The World of Sports and Money

It is no question that American's love sports; we love to play sports, watch sports, and spend billions of dollars each year going to watch our favorite teams play. It is no surprise then that this obsession is reflected in the salary of professional athletes. To put it in perspective, let me give you a break down of the world's top 10 highest paid athletes in 2009 as calculated by Forbes Magazine:

1. Tiger Woods - Earnings, $100 million; Nationality, American; Sport, Golf
2. Oscar De La Hoya - Earnings, $43 million; Nationality, American; Sport, Boxing

3. Phil Mikelson - Earnings, $42.2 million; Nationality, American; Sport, Golf
4. Kimi Raikkonen - Earnings, $40 million; Nationality, Finish; Sport, Auto Racing

5. Michael Schumacher - Earnings, $36 million; Nationality, German; Sport, Auto Racing

6. David Beckham - Earnings, $33 million; Nationality, British; Sport, Soccer

7. Kobe Bryant - Earnings, $32.9 million; Nationality, American; Sport, Basketball

8. Shaquille O'Neal - Earnings, $31.9 million; Nationality, American; Sport, Basketball

9. Michael Jordan - Earnings, $31 million; Nationality, American; Sport, Basketball

10. Ronaldinho - Earnings, $31 million; Nationlity, Brazilian; Sport, Soccer

The U.S. dominates this list, having 6 of the highest paid athletes in the world. You can see, however, that Ronaldinho from Brazil sneaks in there at number 10. Which brings us full circle to the experience that Theresa had on her visit...

Theresa had the unique experience of learning how some programs in Brazil run their sports programs, the underlying theme being that many talented kids drop out of their sport because there is no incentive to play. While in Lavras, Theresa visited the Tennis Club to learn how they implement their sports program. There are 3 levels….4-5 year olds, 6-7, and 8-9 year olds. Students are introduced to a variety of sports at a non-competitive level, and when they turn 9 they are able to choose a sport to focus on. However, even at the University level, sports are considered non-competitve, which is why many kids don't chose to continue playing. As you can see, this is very different from the U.S. where student athletes are idols in the high schools and colleges that they attend. Sports are even put above education if opportunites for higher level of play are presented to athletes.

This sport obsession in the U.S. is one of the aspects that drives the cash flow to the athletes. It is not a surprise then that Americans are among the top paid athletes in the world. If countries outside of the U.S. had the means to provide such lofty benefits to athletes, it would be interesting to see if Americans would still dominate the world of sports.