Hambone wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 10:26 pm
OV - 54:40 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:49 pm
Hambone wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:09 pm
Didn't quite register on the Richter Scale like SolE. But on the bright side as a firefighter he stands to get a nice raise over being a backup CFL LB/ special teamer.
What's firefighter wage out there nowdays? 80K annual range ?
Vs. CFL minimum wage (? - 50K range? ) - for 6 months work basically.
Both jobs have significant time-off to look at other sources of income.
Maybe for a rookie or one near the bottom of the totem pole. Put it this way the City of Prince George usually puts out an annual list of salaries paid to city employees in excess of $75K. I found the 2018 list and it showed something like 75 firefighters taking in more than $75K. About 53 of those 75 were over $100K on up to around $120K. This doesn't include Fire Captains who were all up in the $125K to $135K range. One Asst Chief was at $157K and the Fire Chief made $170K. Lots of OT in these gigs. Base pay for most of the 53 over $100K is $90K to as high as $108K then they have OT and vacation pay. on top of that.
Bret Anderson was a full-time firefighter in his last few years as a Lion. He continued to moonlight not because he had significant time off but because he was able to jig his firefighting shifts around enough to allow him to make the games and practices.
Saying football is a 6 month job is also not necessarily accurate. Most of these guys spend countless hours through most of the offseason hitting the gym and weights to keep in shape and prepare for the upcoming season. They may not spend nearly as much time doing that in the offseason as they do during the season but they still put in a ton of hours of their own offseason time working on their craft. These days no player can afford to show up in camp in anything less than close to game shape. You'd find that most NHL players will spend only about 3 weeks after the season decompressing and doing not much of anything. As soon as that 3 weeks is up it's back on the bike, running, in the gym etc all to prepare for the next season that is still a couple months away.
And CFL players can win bonus money for the play-offs/ GC on top of their minimum (at first) salary. And lots of connections or business opportunities can present themselves for pro athletes. Almost any young guy could have a part-time off season job and still be able to hit the gym almost everyday if they wanted to.
Not trying to argue that being a FF is a poor decision or not a worthy pursuit (my late father was a career Ottawa firefighter - 34 years service). Could be a great and lucrative career for many. Also has some work hazards and dangers.
But getting paid to play a game you grew up playing and love - even if it's just 50 to 60 K or so for a few years, more like part-time, and it's not a 9 to 5 boring grind - is not something to be sneezed at, and a lot of people would jump at the chance. That being said, IMO, the CFL should be moving to increase their minimum wage significantly (did it go up a bit last CBA?) A few players might be tempted to stick around a bit longer, but I doubt it would be a big factor to convince a back-up ST player to try to squeeze in another year or two; there are lots of young guys coming up every draft or free agency to replace them.