[raincole]

Because it's easier to measure an athlete's performance than to measure a CEO's.

And athletes usually have no right to fire people (at least not a lot of people at once).

[evandale]

You don't think LeBron has any say in the teammates they sign?

Tom Brady famously got Gronk out of retirement and Brown was on the team because of Brady despite having a horrible reputation and being essentially blacklisted from the NFL.

Star players are a dime a dozen in professional sports and I don't think their influence on the team makeup is as rare as you think. In fact, a big name star might have _more_ hiring power than a typical CEO in a public company.