There’s a certain rhyme that goes with the words “professional athlete.” It goes something like this: “Money.”

But if you think pro sports equals cold cash, guess again. In the Southeastern Association of Professional Baseball, big checks are hard to come buy. Players make anywhere from $700 to $1,500 a month for three months of hard work and sweat. And if you think the players have a tough time financially, take one look at the league and its owners.

Noopie Cosby, a former member of the Montgomery Wings ownership and now an investor in the Selma Cloverleafs, knows this isn’t about making money.

“I knew when we did this that it wouldn’t be a great business investment,” he said. “But my family has been here for 150 years, and this is something I want to do for this community.”

In fact, Cosby said he’s looking for people in “my generation” to help make an investment in Selma and in pro baseball.

So how much of an investment is it, really? Here’s a quick glimpse.

According to Cosby, the biggest expense comes from salaries. This year, the Leafs will spend a combined $75,000 on salaries. Another $25,000 will be spent on workman’s comp. That’s a $100,000 check off the top.

Next come the daily costs: $250 per day for the stadium; $150 for security; $50 to pay the press box workers; $20 for the Leafettes; $325 for umpires; $100 for balls and about the same for bats.

That’s just a few of the daily costs.

What about trips to Baton Rouge or Pensacola. This year, Cosby said the Leafs will spend about $15,000 a month on van rentals. The players will need hotel rooms — a conservative estimate is $300 a night for the entire team. And gas prices aren’t getting any lower — the Leafs will spend about $5,000 in gas this year.

The players will eat, of course and that will cost close to $8,000 on a diet of burgers and fast food (they get $12 per day to eat; coaches get $15.)

Then there are those pesky umpires. The crew gets paid $325 a day for fans and coaches to spit on them.

For the entire year, it will cost more than $250,000 to run the Cloverleafs’ franchise. One look in the stands is enough evidence to know there isn’t a lot of money being made in Selma right now.

“We need to generate about $2,000 each night at the park just to break even,” Cosby said.

At the Leafs last home game, 178 people attended. If each person there paid $7 to get in (many of them were children who play in summer baseball leagues and get in free), that’s only $1,246.

“We have 33 ball games left and we need to generate about $75,000 to make it,” Cosby said. “From what happened this past week, we’re already behind.”

It’s no secret that Southeastern Association of Professional Baseball has struggled. The Americus, Ga., team still doesn’t know if it has a home in Americus. Meanwhile, teams like the Leafs are now in search of community investors.

Along with the $75,000 needed in generated revenues, Cosby said the team needs another $100,000 from investors. He said 60 percent of that investment has already been promised. That still leaves $40,000 out there.

“We’re going to sell shares of the Cloverleafs for $1,000 per share,” Cosby said. “Hopefully, we can find some people who are interested in helping out.”

Already, Cosby has plans to make it through the season and being marketing for the next year.

“There are so many things we need to do,” he said. “If we would have had a little time before this season, it really would have helped.”

Cosby said he wants to begin selling season tickets six months before the season actually starts. He also said the help of investors and more sponsors would make the team successful.