Big Bucks In Sports

ALEX RODRIGUEZ $28 MILLION New York Yankees

JASON GIAMBI $23.4 MILLION New York Yankees

KEVIN GARNETT $23.8 MILLION Boston Celtics

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL $21 MILLION Phoenix Suns

JULIUS PEPPERS $14.1 MILLION Carolina Panthers

CARSON PALMER $13.5 MILLION Cincinnati Bengals

SCOTT GOMEZ $10 MILLION New York Rangers

DANIEL BRI�RE $10 MILLION Philadelphia Flyers

LIFE HAS A SALARY CAP. EVERYONE DECIDES EVERY DAY HOW MUCH money to spend and on what. Fuel your car? Cool your home? Take in a game at the ballpark? � The choices teams make are on a grander scale, but most are constrained by league-imposed spending limits—others by revenue inequities or just plain parsimony. In their most recently completed seasons the NFL and Major League Baseball set attendance records for the sixth and fourth seasons in a row, respectively, but the falling economy is pressuring individuals and corporations to reexamine their expenses. With that in mind, SI looked at how teams chose to spend their payroll dollars in 2007--08. Smart management—financial and otherwise—is what makes teams successful, but if fans and corporations decide they can no longer afford those tickets and skyboxes, disciplined spending will become even more important to the health of a franchise. Sound familiar?

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