Show Me the Money!
- Jul 26, 2015
- 3 min read
Sorry for the short hiatus, I've been in Melbourne for a few days for the International Champions Cup! Got to watch Real Madrid take on Manchester City, pics will be coming up tomorrow in my next post. But first I'd like to address something that has been rather topical over the past few days, Money.
First let's take a look at Josh Smith, who recently signed with the Los Angeles Clippers from the Houston Rockets for the NBA veteran minimum, $1.5m for the season. In a recent interview, when asked about his relatively "low" salary, Smith had this to say:
"At the end of the day, you know, I do have a family," he said. "So it is going to be a little harder on me this year. But I'm going to push through it, you know. ... I made a decision for me and my family."
In 2013, Smith had signed with the Detroit Pistons for a four year, $54m contract from which he was later waived. This means that the Pistons are still paying him despite Smith not even playing for them anymore. Basically what they're saying is, "you're such a toxic player that we'll pay you NOT to play for us anymore." Talk about harsh. Smith went on to play another 52 games for the Houston Rockets and played a large role in their deep playoff run, ultimately bumping his unrestricted free agent stock upwards. So this season, Smith will make a grand total of $6.9m and while most people would flip head over heels for that kind of money, Smith's predicament must be looked at within the context of NBA basketball and the lifestyle he has lived so far.
Over the course of his NBA career, Smith has earned a cool $91m from the Atlanata Hawks all the way through to his new contract with the Clippers. With that kind of money comes a certain lifestyle and of course, certain expenses. While I'm sure J-Smoove is out partying and enjoying himself, he does have a mortgage and has to pay taxes like every other American citizen. Los Angeles has a 39.9% income tax and that by itself will take a huge chunk of Smith's salary. He will definitely need to cut back on certain things but, like every household, there are always going to expenses and bills that need to be paid for. I just think the Smtih has been taking too much heat for what he said. It's all relative people!
Moving onto World Football, Sepp Blatter was recently showered in money at a press conference by comedian/protestor Lee Nelson who has his own television show on the BBC.
This comes amidst reports that Blatter is going to postpone his resignation as the FIFA President. While his resignation was initially celebrated by many European countries, it was the African and Middle Eastern nations that were most upset when the announcement came. Makes you wonder what's going on behind close doors.
Finally Jose Mourinho has stepped down as head coach of Chelsea Football Club and has taken up a new position as a comedian in South London.
Mourinho has essentially accused rival teams of "buying" the title, something which Chelsea has first hand experience at. So lets take a look at exactly what Chelsea has done since the year 2005 in regards to money spent and players brought in.
*all prices in English pounds*
2005-06: 56.4m spent Notable Signings
Michael Essien 24.4m
Shaun Wright-Phillips 21m
Lassana Diarra 1m
2006-07: 56.5m spent
Notable Signings
Andriy Shevchenko 30m
Salomon Kalou 9m
Khalid Boulahrouz (???) 8.5m
2007-08: 43.7m spent
Notable Signings
Nicolas Anelka 15m
Branislav Ivanovic 9.7m
Florent Malouda 13.5m
2008-09: 24.1m spent
Notable Signings
Jose Bosingwa 16.2m
Deco 7.9m
2009-10: 26m spent
Notable Signings
Daniel Sturridge 6m
Yuri Zhirkov 18m
2010-11: 108m spent
Notable Signings
Ramies 22m
Tomas Kalas 5.2m
Yossi Benayoun 5.5m
David Luiz 25m
Fernando Torres 50m
2011-12: 85.45m spent
Notable Signings
Thibaut Courtois 9m
Romelu Lukaku 12m
Juan Mata 23.5m
Raul Meireles 12m
Gary Cahill 7m
Lucas Piazon 7.5m
Kevin De Bruyne 6.7m
2012-13: 86.6m spent
Notable Signings
Eden Hazard 32m
Oscar 19.5m
Demba Ba 7m
2013-14: 108.4m
Notable Signings
Andre Schurrle 18.7m
Willian 30m
Nemanja Matic 21m
Kurt Zouma 12.5m
2014-15: 108.6m
Notable Signings
Cesc Fabregas 27m
Diego Costa 32m
Felipe Luis 15.8m
Loic Remy 10.5m
Juan Cuadrado 23.3m
I rest my case.
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