"On bookes and on lerning he it spente"
  • Home
  • Novels, Screenplays & Films
  • Portfolio
  • Services
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Novels, Screenplays & Films
  • Portfolio
  • Services
  • Blog
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

  On Writing, Tennis, and Other Stuff

5/24/2013 0 Comments

Appearance Fees for Professional Tennis Players

I have never understood the need to pay already-rich professional tennis players hundreds of thousands of dollars (indeed, over 1 million) to just show up at a tournament. Yes, they have to play, but they don’t have to put in an effort. They could lose in the first round and still pocket enough money to feed an entire country’s school children breakfast in the morning.

Okay, I do understand why tournaments do this. I just don’t agree with it. To entice a big name player to a tournament entices patrons such as sponsors and the fans – sponsors to put up even more money, fans to buy tickets, revenue from TV to go up. The more money the tournament can make, the more it can disperse to its ‘shareholders’. It seems like a classic capitalist business model – in the end, everybody wins.

Maybe it’s the human in me that thinks that this business model stinks. The already-rich top pro tennis players have no need for any more money – really. Paying them an exorbitant appearance fee just for showing up screams greed and elitism to me. They could easily pass for a Canadian Senator. When I hear of players whining about how they’re not paid enough through prize money, I just cringe. I’d just like to remind them that if we the fans didn’t show up, there would be no you.

I have always liked pro tennis over other professional sports because I liked the payment schedule – you win, you get paid; you don’t win, you don’t get paid. You are forced to work for your paycheque instead of just showing up and doing nothing and getting paid for it (a classic union scheme, but that’s another rant). The whole hockey lockout fiasco this past year was a classic example of greedy millionaire players, greedy billionaire owners and fans caught in the middle. Going to an NHL game will soon be for the millionaire fans. It’s perfect though isn’t it: millionaires watching millionaires making billionaires.

Maybe there is a place for appearance fees. I just think it’s messed up at the moment. If a tournament feels the need to pay a highly-ranked player to show up to boost ticket sales or increase their revenue in other ways, I believe the fee should be paid out as the player advances into the tournament. For example, if the players is promised a $1 million fee, it should be paid out if he/she wins the title – not if they get bounced in the first round. There is no rule for appearance fees that I know of, so the tournament is basically making their own rules in regards to paying players.

Currently, appearance fees just seem a bit too shady to me, as if they are being paid under the table. I think if appearance fees were more out in the open and fair, I’d have a lot less misgivings about them. In these troubled financial times, especially for individuals who are struggling to make ends meet, I find it very distasteful for already-rich millionaires to pocket millions of dollars for not doing anything.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Archives

    September 2019
    July 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All Favourite Films Of All Time Music My Screenplays My Writing Personal Politics Professional Writing Screenwriting Sports Tennis The Truth Hurts

    Tweets by @IAmTrevorScott
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Web Hosting Canada