sports salaries

1270 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Discrimination in sports

Sports Salaries Athletics in this country are bigger than ever. Today, more people are attending sporting events than ever before. Sports have a truly unique ability; they bring people of all races, genders, and social classes together forming one common bond, the well-being of the home team. For all the good sports bring, however, a growing majority of fans are becoming more and more disenchanted with the high priced industry. America whines while these athletes sign multi-million dollar contracts, moans when they get in trouble with the law and points fingers when the athletes do not live up to the standard of "role model." Yet these fans that whine, moan, and point fingers are the same ones that pay hundreds of dollars to see these athletes play. They are the same ones that berate the justice system if an athlete is ever convicted, and they are the same ones that buy the shoes and other products endorsed by an athlete who claims to be anything but a "role model.” Society needs to reprioritize. Doctors, teachers, law enforcement officers, professors, judges, and nurses deserve to be getting all of the media exposure and endorsement money. Sports should be regarded as originally intended: strictly as a form of entertainment. These days, while it is considered entertainment, it is actually much more serious than that. Sports are productive – to a certain extent. When people cross the fine line between fan and fanatic, that's when sports are brought into a new dimension. That's also when the business side of this entertainment approaches the spotlight. Sports are not worth it. It's just a game. It's good to get out there and have something to support, but don't make it a larger than life situation. Athletes should be working-class Americans with working-class lives. They have their comparative advantages, and they have found their niche in life. But I am not disputing the fact that every man needs to make a living. I am disputing the fact that these athletes are making more than what they are worth, based on a true value-to-society scale. The biggest problem I have with the high salaries of athletes is that it has taken the competitiveness out of sports such as baseball, which does not have a salary cap. In Major League Baseball there are big market teams and there are small market teams. The problem in baseball is that all the good player... ... middle of paper ... ...t at fault for being the beneficiaries of the fans' misguided spending. Fans who complain about the salaries and the behavior of the players should not support them. Fans, who write letters to newspapers, send e-mails to teams, and call front offices should not waste their time with such antics. They should actually do something to catch the attention of those involved in the business formerly known as sports. Don't attend the games if you are going to complain. Yes, athletes are coddled. That is only because of the average fan's willingness to allow this to happen. The fan who spends $50 for a ticket in the nosebleed section is as guilty as the owners are for letting salaries escalate to the point where there are. So while America whines about the lofty salaries and the questionable actions of these stars, we still continue to pay the absurd ticket prices that the owners demand. Consequently, this elevates the salaries that players receive. Athletes are not the ones to blame. For those looking for a scapegoat, there is only one place to look – a mirror. Work Cited 1. "ESPN.com: Dodgers’ gain is Padres’ pain.” ESPN Sportszone, 12 Dec. 1998.

Show More
Related

  • Why Athletes Are Overpaid

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    They entertain millions all while dealing with laborious training. Some athletes also have terribly short careers because of injuries. One famous basketball player, Maurice Stokes only played for three years before having a seizure and going into a coma. Even though they push through all of this, they’re still being paid an abundance of money. There are still other people risking their lives and falling victim to the same injuries as athletes. While they go out to save people’s lives, athletes inspire others to do things they wouldn’t think to do. The only difference is that they’re not receiving the same amount of money as

    Read More

  • The Salary Cap Should Be Abolished in Sports

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    When looking into the history of our culture, there are many subtopics that fall under the word, “history.” Topics such as arts and literature, food, and media fall into place. Among these topics reside sports. Since the beginning of time, sports have persisted as an activity intertwined with the daily life of people. Whether it is a pick-up game of football in the backyard, or catching an evening game at the local stadium, sports have become the national pastime. According to Marcus Jansen of the Sign Post, more specifically, baseball is America’s national pastime, competing with other sports (Jansen 1). Providing the entertainment that Americans pay top dollar for, live the role models, superstars, and celebrities that put on a jersey as their job. As said in an article by Lucas Reilly, Americans spend close to $25.4 billion dollars on professional sports (Reilly 4). The people that many children want to be when they grow up are not the firefighters or astronauts told about in bed time stories. These dream jobs or fantasies have become swinging a bat or tossing a football in front of millions of screaming fans. When asked why so many dream of having such job, the majority will respond with a salary related answer. In today’s day and age, the average athlete is paid more than our own president. The cold hard facts show that in professional sports, the circulation of money is endless. Certain teams in professional baseball and football are worth over millions of dollars. Consequently, the teams who are worth more are able to spend more. The issue that arises with this philosophy is virtually how much more? League managers, team owners and other sports officials have sought out a solution to the surfacing problem. Is it fair to let...

    Read More

  • Pay Day: Greed in Professional Sports

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    Players do not deserve the money they receive. There are people who do much more than the players do. Why do teachers not get paid millions of dollars to teach kids? Some of those kids end up going on to become professional athletes. Police officers and firemen risk their lives to keep people safe and most of them do not even make any more than 95 thousand dollars a year (Megerian). These athletes get fined more money than that and hand it over like someone just asked them for one dollar. Players have all of this money and do not even do anything worth earning it. Why do they get this money? It is because fans value athletes more than the important things in life like education and family.

