SPORTS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
@trumanathletics
tmn.truman.edu
Pay the
cost, win
or loss
11
By Menaie Barton
Staff Writer
There is no other spectacle as expensive
as the Super Bowl. Whether it comes down
to player bonuses or popular commercials,
companies shell out big bucks from every
angle to produce the event.
With the 2016 Super Bowl this weekend, many people are placing bets on
who will win — the Denver Broncos or
the Carolina Panthers. Large corporations,
on the other hand, are placing their bets
on the best commercial. The Super Bowl
statistically is one of the most-viewed
television events in America — with last
year’s championship game being the most
watched in U.S. history, according to The
Huffington Post — so getting a commercial
is great publicity. 30 seconds of advertisement for the 2015 Super Bowl cost a
record-breaking $4.5 million, according
to Fortune. This year set a new record at
$5 million for a 30-second advertisement,
according to Fortune.
There will be talk about the game the
day after, but also about who had the best
commercial. For the last few years the greatest hits have been commercials for Doritos
and Budweiser. Some companies even paid
to air two or three different commercials last
year. Frito Lay shelled out $9 million for one
minute of Doritos ads — that’s more than
twice as much as the $4.4 million average
lifetime income of someone with a professional degree, according to usgovinfo.about.
com. A total of 71 advertisements aired,
equaling $319.5 million worth of airtime,
according to businessinsider.com.
If that wasn’t enough money being
thrown into the Super Bowl, the average
NFL player salary is nearly $2 million per
year, according to businessinsider.com.
Now, imagine paying each salary of a
46-player roster.
Take a look back at the lifetime earnings
of an individual with a professional degree,
and you can see the amount spent on the
Super Bowl is exponentially more than that
individual is expected to make. An average
NFL player’s yearly salary is more than double the average lifetime earnings of someone
with one of the highest degrees American
education offers — all of that money spent
for a few hours of entertainment.
Don’t get me wrong, the game itself
is entertaining. It’s not hard to believe it
draws in the most views and highest ratings in American television for the year.
After all, football itself tends to have the
highest ratings of all the major sports in
America. I know I, for one, will find somewhere on campus to watch the game.
While some people might have a
favorite Super Bowl team, I’ll remain
mostly neutral throughout the game. I’m
hoping to see a great game of football, or
for something as glaringly bad as fumbling
the first snap like Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning did during the 2014
Super Bowl. Between drives and quarters,
I’ll also watch to see which commercials
really were worth upwards of $5 million.
And let’s not forget all of the food either,
because what’s a Super Bowl without a
feast of snacks?
I look forward to the chatter on Monday
about the game and debating what people
found most memorable. It will be interesting to see who discusses the game, who
discusses the commercials, and who was
most excited about Coldplay’s halftime
show performance. In the end, I hope for
a good game that is worth the money that
goes into it. Most importantly, I hope viewers will end their night satisfied with what
they watched, no matter what part of the
Super Bowl they loved the most.
Photo submitted by Jaden Barr
Barr wins trip
with Tebow
BY RACHEL STEINHOFF/STAFF WRITER
With the help and support of his friends, freshman
quarterback Jaden Barr got the opportunity to spend a
weekend with one of his most influential role models,
former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow.
See BARR, page 13
Photo submitted by Jaden Barr
Top: Freshman quarterback Jaden Barr performs the Heisman pose with former Heisman Trophy winner
Tim Tebow at William-Brice Stadium at the University of South Carolina. Above: Tebow and Barr pose on
the set of “SEC Nation” in Columbia, South Carolina. Barr spent a weekend with the former professional
and college football standout after applying for a wish with The Dream Factory.
PLAYER
Cole Myers
Senior guard Cole Myers scored a career-high 23
points in the Bulldogs’ road victory against Drury
University Saturday. Myers scored 12 points in a row
during the second half and shot 4-for-8 from the
field and 3 for 6 from 3-point range.
VOLUME 107
ISSUE 17
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of the
WEEK
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