Salary Before the NBA

This is the Trenton YMCA 1896-97 team, one of the teams that turned basketball into a professional sport. It also was one of the first teams to pay players, making the highest paid player at the time Fred Cooper who received $16 per game- Blackwell, Jean. The Trentonian. Capital Century Site.

Those who play or like basketball may know that basketball has become a moredeveloped and organized sport in the 21st century. Since the beginning of the game,shooting the soccer ball into the fruit baskets triggered the competitiveness of the game.The soccer ball was used when James Naismith introduced the game in 1891, accordingto the People History. Since the objective was to win, players had to take more accurateshots. Even in the beginning of its creation, basketball made profits. The inventor himselfspread the game like a disease all over the country by working at different universities,like the University of Kansas. As the game expanded women for the first time wereencouraged to play a sport. Basketball was one of the first sports women played in late1890. 15 months after the invention, the first women's college Basketball game wasplayed at Smith College, according to their website.

The professional league that started in 1898 only lasted six years because it was not wellorganized, the name of the professional league (National Basketball League, according toNBA.com and ESPN). The game evolved into a profession, as teams across the countrywere starting to play for money. There were at least three professional leagues wherebasketball players were earning salaries; the National Basketball League (NBL), thePhiladelphia Basketball League and the Interstate League. To give you an idea of howmuch most players earned, in the November 5th of 1896 game, each player earned $15dollars except one player, captain of the Trentons Fred Cooper, who got paid $16,according to the History of Basketball site. The player salaries grew drastically in the late20th century because many teams were joining and more people started watching thegame. Increased popularity means a lot when it comes to profit and having a player who

fans believe is a phenomenon, and keeps them intrigued in the game. For example, inearly 1902, a new league called the New England Basketball League (NEBL) allowed anAfrican-American named Bucky Lew to play in a game, 48 years before the NBA allowedan African-American player, Chuck Cooper.

When something is known or watched by more people, the more valued it becomes,financially. These are historical events that triggered basketball to become a successfulfranchise on its own, making a profit and changing our society both economically andsocially.

Salary growth in Professional Basketball:

This is Moses Malone, in red jersey. The first NBA player to sign a $1 million dollar contract.Image by: Shepherd, Leon. Joseph Melone. Image. 2013.

All of the various professional basketball leagues couldn’t coexist for long due to the Great Depression, where many people could not afford to watch the game because they needed money for food and housing, according to NBA Hoops website. The NBA outlived or absorbed the other leagues because it was the most successful and profitable organization, because the NBA had all the money for to advertise. The Great Depression might have made a lot damage to this earlier professional league but luckily basketball survived thanks to the bankers, and the Roosevelt Administration for improving the economy, according to Biography.com site. As our society fell in love with the game, many people started not only to watch it but also to play it. In 1946, the NBA was founded but it grew so much because rules were improved, for example the original rules limited a team to hold the ball for 1 minute and it changed to 24 seconds in 1954. The game was almost too slow for the audience to bare because when the opposing team was ahead by at least 5 points, they held the ball for at least a minute. But when the NBA was

established, the opposing team only had 24 seconds to score or the ball is turned over. Basketball players had developed skills which the NBA found out fans loved crossover. For example many people witnessed Oscar Robertson in 1960s, handling the ball beautifully. The value of a player began to depend on skills. A decade later players were jumping higher and dunking, which made the game more exciting to watch. More excitement led to higher attendance and viewers, which then increased the NBA’s revenues, and soon after players were getting higher salaries. In 1996, the WNBA, Women’s National Basketball Association was founded, according to the WNBA’s site. WNBA players' salaries are shockingly low, which is because not many people are watching their games and the WNBA's revenues are far lower than the NBA's, according to RW.

Today’s Salary

This is Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls holding his own brand of Shoes from Adidas- Adidas. D Rose Shoe. Nike Kicks. Image. 2013

Today the NBA is the most watched professional basketball league in the nation. According to RW, the value of a player dictates his or her salary as well as popularity. Mr. RW explained the scenario giving an example of Derrick Rose on the Chicago Bulls and Lebron James on the Miami Heat. He explained how the Chicago Bulls can’t afford to lose Derrick Rose because they would lose money due to lower attendance and TV ratings. If the ratings drop they may lose tv contracts. From the Sports Business Daily article, it states that, “the current contracts run through the 2015-16 season. On average, the networks are paying the league a combined $930 million annually as part of the deals, which started with the 2008-09 season.” Mr. RW also added that, “it would not only hurt the team but also the NBA if a valuable player like Derrick Rose left the team because people love him and he’s so good at what he does. He is worth every penny because he means so much to the Bulls. The NBA makes much of its revenue by selling

jerseys, shorts, hats and other clothing.”

In conclusion, I believe that professional basketball would be nothing without the fans. Basketball has changed our society in so many ways because of the rules. Not only has basketball brought us together but it has also created a space for people to laugh and have fun. Last year, I attended my first game with my friends and I can tell you from the heart that basketball is not just a sport but also America’s culture, soon to be the world’s. At the beginning, I made an assumption that basketball is all about money, and that part is true. Though, when I dove deeper, I figured out that witnessing and experiencing the game for yourself makes you forget about the money and remember how great a game it really is.

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http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/story/2012-05-19/nba-wnba-basketball-salary-disparity/55079608/1Woods, David. Equal pay? Not on the basketball court. Usa Today. Web. 05-09-2012. Retrieved:11-04-2013.http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1777636-arian-fosters-comments-are-a-perfect-reason-why-we-cant-pay-college-athletes

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