Escalating Professional Athlete Salaries

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Escalating Professional Athlete Salaries

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In recent years, with the growing popularity of sports, athletes salaries have escalated like that of a superb stock equity. Athletes are taking full advantage of their position, causing the average man to wonder how high will they go. Some feel that athletes are greedy people who have lost care for the true meaning of their salary, the love of the game.

Others feel that if a person is able to earn that kind of money, why shouldn't they? Increases in athlete salaries will bring up the question on whether athletes are worth the money by researching the NBA?s new collective bargaining agreement (before and after the approval), by observing the current salaries of top athletes in their respective sports, and by concocting possible solutions. Shaquille O?Neal, formerly of the Orlando Magic, signed almost two years ago with the Los Angeles Lakers for an enormous $120 million over seven seasons.... Alonzo Mourning signed with the Miami Heat for a seven year deal worth about $112 million.... These fat contracts have brought out the question: Are pro athletes worth the millions they are paid? Basketball Hall of Famer David Thompson states, "Players have such a short time to make their money. If you look at others in the entertainment business, you?d think so. Look at Mike Tyson. He made $30 million for the six minutes and 50 seconds it took for him to knockout Frank Bruno" (Rhodes and Reibstein 44). Zachary M. Jones, an attorney at Howard University in Washington D.C., utters, "Superstar athletes are few in number, so the demand is high, which raises the price for their services significantly" (Saporito 61).

Furthermore, Mark Rosen, who has been a spor...

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...s worth far more." Certainly a 22 year old kid can live on $126 million quite alright. Before doing an in-depth analysis of pro sports salaries, one ignorant person would conclude that these salaries are way too high. However, sports salaries are "okay" to be enormous. This is because high salaries show that the economy and basketball revenue are up, because that is where the owners get the money to pay the athletes. After Glen Taylor signed upcoming superstar Kevin Garnett, season ticket sales went soaring. Finally, if a player is allowed to make the money, why is it such a bad thing? More power to them. Yet athletes should be satisfied with their current salary status. As you can very well see, salaries have risen to unbearable heights, yet it is inevitable. With the economy as it is who knows when it will begin to level off. All we can do is sit back and watch.

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