Wade: NBA players should be paid for Olympics

[Owl]

Looking at the article it seems he's only agreeing with what Ray Allen said.
Gut instinct is that it's an incredibly dense thing to say. Completely contrary to the Olympic spirit.
But he does talk about the fact that jersey's are sold from it (not sure where the money goes from this then) and the Olympics are incredibly commercial now. There are questions as far as transparency regarding where all the money made from the olympics goes.

But if you don't want to play no one is forcing you and if the (NBA) pros don't want to play because they feel they play too many games then send college and/or D-Leaguers.

[boozehound]

No olympic athlete gets paid for their participation. Why should NBA players be any different?

The olympics are about representing your country, not about getting paid because it's a burden of your time. If he doesn't want to do it, he can find something else to do with his summers.

this. what a ****ing tool box.

[blablabla]

Looking at the article it seems he's only agreeing with what Ray Allen said.
Gut instinct is that it's an incredibly dense thing to say. Completely contrary to the Olympic spirit.
But he does talk about the fact that jersey's are sold from it (not sure where the money goes from this then) and the Olympics are incredibly commercial now. There are questions as far as transparency regarding where all the money made from the olympics goes.

But if you don't want to play no one is forcing you and if the (NBA) pros don't want to play because they feel they play too many games then send college and/or D-Leaguers.

uhh maybe they pay the 5star hotels and first class flights for all the players from it

[InspiredLebowski]

why not? Somebody is making money of their games why shouldn't the players get a piece of the pie?

Why are they less entitled to revenue than the company that televises their games? Or the company that sells olympic jerseys?

Not really. The Olympics are pretty much a money loser for all involved.

[Alan]

I don't know about the USA but if an Estonian athlete comes home with a medal from the Olympics he/she gets nicely rewarded by the state. Then again, we only get 1-2 medals on a good year and never from a team sport.

[jamal99]

No olympic athlete gets paid for their participation. Why should NBA players be any different?

The olympics are about representing your country, not about getting paid because it's a burden of your time. If he doesn't want to do it, he can find something else to do with his summers.

This.
I can't believe that somebody's asking for money for freaking Olypmics...

[InspiredLebowski]

I don't know about the USA but if an Estonian athlete comes home with a medal from the Olympics he/she gets nicely rewarded by the state. Then again, we only get 1-2 medals on a good year and never from a team sport.

The US does but it's "only" like 20k for a gold. Wade wipes his ass with 20 grand.

[Kebab Stall]

countries pay stipends for olympic athletes all the time.

A lot of olympic athletes are amateurs or only get their money through sponsors. So a lot of them need that funding so they can train and compete.

NBA players don't need shit. They already earn millions.

[SunsCaptain]

To be honest I would ask for money to be in the olympics....but not if i was an NBA player of his caliber lol....

But atm yes I would want money!

[Lebron23]

NBA players needs to sign some papers when they participates in International Competitions. If they get injured their original NBA teams shouldn't be paying them.

[Lebron23]

If all Olympic players got payed, fine. But not just NBA players.

I would be cool if each country gave something like a $5,000-10,000 stipend to each of their athletes. But that also brings up complications. Some poor countries may try to hold their own athletes out of the Olympics just to save a little money. Also, it is difficult to make the compensation even across countries since money has different values in different countries.

Team Philippines/Smart Gilas 1.0 have an annual salary.

http://www.pinoyweb.info/double-sala...-japeths-woes/

[Alan]

The US does but it's "only" like 20k for a gold. Wade wipes his ass with 20 grand.

20k for an individual gold medal or team medal?

If its for individual gold then damn, you got some cheap ass politicians

[konex]

why not? Somebody is making money of their games why shouldn't the players get a piece of the pie?

Why are they less entitled to revenue than the company that televises their games? Or the company that sells olympic jerseys?

I'm not saying they're not entitled to it but the Olympics also makes money off the other athletes who don't make a fraction of what Wade makes and you don't see them asking for pay. You parlay your success into endorsement deals, that's just how it works.

Wade needs to realize he comes off as a huge d-bag with these comments

[InspiredLebowski]

20k for an individual gold medal or team medal?

If its for individual gold then damn, you got some cheap ass politicians

The government doesn't pay any of it, it's all from the US Olympic Committee which is all private. They do have training centers where they train and live in the offseasons for free, so there's that I guess. But yeah, no government funding.

[Owl]

uhh maybe they pay the 5star hotels and first class flights for all the players from it

Most athletes stay at the Olympic Village. The hosting country pays for the construction of this and makes money back from the masses of tourism (and publicity generated). Presumably those who choose to stay elsewhere are payed for privately (presumably by something like USA Basketball).

I'm not saying players should be payed, only that the Olympics isn't what it used to be and is now super-commercial and I don't know where that money goes.