Fifteen million dollars. That's roughly how much Dwyane Wade made last season playing basketball for the Miami Heat. And that's just his salary, so that doesn't include endorsements, appearances or anything else.
But here's what he tweeted after labor talks broke down Thursday:
Here's the player perspective though right now: They see themselves guaranteed to give up money, which they will. They aren't getting anything near that 57 percent BRI split. So they're going to take less, no matter what. And with the owners pushing for more and more and more, the players are pretty much convinced that the owners are doing whatever it takes to guarantee profitability.
Which they probably are.
But let's not pretend that professional basketball players make a LOT of money playing basketball. Whether it's the $15 million guys like Wade get or even the minimum, the players make a healthy living. I understand wanting their cut and trying to get what's fair, but let's not pretend that this isn't about money on their side too. The owners are fighting for every penny, but as are the players.
Stephen Curry put it a whole lot better than Wade: "The players know how important the fans r to what we do. Would not jeopardize that unless we knew we r being exploited." See, now that makes a little more sense.
The owners are trying to make more. But so are the players. Like I've always said, there's blood on both hands here. It's not just one side to blame. So to say this lockout is going on just because of greedy owners isn't at all fair. Pot, kettle, and such and such.
The players try to tug at fans' hearts and pull them to their side with apologies and finger pointing. But we know what's going on. We're not clueless. You make millions play professional basketball. And you want to make sure it stays that way.
