I was just reading something about Brandon Weeden and the reason he’s so old is because he spent a few years pursuing a baseball career, which got me thinking…
The situation is:
You’re 21 years old, just graduated college, and a world-class athlete. In college, you were magically able to compete at a high level in football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. All four pro leagues have come calling; you’re being courted by the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL and are expected to be a first-round choice in the draft of any of them. You are enthusiastic and passionate about all 4 sports, but the time has come for you to choose one, and only one, and commit to that.
Note that success in the pros is of course not at all guaranteed. You weigh the pros and cons of each league as you see them, and you choose…
Regarding the four major US leagues, some stats to consider:
Average career length:
NFL: 3.5 years
MLB: 5.6 years (non-pitchers)
NBA: 4.8 years
NHL: 5.5 years
Median salary:
NFL: $770,000
MLB: $1.15 million
NBA: $2.33 million
NHL: $1.7 million
Minimum salary (based on average career length):
NFL: if you are drafted today and play 3 years, in that 3rd year you will earn at least $645,000
MLB: in 2017 the minimum will be $500,000
NBA: as a 4-year vet going into 2017 the minimum would be $1,139,123
NHL: assuming it rises 10% each year, in 2017 the minimum would be about $890,000 (currently $525,000)
The highest average salary, actually, is in** basketball**, and it’s not even close, and I don’t see that basketball players get hurt any more severely than baseball players. So I’m changing my vote to basketball. I assumed baseball players got paid more but when I looked it up I was shocked; the average NBA salary is more than 50% higher. In retrospect I shouldn’t have been; the NBA simply doesn’t have as many guys amongst whom to spread the money around.
On top of that, the NBA is no more risky. Now, baseball draftees are signed independent of any salary limitations, so if you’re goinbg to go really high in the draft your compensation could be extremely lucrative; last year 19 draftees were paid $2 million or more. The #21 pick TURNED DOWN a $4 million offer because he expects to get more if he’s redrafted. NBA players don’t get signing bonuses - but they do get huge scale contracts, comparable in value to MLB signing bonuses. The rookie’s contract is determined by his position in the draft, and the salaries are very handsome.
Furthermore, if you’re drafted by an NBA team it’s virtually certain you’re going to be in the NBA, probably right away or close to it. MLB draft picks are comparatively more doubtful; players out of college are generally not ready for the major leagues, with very few exceptions, and it’s not unusual for a high draft pick to simply never make it to the majors.
So I’m going NBA. More money, safer money, more assurance of getting to the big time.
Of course it would depend on how high I might be drafted in each - assuming that is equal I would probably take basketball since the economics are better and the likelihood of playing right away is greater. In reality, if I could play any sport professionally at the major league level, it would be baseball just cause I love it.
I’d be a goalie, so I could get an awesome mask. I’d also take my husband’s name, which is that of an actual creature, for the mask. It would be awesome.
Ideally, I’d choose baseball, but in terms of my actual physical gifts, hockey would be a better choice (despite the increased chance of injuries), if I had a chance to start learning how to skate when I was a young kid, as opposed to my mid-30’s.
Isn’t that kind of missing the point? I mean, I assume that you’re lacking in skill sets required for any professional sport. But the OP is positing the contrafactual that you are skilled.
Baseball. I loved playing it when I was a kid, likelihood of severe injury is lower, money is great, and it’s a little less hectic than basketball. Sure, they have red eye flights, but then you get to some city for a few days, rather than 1 night in Portland, 1 night in Sacramento, 1 night in Utah, back home for 3 nights, then to Miami, then to New York, then back home. Plus, you get week-long, or even 2-week long homestands to really enjoy being home. You’re outside in the summer for the most part, and spring training sounds a lot better than spending the summer free, and then going to training camp back home where it’s turning colder and days are getting shorter.
Football was fun to play, but the game would be brutal, training camp sounds horrible, the pay’s not (relatively) good, and the chance of injury is way too high. Plus 12 hours of film session doesn’t sound good.
Keep in mind that only 10% of all players drafted from colleges make the Major Leagues. For first or second round picks, it is 50%, but that includes fall call-ups who make the Major League minimum for a few weeks or pitchers who get a callup when someone gets hurt and sits in the bullpen for a couple of days.
Virtually everyone who gets drafted in the NBA makes the team, and first rounders get guaranteed salaries (for three years, IIRC.) I’m not sure what the numbers are in the NHL or NFL.
I picked hockey. There are various pro leagues outside of the NHL where I can play if I can’t stay in the NHL for years. The rosters are larger as well.