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This is Beyond The Scoreboard…so what would be if we didn’t insert some politics in the picture. Being that Election Day was yesterday, allow me to indulge. If there’s one thing politics and the NBA have in common, it’s the obscene amount of money thrown around like water bottles at the end of a marathon.
The governor’s race in California pitted Dem. Jerry Brown versus Rep. Meg Whitman. Whitman, a former eBay CEO, put up a whopping $163 million in the race. Out of the $163 million, $141.5 million came from her personal wallet, shattering New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s record for campaign profligacy.
To put this in perspective, her spending could fund last year’s All-NBA first and second teams (based on yearly salaries):
LeBron James: $14.5 million
Kevin Durant: $6.05 million
Dwight Howard: $16.51 million
Kobe Bryant: $24.81 million
Dwyane Wade: $14.5 million
Carmelo Anthony: $17.15 million
Dirk Nowitzki: $ 17.28 million
Amar’e Stoudemire: $16.49 million
Steve Nash: $10.31 million
Deron Williams: $14.94 million
That’s $152.48 million. Of course, Kevin Durant is still playing in his rookie contract, so that figure is a bit skewed. But even if you counted his salary for next season ($13.6 million), the combined figure would still be $3 million lower than Whitman’s output.
Like the New York Yankees between 2000-2009, her money didn’t pay off in the way she’d hoped. Brown easily won and if you want to extend the metaphor, played the 2003 Marlins to a tee (spending $35 million).
Tough time for Whitman. Or not. After all, she is a billionaire. $141.5 million isn’t exactly a drop in the bucket for her, but she won’t be filing for unemployment benefits anytime soon. I probably spent more time counting the above salaries than she did in agonizing her defeat.
But who’s counting?
