Has Jenson lost the plot ?
Discussion
Considering he has just signed a multi-squillion dollar contract to stay with Honda, Jenson Button is doing a good impression of somebody desperate for money. Button is the latest 'celebrity' to be enticed into the ranks of those willing to make themselves look like complete idiots, by recording video cards for sad individuals to send each other via mobile 'phone. Purveyors of quality ringtones and other such products, Celebrity Messages.com ( www.celebritymessages.com/pr...ist.aspx?cid=11 ) features a selection of clips of the winless wonder saying things like ‘Sorry’ and ‘Merry Christmas’ for people who are too stupid to do it themselves but would rather pay a stranger £4.50 to do it for them.
I looked, but could not see any entitled ‘I’m dumping you at the aisle love’ or ‘Contract ? What contract ?’. OK - We know JB owes Sir Frank Williams a few quid and that mooring fees in Monaco can be a bit prohibitive but this venture is right up there with Michael ‘I’m worth it’ Schumacher's L’Oreal advert…
Rob
www.grandprixdiary.com
I looked, but could not see any entitled ‘I’m dumping you at the aisle love’ or ‘Contract ? What contract ?’. OK - We know JB owes Sir Frank Williams a few quid and that mooring fees in Monaco can be a bit prohibitive but this venture is right up there with Michael ‘I’m worth it’ Schumacher's L’Oreal advert…
Rob
www.grandprixdiary.com
I might be wrong but my understanding was that, short term at least, him recent escapades have left him fairly skint, to the point of having to morgage. Yes he has a big contract so will ultimately be fine, but I believe it pays out over time rather than a lump sum, thus leaving him short right now.
I might well be wrong though...
I might well be wrong though...
It's almost inconceivable that Button would be short of funds, unless he's had a very bad streak at the local tables in Monte Carlo.
He's taken in how many millions over the last few years? He's had the salary plus the endorsement money: post-agent's cut, pre-tax, I'd bet it's been £12-15.
As far as paying off Williams, don't kid yourself - that money would have been set off against his future income from Honda. Technically it probably must pass through Button's account, but there is no way - absolutely none - that Button wrote Williams a cheque for $20M or whatever and he's just hoping to earn it back over the next five years.
He's taken in how many millions over the last few years? He's had the salary plus the endorsement money: post-agent's cut, pre-tax, I'd bet it's been £12-15.
As far as paying off Williams, don't kid yourself - that money would have been set off against his future income from Honda. Technically it probably must pass through Button's account, but there is no way - absolutely none - that Button wrote Williams a cheque for $20M or whatever and he's just hoping to earn it back over the next five years.
I've no doubt you are right, Honda are paying Frank and I bet they aren't docking it out of JB's pay packet..
Rob
www.grandprixdiary.com
Rob
www.grandprixdiary.com
Don't know why taking an earner this way is greed. Surely its just a way of earning it while he can? After all if he doesn't look after himself while he has a profile you can be sure nobody will once he is out of the spot light.
Sure he already earns big money but since when did the UK subscibe to the Morning Star?
Sure he already earns big money but since when did the UK subscibe to the Morning Star?
hell if i could get someone to pay me £4.50 to do it I would! there are muppets out there who will buy this so i say go jenson! if it wasnt him it would be some nonedescript D list celebrity....
as for the contract saga, i think he was well within his rights to do what he did. If i was buying a car and suddenly the spec changed from the original deal I would walk away and that scenario is not that unsimilar to what Jenson faced.
as for the contract saga, i think he was well within his rights to do what he did. If i was buying a car and suddenly the spec changed from the original deal I would walk away and that scenario is not that unsimilar to what Jenson faced.
