On Twitter this week, basketball fans found themselves re-thinking their loyalty to the game.
League writer Ben Stinar posed a question that got dozens of responses: would you never watch basketball again for $500,000 a year?
Someone offers you $500,000 per year for life to not watch basketball ever again ..
Could you do it?
— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) June 1, 2022
The idea raised a ton of competing ideas, and it didn’t take long before an all-out debate broke out on the subject:
I’d do it for 1 single $500,000 payment. Easy
— Dan I (@ItsMe_R_D) June 1, 2022
Everyone saying yes not true fans lol if I’m being honest i couldn’t
— Christian Georges (@cgeorges10) June 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/FinsOrDie/status/1532064694089154561
No because my children will likely play basketball.
— Dominique Clare (@DomClare) June 1, 2022
I basically do it now for fee… double it and I’ll never watch Hockey again either 🤣🤣 #easymoney
— Dan I (@ItsMe_R_D) June 1, 2022
The problem with this hypothetical is it would basically mean I couldn’t go to restaurants, bars, people’s houses on occasion, etc. I’d be giving up a lot more than basketball.
— Patrick Kelley (@patdatass) June 1, 2022
Easily
But that’s not enough money for me to stop watching football
— Tony Longo – Tailgate Daddies (@tonylongo17) June 1, 2022
With that money, my family would be able to live without concern about where the next paycheck is coming from, we could afford to pay off our home and help my family pay off there’s. I would hate not watching anymore, but I’d do anything for my family
— Candlestick Will (@CandlestickWill) June 1, 2022
For the vast majority of people on the planet, $500,000 is life-changing money. So to rake in $500,000 per year for life is akin to living a dream.
For even the most hard-core of basketball fans, they would give up watching the game forever if it meant the freedom of financial security and stability.
For some, however, giving up the game forever isn’t easily done. With how exciting the modern-day NBA has become, it is giving fans a better viewing experience than ever. The Golden State Warriors alone attract millions of viewers every game:
The Warriors have been the NBA’s viewership standard-bearer for some time now (excluding injury-plagued years), and I recall this piece I wrote from Sports Illustrated in December 2015, which argued for the NBA to put Golden State in more national windows. Here’s a list, courtesy of Sports Business Journal assistant managing editor/digital Austin Karp, of the most-watched NBA regular season games in 2021-22.
The NBA is more than a game. It’s an experience that brings people together, unites communities behind one team, and is accessible as a distraction from the hardships of human life.
To take all that way, even if it’s for $500,000 a year, is a big ask for some. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to think about, and debate, what it would take to give it up forever.
