40, 50, 60 fold: Comparing average pro sports salaries in 1972 to 2011
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I ran across some interesting numbers today in an Arkansas Gazette clipping from March 1972. Here are the average salaries in the major sports leagues at that time:
From left to right, you’re looking at the NFL, MLB, ABA (which rivalled the NBA in the late 1960s/early 1970s), NHL and NBA.
The article pertaining to this graph notes that rival leagues were the main reason NBA and NHL led the pack in average salaries:
The NHL hasn’t been able to keep pace in recent decades, as these December 2011 numbers show:
| Sport | Average Salary |
| National Basketball League (NBA) | $5.2 Million |
| Major League Baseball (MLB) | $2.5 Million |
| National Football League (NFL) | $1.75 Million |
| National Hockey League (NHL) | $1.3 Million |
Source: Voetbalgokken.nl