If you were Honda what would your position be in terms of payment for Button's services? Is his contract likely to be performance based? One would assume so. I believe the contract with Honda includes representing them after his tenure with BAR. I think it would be entirely possible that the contract would pay out over a period of 10 years, maybe more. How the payments would be spread is of course anyones guess. I also think that some people may have overestimated the level of income he has generated through the years. I suspect that he has only seen what you might call "an F1 salary" over the BAR years. His family also had to gamble their financial future on his talent and on the luck of the draw to get to where he is now. I am not so sure that it would be totally implausible that, while things are not hard for him in comparison to Joe Bloggs on the street, his purse strings may be grasped slightly tighter than the other paid drivers on the grid. If I were in his (extremely enviable) position then I think a little bit extra spending money would not go astray. That said, long term his economic future is no doubt secure!
As the aura around him has developed over the last couple of years and has reached the point where he has his dream contract in a team intent on winning the world championship. The most interesting thing as far as I am concerned is whether it is Button or Barrichello that lifts the silverware. I truly hope Jenson can do it for England but I cannot help but think Rubens is likely to be motivated to put one over on his old team mate, just to prove that he can.
As the aura around him has developed over the last couple of years and has reached the point where he has his dream contract in a team intent on winning the world championship. The most interesting thing as far as I am concerned is whether it is Button or Barrichello that lifts the silverware. I truly hope Jenson can do it for England but I cannot help but think Rubens is likely to be motivated to put one over on his old team mate, just to prove that he can.
Gingerpaul,
dude I don't think it is time to get the violins out for "poor" Jenson - Obviously the actual details are between the parties and agents but it is reasonable to assume that he has taken tens of millions for his driving.
Re: Rubens signing - I think you will find that it was motivated by the fact that Lucky Strike (who will still be providing some funding in '06) has Brazil as its biggest market. Never forget the commerce of F1..
dude I don't think it is time to get the violins out for "poor" Jenson - Obviously the actual details are between the parties and agents but it is reasonable to assume that he has taken tens of millions for his driving.
Re: Rubens signing - I think you will find that it was motivated by the fact that Lucky Strike (who will still be providing some funding in '06) has Brazil as its biggest market. Never forget the commerce of F1..
P490KVP said:
Gingerpaul,
dude I don't think it is time to get the violins out for "poor" Jenson - Obviously the actual details are between the parties and agents but it is reasonable to assume that he has taken tens of millions for his driving.
Re: Rubens signing - I think you will find that it was motivated by the fact that Lucky Strike (who will still be providing some funding in '06) has Brazil as its biggest market. Never forget the commerce of F1..
My violin is certainly staying in it's case, have no fear of that!
As for Rubens moving to BAR, I would hope it was at least partly, if not mostly, motivated by a desire to beat his old team mate while Michael is still out there racing too.
it will be interesting because barry wants to put one over schumacher but button wont want to be slower as it is essentially his team, thus it could be along the lines of Senna vs Prost in terms of the two drivers wanting to go fater than each other.
F1 needs more drivers like button, drivers that look like they enjoying themselves and not just saving their money for a rainy day ala kimi and the like. i dont want to see racing drivers who look like they could be bank managers on a monday morning....
F1 needs more drivers like button, drivers that look like they enjoying themselves and not just saving their money for a rainy day ala kimi and the like. i dont want to see racing drivers who look like they could be bank managers on a monday morning....
pablo said:
it will be interesting because barry wants to put one over schumacher but button wont want to be slower as it is essentially his team, thus it could be along the lines of Senna vs Prost in terms of the two drivers wanting to go fater than each other.
F1 needs more drivers like button, drivers that look like they enjoying themselves and not just saving their money for a rainy day ala kimi and the like. i dont want to see racing drivers who look like they could be bank managers on a monday morning....
how can you say that bout kimi? doesn't he spend most of his money in nightclubs? and dancers?
pablo said:We can be entertained by characters, but I don't think that one of the primary criteria for being a great F1 driver is one's ability to burn money.
F1 needs more drivers like button, drivers that look like they enjoying themselves and not just saving their money for a rainy day ala kimi and the like. i dont want to see racing drivers who look like they could be bank managers on a monday morning....
Many of the most successful drivers (Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Andretti, Lauda, Prost, Senna and Schumacher the Elder come to mind) led fairly restrained personal lives. Indeed, this may have enabled them to focus on their driving, rather than acting like teenage buffoons and pissing their lives away.
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