The NFL football players are the highest paid athletes in professional sports. Why are NFL players compensated with such a high salary, and why is there so much money available for the players? Also, do teams use different models for salary distribution, and do high salaries provided to players result in a winning organization? In this article we will try to address these questions. Finally, we will examine the implications of high NFL player salaries for the fans, players, and management.

To understand the concept of NFL player salary, you first need to understand the term salary cap in the NFL. The salary cap is the amount of money an NFL team can spend on salaries for their players per year. The salary cap has progressively increased year by year since its inception back in 1994.

The NFL salary cap, as negotiated by the NFL Players Union in the current collective bargaining agreement, is 62.24% of all football related revenue divided by 32 teams. For the 2009 season that figure is 128 million dollars, which is the amount of money each team can spend on NFL player salaries.

The following shows the steady increase in salary cap since 1999:

Salary Cap Per Team for NFL Player Salaries by Year:

2009 $128 million

2008 $116 million

2007 $109 million

2006 $102 million

2005 $85.5 million

2004 $80.5 million

2003 $75 million

2002 $71 million

2001 $67.5 million

2000 $62.2 million

1999 $58.4 million

As the salary cap increases, so does the salary of players. The real question is how is the money distributed to players? There is a type of salary distribution model that teams use which is not known to the general public. Each team seems to use a slightly different model. Before looking at this distribution concept, lets take a look at a list of the highest paid NFL players for 2008. In looking at the list below, it is interesting to note that the top 20 salaries for 2008 only had a couple of quarterbacks. Yet the highest paid player for 2008 was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. It should be noted that at the time of this writing, the most current NFL salary statistics was for the 2008 season. So who were the highest paid NFL players for 2008.

The following table tells it all:

TOP 20 HIGHEST PAID PLAYERS IN 2008

1. QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh $ 27,701,920

2. DE Jared Allen, Minnesota $ 21,119,256

3. WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona $ 17,103,480

4. QB JaMarcus Russell, Oakland $ 16,872,400

5. RB Michael Turner, Atlanta $ 16,003,840

6. G Chris Snee, N.Y. Giants $ 14,890,000

7. CB Asante Samuel, Philadelphia $ 14,145,000

8. WR Randy Moss, New England $ 14,006,720

9. T Flozell Adams, Dallas $ 14,005,760

10 .DT Tommy Kelly, Oakland $ 13,978,480

11. WR Terrell Owens, Dallas $ 13,731,560

12. WR Bernard Berrian, Minnesota $ 13,705,000

13. T Michael Roos, Tennessee $ 13,505,520

14. C Jeff Faine, Tampa Bay $ 13,105,760

15. DE Will Smith, New Orleans $ 12,950,000

16. QB Tony Romo, Dallas $ 12,886,600

17. G Travelle Wharton, Carolina $ 12,850,000

18. DE Antwan Odom, Cincinnati $ 12,800,000

19. CB Terence Newman, Dallas $ 12,611,240

20. RB Marion Barber, Dallas $ 12,522,400

Lets examine the concept of salary in the NFL a little more closely. As previously stated, how teams pay their players and the value they place on them is known by only a few, including the player agent. Most teams will look at parameters such as a players statistics, age, injury history, and other less tangible parameters such as degree of leadership. Each team seems to look at these and other parameters in their own way. Also, each team looks at these parameters differently for each player.

One team may put more importance on player statistics and less on age. In general, team management wants to know what that player can bring to the organization. For example, the Minnesota Vikings signed up Brett Favre as their quarterback for the 2009 season, and he turned forty years old during that season. The Vikings did not care about his age, and put a greater emphasis on his statistics.

It is interesting to note that having a few very high salary players does not necessarily mean success to the team over the long run. But it also should be noted, that the highest paid player on the 2008 player salary list, Ben Roethlisberger, helped bring the Pittsburgh Steelers a Super Bowl championship for that season. But what affect does salary distribution have on a teams success over the long run.

A case in point. One of the most successful NFL teams over the past ten years has been the New England Patriots. Yet only one player from the Patriots is in the top 20 for 2008. That is wide receiver Randy Moss. Yet Oakland, over the past ten years, which has two players in the top 20, has not seen the success that the Patriots have had. As a matter of fact, they have not even come close.

Also, you can see five players from the Dallas Cowboys in the top 20 list for 2008, yet they have not been in the Super Bowl since 1995 (Super Bowl XXX, Jan. 28, 1996). It appears that the New England Patriots like to spread their money around to their players, so that one or a few players do not get an enormous salary while the rest of the players make a fraction of that amount. Randy Moss may be an exception to this rule.

The team concept of salary distribution that the Patriots employ falls in line with the team concept they have set for their players when it comes to playing football. The Patriot's organization believe that it requires a team effort to win football games, and not the superior effort of only a few players. Maybe that is one of the reasons the Patriots have been so successful over the past ten years. And lets not forget that the Patriots is one of the best managed teams in the NFL. Part of that management is proper salary distribution. Team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick seem to know what they are doing.

Of course, this understanding is based on the assumption that the 2008 salary list is representative of a pattern of salary distribution in the NFL. To really create an understanding, we should look at other past NFL salary lists, but due to space limitations for this article, we can only examine the most current list as of the time of this writing.

NFL player salaries continue to increase year by year. Today the lowest paid rookie makes a bare minimum of $285,000.00 (at least for 2007). In terms of all professional sports, the NFL players are the highest paid. This is why so many college players seek to get into the NFL. But it should also be remembered that the average length of a career for a player in the NFL is only 4 years. So obviously a player needs to make all he can during that short career. The question is are the players worth these very high salaries?

A persons salary is dependent on one major factor. That is how many other people can do the job they are doing? The fewer the number of people that can perform a particular job, the higher the salary. Not to many people can play in the NFL. Also, the players do deserve most of the revenue that is produced simply because, without the players, you would not have any business entity. Owners and management clearly understand this. And since fans are willing to pay the high ticket prices, then I would have to answer the question that yes, the players do deserve the salaries they receive.

Football is a form of entertainment, but it is a form of entertainment many Americans can not do without. Even in the Roman period, people had a need to see the gladiators fight in the Colosseums. The Romans had to pay to see their gladiators fight to the death. If a rich person had given money to pay for the show, the seats would be free. Other times, you had to pay, and it cost more money for the good seats than for the bad seats, so the poor people had to sit way up top in the Colosseum where it was hard to see. Even the Colosseums had their nosebleed seats.

The point is, Romans were willing to pay to see the gladiator form of competition. This willingness to pay to see competition has existed throughout the history of mankind, and the need to compete or watch competition seems to be an innate response in human society.

Every year, fans watch their teams with the hope that their team will reach the Super Bowl, or in some cases, simply end up with a winning season. And in the end, we really do not care to much about a players salary. As long as we enjoy watching our team play, we will continue to pay high ticket prices.

So to conclude, there are really two basic reasons why NFL players can make millions of dollars per year. First and foremost, fans are willing to pay high ticket prices to see their team play. Secondly, not to many people can play in the NFL. This results in a high demand for their skill. Lets face it, not to many people have the skill of a Tom Brady or a Ben Roethlisberger. So as long as the demand for tickets remains high, players will continue to enjoy a high income.

Finally, each team owner and management has it’s own model for salary distribution with the hope that their formula will result in a winning organization for the long run. And in the end, the beneficiary is the player who is well compensated for his effort, and the fan, who is willing to pay the ticket price.