think that it can help them, why wouldn't they do it. Whether it will really work remains to be seen however.

I think the NFL union failed because the courts ruled that they didn't negotiate in good faith. I don't think the NBA will have that problem since they made a lot concessions during the negotiations. They still could be ruled against for other reasons though.

[Eddie Teach]

Not drug junkies...

I haven't paid much attention to basketball in years. But I will watch the occasional NBA finals game. I never watch the Final Four(unless by some miracle Georgia got in it).

[crazy canuck]

Not drug junkies...

I haven't paid much attention to basketball in years. But I will watch the occasional NBA finals game. I never watch the Final Four(unless by some miracle Georgia got in it).

Yeah, I knew you were talking about sport junkies.

But I know lots of people who like watching basketball who would much rather watch a good college matchup then any NBA game.  And certainly all basketball fans around here watch march madness.

If you dont watch the final four then you are probably not the most representative US basketball fan.

[jimmy olsen]

I like the NBA more than College.

[crazy canuck]

I like the NBA more than College.

I rest my case.

[jimmy olsen]

I like the NBA more than College.

I rest my case.

New England is a pro sports region. College sports just aren't that popular here.

[Valmy]

New England is a pro sports region. College sports just aren't that popular here.

UCONN is wasted on you bastards.

[sbr]

Average salary is ~5 million.  I'm sure the median is quite a bit lower.

Also note there are 450 roster spots in the NBA, compared to ~1700 in the NFL and about 750 in MLB.

The MLB number depends on whether or not you add the farming system, too, no?

I was just counting the major league roster spots.  There will be a few highly paid players in the minors but the majority don't make sure (relatively).  My main point is that the NBA pie is split into much larger pieces.  The average NFL salary is under $2 million, less than half of the NBA but the NFL has 4 times as many players to get a cut of the pie.

[jimmy olsen]

New England is a pro sports region. College sports just aren't that popular here.

UCONN is wasted on you bastards.

True

[crazy canuck]

New England is a pro sports region. College sports just aren't that popular here.

UCONN is wasted on you bastards.

Do you think tim is representative of the whole area?

[jimmy olsen]

New England is a pro sports region. College sports just aren't that popular here.

UCONN is wasted on you bastards.

Do you think tim is representative of the whole area?

New England is very well known as a bastion of pro-sports. I've heard plenty of commenters mention it so you don't have to trust me. Talk sports with a New Englander and they'll all name the big 4 pro teams first before moving down to a college one. Same if they're from NYC, it's a Northeastern thing in general.

[crazy canuck]

New England is a pro sports region. College sports just aren't that popular here.

UCONN is wasted on you bastards.

Do you think tim is representative of the whole area?

New England is very well known as a bastion of pro-sports. I've heard plenty of commenters mention it so you don't have to trust me. Talk sports with a New Englander and they'll all name the big 4 pro teams first before moving down to a college one. Same if they're from NYC, it's a Northeastern thing in general.

Since you are the one telling me, even though you have said I dont have to trust you, dont I have to trust that what you are saying now is accurate?

[Capetan Mihali]

Tim is right. 

UConn basketball maybe, but only in Connecticut.  And only because 1) There is nothing else interesting about Connecticut, 2) There are no pro teams there since the Whalers left, and 3) The state is split into NY and Boston fanbases.

From what I could tell, hardly anybody in Philadelphia even gave a shit about Penn State athletics, for instance. 

The only exceptions in general are people who went to or whose father went to a big sports college.  And they are pretty much on their own, though I think there are a few bars in New York that cater to the bigger constituencies.