In November 2014, I read in the newspaper that the Miami Marlins signed outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to a record 13-year, $325 million contract. Upset at why our society pays such exorbitant salaries to professional ball players, I decided to look at various stars and then regular people to compare salaries. Teachers could use these salaries to have their students compute a daily wage or a wage per game/per movie/per school day/etc. These wages (especially for the real people) might be useful for students to study as they prepare for their own jobs. Here are some of the results from the newspaper (The Coloradoan), the internet (www.mywage.org, www. aflcio.org, www.spotrac.com), and Parade magazine:
Professional Athletes and College Coaches Name Profession Salary Giancarlo Stanton Baseball Player (Miami Marlins) $325 million for 13 years Mike Trout Baseball Player (Miami Marlins) $144.5 million for 6 years Colin Kaepernick Football Player (San Francisco) $61 million for 1 year Carmello Anthony Basketball Player (New York Knicks) $124 million for 5 years Alex Ovechkin Hockey Player (Washington Capitals) $124 million for 13 years Micheal Essien Soccer Player (Milan) $3,400,000 per year Jay Cutler Football Player (Chicago Bears) $126.7 million for 7 years Gerald McCoy Football Player (Tampa Bay) $92.5 million for 6 years Eli Manning Football Player (New York Giants) $97.5 million for 6 years Peyton Manning Football Player (Denver Broncos) $96 million for 5 years Johnny Manziel Football Player (Cleveland Browns) $8.25 million for 4 years Clayton Kershaw Baseball Player (L.A. Dodgers) $215 million for 7 years Justin Verlander Baseball Player (Detroit Tigers) $180 million for 7 years Kobe Bryant Basketball Player (L.A. Lakers) $48.5 million for 2 years LeBron James Basketball Player (Cleveland Cavaliers) $42.22 million for 2 years Kevin Durant Basketball Player (Oklahoma City Thunder) $89,163,134 for 5 years Shea Weber Hockey Player (Nashville Predators) $110 million for 14 years Ricardo Kaka Soccer Player (Orlando City) $6,600,000 per year Nick Saban Football Coach (Alabama) $7.2 million per year Mark Dantonio Football Coach (Michigan State) $5.6 million per year Bob Stoops Football Coach (Oklahoma) $5 million per year Kevin Sumlin Football Coach (Texas A&M) $5 million per year Charlie Strong Football Coach (Texas) $5 million per year Urban Meyer Football Coach (Ohio State) $4.5 million per year
Public Figures Name Profession Salary Barack Obama President of the United States $400,000 per year John Boehner Speaker of the House of Representatives $174,000 per year Pope Francis Pope of the Catholic Church $0.00 per year Hillary Clinton Public Speaker (former Secretary of State) $5,000,000 per year Vladimir Putin President of Russia $280,395 per year John McClain U.S. Senator (Arizona) $174,000 per year
Actors and Musicians Name Profession Salary Angelina Jolie Actress $18,000,000 per year Harrison Ford Actor $65,000,000 per year Daniel Radcliffe Actor $86,888,889 per year Jennifer Aniston Actress $32,000,000 per year Madonna Singer $125,000,000 per year Beyonce Knowles Singer $115,000,000 per year Oprah Winfrey Talk Show Host $82,000,000 per year 50 Cent Musician $8,000,000 per year J.K. Rowling Writer $14,000,000 per year
CEOs of Corporations Name Profession Salary Charif Souki CEO of CHENIERE ENERGY INC $141,949,280 per year Mario J. Gabelli CEO of GAMCO INVESTORS INC $85,049,800 per year Leslie Moonves CEO of CBS CORP $66,932,581 per year Jeffrey Weiner CEO of LINKEDIN CORP $49,071,363 per year Robert A. Iger CEO of WALT DISNEY CO $34,321,055 per year Hock E. Tan CEO of AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES LTD $31,867,129 per year Brian L. Roberts CEO of COMCAST CORP $31,367,254 per year Marillyn A. Hewson CEO of LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP $25,155,799 per year Marissa A. Mayer CEO of YAHOO INC $24,935,712 per year Steve Ells CEO of CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC $25,116,871 per year Bill Gates Co-founder of Microsoft $8,000,000 per year Warren Buffett CEO of Berkshire Hathaway $100,000 per year
