Miami Sports Teams that Pay Players the Most Suck the Least

Remember the time that the New York Yankee's Alex Rodriguez's annual salary was greater than the entire roster of the Florida Marlins combined? Well, the Marlins have agreed to increase their payroll in anticipation of moving into their own ballpark, and now A-Rod only makes about 57 percent of what...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

April 20, 2011

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Remember the time that the New York Yankee's Alex Rodriguez's annual salary was greater than the entire roster of the Florida Marlins combined? Well, the Marlins have agreed to increase their payroll in anticipation of moving into their own ballpark, and now A-Rod only makes about 57 percent of what all the Marlins make. Still though, the Marlins lag behind most other teams in the MLB in terms of pay, and, for that matter, other team in Miami.

ESPN has calculated the 200 best paying sports teams in the world, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that, on the local level, the teams that pay most also have the most success.

ESPN calculated the average year's salary dolled out to team's players from across the globe. The following sports and league were taken into consideration: Aussie rules football (AFL), baseball (MLB, NPB), basketball (NBA), cricket (IPL), football (CFL, NFL), soccer (Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga, MLS, Serie A, SPL).

The Miami Heat are the best paying team in Miami, with each player taking home an average annual salary of $3,439,822. That stats probably skewed by the fact three guys are taking home near-top dollar salaries, while the rest are getting the bare minimum, but it illustrates the fact that teams that pay more have better success. Let's break it down:

Miami Heat
Average annual salary: $3,439,822<
Average weekly salary: $66,150
Rank Overall: 58th
Salary rank in league (NBA): 27th
Last regular season record: 58-24 (.707)
Last play-off birth: Right now!

Miami Dolphins
Average annual salary: $2,344,360
Average weekly salary: $45,084
Rank Overall: 113th
Salary rank in league (NFL): 16th
Last regular season record: 7-9 (.438)
Last play-off birth: 2008

Florida Marlins
Average annual salary: $2,190,154
Average weekly salary:& $42,118
Rank Overall: 123rd
Salary rank in league (MLB): 23rd
Last regular season record: 80-82 (.494)
Last play-off birth: 2003

Florida Panthers
Average annual salary: $1,964,688
Average weekly salary: $37,782
Rank Overall: 146th
Salary rank in league (NHL): 25th
Last regular season record: 30-40 (.429)
Last play-off birth: 2000

It's not a perfect correlation to say that the teams who pay the most money are the most successful. The NBA seems to be, on average, the best paying league in the world and the Heat fall low compared to other teams.

Though, it seems interesting that none of South Florida's teams actually pay that high, on average, compared to other teams in their league. With the exception of the Heat, it apparently shows in their record.

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