    Read More

  • Kinesiology Research Paper

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    You see sports everywhere, on your TV and even your local park. The value of sports in the average American is astronomical, sports is a major priority in people’s life. Sports teaches young kids how to be successful (and not successful) at life. There is so much that goes into sports that people who never have played will never understand. With each sport there is specific skill that one must master to be good, and with that takes hours and hours of hard work. You can talk about a certain individual’s skill and capabilities that make him great, but the real value of sports lies within a person. Sports creates determination and a competiveness that can be used in other areas of life, not just sports. There are millions of kids who attempt to become professional athletes but as the level of competition increases the number of athletes decreases, very few of them ever becoming a professional athlete but they are able to take what they have learned from sports into different professions in life. When a kid spends hours in the backyard perfecting his swing it can translate to the kid spending hours of hard work in his job. Companies and business like to hire ex-athletes because they already know what kind of person they are, hardworking and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of College Athletes Be Paid

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people can easily picture this scene in their minds: the roaring crowds, the smell of easy- to-eat foods, and the thousands of people all dressed in the same colors. That’s a description of game day at a major college. College sports bring in a lot of money, yet their players don’t receive any money. Many people view this as something that needs to be changed while others believe that only professionals should be compensated. In the essays “Let Stars Get Paid” and “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid”, both authors give their opinions on whether or not college athletes should be paid. College athletes should not be paid because they already receive many benefits from being athletes.

    Read More

  • Are Professional Athletes Overpaid?

    2054 Words  | 5 Pages

    The controversy of athletes being overpaid dates back to 1922, when well-known baseball player George “Babe” Ruth received $50,000 within the first year of his career. Ruth’s extensive wealth was bolstered by dozens of endorsements (Saperecom). As it is shown in figure 1, in the Fortunate 50 Tiger Woods takes the number one spot for highest paid athlete. Tiger’s salary for 2011 is $2,294,116 and like Babe Ruth, his endorsements exceed his salary earning $60,000,000 making his total $62,294,116 (Freedman). It’s crazy to think that 89 years ago professional athletes scarcely made more than the average person today. This is of course not counting the inflation that has occurred since the years which Babe Ruth played baseball.

    Read More

  • Essay Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is the education they get that matters. Just because they aren’t receiving money for what they do doesn’t mean they are aren’t being paid. Millions of dollars are spent updating the areas they play and train in. The reality is athletes are working full-time jobs for an average wage. While the institutions they are attending are getting rich, they are missing out on their pay day.

    Read More

  • Unintended Consequences Of Professional Sports

    1840 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s modern world, professional sports have evolved into one of the most influential aspects of human culture. The unscripted nature of competition, combined with larger than life athletic figures, has inevitably prompted fans to associate sportspeople with being superhuman. However, this unintended consequence is the where the controversy surrounding professional athletes arises. Fans, who confuse athletic superiority with a sense of righteousness, have subjected professional athletes to unreasonable moral and physical expectations. Consequently, this has led sportspeople, who fail to meet these unrealistic standards, to come under tremendous public scrutiny.

    Read More

  • Why Do Professional Athletes Get Paid?

    376 Words  | 1 Pages

    First, do these athletes deserve such high pay? Indeed some players do deserve it because of how much time they spend working to get better for themselves and not just the money. It depends on how the athlete may be doing in order to get the pay, say one player just sits around and doesn’t practice waiting on these high salaries, while others are out practicing hard and not getting paid as much as the person

    Read More

  • actors and athletes; Overpaid or not?

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are some athletes who some think are worth the money they make every year. The top three are Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Barry Bonds. These three try as hard as they can to make their team win the game. They all have helped their teams win championships and special titles. Michael Jordan is trying to get the Bulls third consecutive NBA title. The second is Wayne Gretzky, who after a very terrible injury, managed to bring his team a win in their sixth semifinal game. According to “Sports of the times; Overrated? Overpaid? Not these three”, Wayne Gretzky “was on 4 Stanley cup championship teams” (Anderson). The last of the three athletes is Barry Bonds, who signed the largest contract in baseball history at the time. The contract was worth 43.75 million over six years. He was signed this with a .394 batting average, a .771 slugging average, and a .509 on-base average. Million for million, each is a bigger bargain than any item in an outlet store (Anderson). Sports needs these three athletes and many more like them to help show no...

    Read More

  • Why Athletes Should Be Paid

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    “… we are telling these athletes that they are worth every penny they make, and maybe in the minds of some people, they are worth it,” (Chris Mueller). Athletes today are making millions and millions of dollars by just playing one game. I think that each and every athlete deserves the amount they are given. As the fans, we chose to spend tons of money on tickets and merchandise to support our favorite team. Also, most kids today have a favorite athlete that they look up to.

    Read More

  • Why Athletes are Good Role Models

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone is aware of the role that these athletes have to do. We should not look at the inappropriate actions of few athletes. The. I was biased to believing that all athletes are bad before I started. doing my research for this paper.

    Read More

  • Why Do Professional Athletes Get Paid Too Paid Essay

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    Money is what makes the world go round and is what this whole issue is about. The people who don 't agree that Professional athletes get paid too much do have some valid points. But, they are no where near

    Read More

  • Greed In Sports

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to the greediness of sports figures, professional athletes are not punished in the same manner as other professionals are. It is like they are in a completely different group that uses an entirely different set of morals. Team owners care more about making their money that they do about setting a good example for young kids and making professional sports fun again rather than a business. Three good examples of this greediness are Roberto Alomar, Warren Sapp, and Dennis Rodman. Team owners and their respective leagues need to do something to turn this situation around before they have murderers and rapists playing sports for millions of dollars a year.

    Read More

  • Professional Athlete Salaries

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding such high salaries.

    Read More

More about sports salaries

Open Document