A jock defends his market impulse

Bob how you ask a question like that?

Listen Sonny—

How you ask a question like that Bob?

I’m just asking you to look at the cost—

Do you like having a job?

Sonny.

Do you Bob like having your job?

…

…

Sonny I think what Bob is aski—

Linda I like making a lot of money. I like it. It probably more money than any one person deserve. But you ask me do I think it greedy?

Well that about sums it right there.

No Sonny I want to know do you think it is fair. Greedy is another issue.

Fair to who Bob?

Well fair to the fans who pay it says here a hundred and fifty dollars on average… for an average family.

I don’t make no money off that hot dog man. People buy five dollar hot dog for they kids Bob that got nothing to do with me.

Fair enough Sonny. But—

So what you really asking Bob, is if I think it unfair making this much money and still asking for more at expense of fans, then I must be greedy. So I’m just skipping along to the real part of the question.

Sonny.

No it aint unfair and I aint greedy. Your job—

But you’re at the bargaining tables…

Bob your job—

…and you have ticket prices jerked higher and management extorting tax revenue, ultimately out of the fans, to pay these escalating contracts and Sonny—

Bob the money we get do not come out of fans. It come out of you. Out of TV.

Sonny I can assure the viewers network policy forbids compensating players for—

Out of the TV contracts Bob. Look how much money they pay the league, and the local teams, for those TV deals. That where the money come from Bob.

Sonny.

And we see that. And somebody paying that, it mean somebody making even more money off us. So we just making sure we get a share of that.

But without media no one would even know your—

Exactly. So you in it too Bob. We in it together. Somebody make money so much putting me on TV they can afford to pay you to ask me do I think it fair.

Well we put on a show for the TV viewers and the network employs thousands of people but those fans at the stadium still—

The money ain’t made from those people. I ain’t asking for they money. Like a magazine. Everybody know the money come from advertisers not subscriptions. You just want subscriptions to up the ads. TV don’t even charge. All your money ad money.

But fans' prices are going up.

And people say I should retire. Take it easy. Get in the studio make a million dollars.

Fifteen more seconds Sonny, let me ask you while we have—

Well Linda I don’t know about a million, right—

How much you make Bob?

It’s not polite to say Sonny but you can be sure the average broadcaster earns far less than—

Oh that’s too bad Bob you know maybe you and your fellas ought to get together and—

Well Bob, Sonny we’re out of time.

Thank you Linda and thank you Sonny. When we come back assistant commissioner—