Main difference here is that the average career span of a pro athlete very rarely reaches 20 years, and deal numbers tend to decrease with age. Executives don't have that problem, in fact it's quite the opposite.
Is that actually true? Do these rockstar CEOs get the same compensations when they reach 60? They also start getting those paychecks later in their 30s compared to sport players
> Do these rockstar CEOs get the same compensations when they reach 60?
The average age of a CEO in 2018 is 54 years old [1], so I would say yes, they do. The average salary for a CEO in a top 350 company was $13.9M [2].
> They also start getting those paychecks later in their 30s compared to sport players
Compared to the average NFL player ($860,000) [3], and the average retirement age is 27 years old [4], which essentially means that an average NFL player makes perhaps 5 to 6 million dollars in their whole career. Other more forgiving sports, like NBA, puts players on an average of $8 million [5], and an average retirement age of 28 [6], so around 6-7 seasons.
It's worth remembering that these are highly paid professional athletes who most likely come from college teams, meaning that they weren't paid at all.
A CEO, on the other hand, doesn't spend their previous years as an unpaid intern. They are usually top executives already.
In short, CEOs do get paid better on average than professional athletes, all things considered.
Main difference here is that the average career span of a pro athlete very rarely reaches 20 years, and deal numbers tend to decrease with age. Executives don't have that problem, in fact it's quite the opposite.