Quote:
Originally Posted by ukhotstove
What's the answer for football in America ? Being someone who is looking from the outside in I just don't understand what seem's like there is massive interest in the game or at least playing the game then when you leave college it's like people have their brain washed and never heard of football.
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The answer is for it to continue to grow in popularity as a spectator sport so it remains an attractive option for players when they hit high school age. Right now, there isn't much incentive for the best natural athletes to stick with soccer when baseball, American football, and basketball (not to mention golf and tennis) are so much more popular -- and offer higher paydays at the highest level. We talk about the crazy amount of money someone like Michael Owen gets paid, but he's actually being paid less than Aaron Rowand.
Let's say you're an elite level athlete for your age group and about to enter high school. American football and soccer are played during the same season at your school, so you only have the opportunity to play one, even though you're naturally gifted enough to be a star at either. The odds of you playing soccer over football are miniscule, especially if you think you're good enough to eventually turn professional, where your options are the NFL (minimum salary: around $300,000 per year) or MLS (minimum salary: about $20,000 per year). Even if you think you're good enough that you could leapfrog MLS and go to Europe, you're still looking at a Tim Howard $3,000,000 per year at best. That's a backup in the NFL.