The Salary of Professional Athletes

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For as long as I can remember, I have heard people complaining about how much money professional athletes make. They say that these athletes don't deserve to make that much money for simply playing a game. People even get angry when they hear how much professional athletes are making in new contracts.The athletes are not being paid public money. An athlete's entire career could end in a split second. Some people believe that athletes are overpaid because they are just playing a game, however the truth is professional athletes are not overpaid.
Almost every time the topic of professional athletes salaries is brought up the phrase “Those greedy football players are earning in a year more than what teachers and nurses will make in their entire lives,” makes an appearance. The mathematics behind this are correct; however the point is invalid. People think that the athletes are taking money away from the nurses, teachers and firefighters that, in their opinion, the nurses and firefighters work harder than the athletes that are getting paid such immense sums of cash. “The fact is, Steven Gerrard could take a 90% pay cut tomorrow and no nurse anywhere is going to benefit from it.” (Ator 5). On the contrary, the Liverpool star would would be paying the Government much less in income taxes. In any sport, if the player wages go down the owners are the only ones that are going to benefit. The only thing that will happen is that the the billionaire owners will have more money to spend on their yachts, while the average fan will see no change in prices (5). Fans are the ones who are willing to pay all of their money to see their favorite team play, buy over-priced beer, food, and jerseys (Mueller 21). All of the fans money is not going to was...

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...etes are not paid with public money. They also need to remember that athletes have incredibly short careers and are at high risks for pricey injuries. All in all, professional athletes work just as hard as any banker, doctor, or teacher to make a living out of what they love to do.

Works Cited

Ator, Paul. "6 Reasons Why Pro Athletes Are Not Overpaid." WhatCulture 6 Reasons Why Pro
Athletes Are Not Overpaid Comments. What Culture, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Lefebvre, Matt. "Professional Athletes Are Overpaid and Selfish." The Quinnipiac Chronicle. The
Quinnipiac Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2004. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
Mueller, Chris. "Two Sides to Every Coin: Are Professional Athletes Overpaid?" Bleacher Report.
Turner Broadcasting System Inc., 4 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
USA Today. "Follow the Money Trail." USATODAY.com. Gannett Co. Inc., 2011. Web. 10 Apr.
2014.

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