There's a potential for a real organizational shake-up as the Un-Sonics move to Oklahoma City. It seems Clay Bennett fully understands if some employees don't want to give up the community they've built their career in, and the franchise has offered bonuses for sticking with the team that past two seasons regardless of whether the employees move to OKC, according to Percy Allen of the Seattle Times.But if you do go with Bennett to OKC, your next pay stub might include an unwelcome surprise.
Anyone who leaves can negotiate a relocation package; however, employees were told to expect a decrease in salary because the cost of living is lower in Oklahoma City."The cost of living is lower in Oklahoma City" is quite an understatement. As an example: according to HousingTracker, the median home price in OKC is $159,900. In Seattle, it's $425,000. Chris Wilcox can buy that dude ranch he's always wanted! Yeah!
While Bennett can negotiate his middle-managers' salaries down, he'll have no such luck with his own players. It'll be interesting to see, though, if in the free agent market "low cost-of-living!" becomes the Un-Sonics' equivalent of Orlando's "no state income tax!" and New York's "we have stuff to do after 8 p.m.!"

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-06-2008 @ 3:32AM
steve said...
As realtor in OKC, I can tell you the median price of a home here (May'08) was $132,000 and the average price (May'08) was $157,971. Our prices here have been quite steady--up a little some months, down a little some months. These figurss are from the OKC MLS.
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