Real People (from Parade Magazine 2014) Name Profession Salary Alex Denison Trout Farm Owner (Nantahala, NC) $12,700 per year Anne Carole Butler Costume Designer (Atlanta, GA) $30,000 per year AnnMarie McCoy Special Education Teacher (Riverside, CA) $80,800 per year Betsy Chapman Communication Manager (Oxford, MS) $20,800 per year Bob Jensen Glazier (Lewiston, ID) $29,000 per year Anna Norton Operations Manager (Cary, NC) $40,000 per year Brenda Thomas Windjammer Captain (Rockland, ME) $12,000 per year Charley Vannice Railroad Conductor (Molalla, OR) $120,000 per year Cheryl McPherson Pediatric Nurse (Sayreville, NJ) $85,000 per year Colin T. McDonald Fashion Publicist (New York City, NY) $75,000 per year Craig Whipple State Parks Director (Barre, VT) $73,749 per year Joseph Ortiz Food and Beverage Worker (Orlando, FL) $23,000 per year Dawn Hoover Relief Veterinarian (Fairhope, AL) $65,000 per year Donald Ricklin Museum Exhibit Builder (Worcester, MA) $29,000 per year Donna DeForbes Writer and Designer (Warwick, RI) $30,000 per year Dorothy Thompson Director of Marketing (Richland Center, WI) $48,357 per year Gerry Smith Oil Industry Inspector (Fairbanks, AK) $130,000 per year Gil Rodriguez Fire Chief (Murray, UT) $110,000 per year Gloria Ross Obituary Writer (St. Louis, MO) $13,000 per year Harry Pecci Stadium Beer Vendor (Richboro, PA) $12,000 per year Heather Proctor Short-Order Cook (Malvern, AR) $19,000 per year Janette McCalvy School Supervisor (Cottage Grove, MN) $25,000 per year Jeanie Forrester State Senator (Meredith, NH) $100 per year Jerry Li Aircraft Maintenance Tech. (New York, NY) $75,000 per year Jerry McKenna Sculptor (Boerne, TX) $85,000 per year Joe Commodore Oil and Gas Consultant (Boulder, WY) $50,000 per year Jeremy Hurd School Principal (Box Elder, SD) $60,500 per year Joseph Hughes Accordionist (Abingdon, MD) $6,000 per year Karla Turney Clinical Pharmacist (North Liberty, IA) $104,472 per year Karleen Hultquist Office Manager (Wailuku, HI) $41,040 per year Ken Howatt Driving Instructor (Las Vegas, NV) $40,850 per year Kindle Shaw Assistant to the Mayor (Seattle, WA) $80,000 per year Kristin Schuett Riding Instructor (Loveland, CO) $18,000 per year Lara Kibler English Teacher (Lincoln, NE) $48,248 per year Lee Chapman Firefighter (Bloomington, IN) $52,000 per year Leslie Lindsay ESL Coordinator and Teacher (Round Rock, TX) $46,500 per year Linda Mitchell Parent Educator (O'Fallon, IL) $23,795 per year Lyn Barela Speech & Language Pathologist (Berthold, ND) $52,500 per year Mark McDevitt Banquet Captain (Phoenix, AZ) $66,000 per year Martin Leake Riverboat Captain (Ashland, KY) $133,357 per year Mary Stenger Library Director (Lost Creek, WV) $8,840 per year Matthew Wolfe Fisheries Biologist (North Canton, OH) $56,000 per year Mike Kuzma Justice of the Peace (Newport News, VA) $12,500 per year Michelle Ernsdorff Founder of compasstocare.org (Chicago, IL) $48,000 per year Monica Johnson Deputy Sheriff (Columbia, SC) $44,200 per year Nancy Chavez-Berg Owner, Retail Fish Market (Albuquerque, NM) $40,000 per year Caleb Ogborn Sign Technician (Lawrence, KS) $28,000 per year Patrick Garner Thomas Edison Impersonator (Montclair, NJ) $75,000 per year Peter Waugh Municipal Recreation Director (Ossipee, NH) $46,916 per year Randye Kaye Voice Actress (Trumbull, CT) $90,000 per year Richard Lizerbram Podiatrist (Newtown, PA) $145,000 per year Roslyn Guillory Phillip Security Guard (Lake Charles, LA) $25,000 per year Shaun Hoolahan Petroleum Engineer (Opportunity, MT) $134,100 per year Starr Mikkelson Montessori Teacher (Idaho Falls, ID) $26,000 per year Stefanie Juliano Mental Health Counselor (Rio Rancho, NM) $31,200 per year Terri Rees Personal Chef (Wyoming, MI) $10,000 per year Thad Balkman District Judge (Norman, OK) $124,373 per year Tom Egly Background Actor (Alexandria, VA) $5,000 per year Tracey M. Phillips College Professor (Summerville, S.C.) $96,771 per year Valerie Leffler Cheese Worker (Richland Center, WI) $46,800 per year W.L. McMicheal Veterans Employment Rep. (Cordova, TN) $34,034 per year Yvonne Lander Truck Driver (Dayton, OH) $75,000 per year Karen DeBoer Non-Union Voiceover Talent (Lincoln, NE) $50,000 per year
Here are the daily salaries for some of the people mentioned above: Name Salary Daily Salary 1. Giancarlo Stanton $325 million for 13 years $68,493 2. Alex Ovechkin $124 million for 13 years $26,132 3. Peyton Manning $96 million for 5 years $52,603 4. Johnny Manziel $8.25 million for 4 years $5,651 5. LeBron James $42.22 million for 2 years $57,836 6. Barack Obama $400,000 per year $1,096 7. Daniel Radcliffe $86,888,889 per year $238,052 8. Beyonce Knowles $115,000,000 per year $315,068 9. Oprah Winfrey $82,000,000 per year $224,658 10. J.K. Rowling $14,000,000 per year $38,356 11. Charif Souki $141,949,280 per year $388,902 12. Marissa A. Mayer $24,935,712 per year $68,317 13. Bill Gates $8,000,000 per year $21,918 14. Lara Kibler $48,248 per year $132 15. Alex Denison $12,700 per year $35 16. Charley Vannice $120,000 per year $329 17. Heather Proctor $19,000 per year $52 Giancarlo Stanton is paid $154,320 per game!