The Salary of a Professional Football Player
It has been argued that professional football players are being
overpaid for their profession. In this essay I shall be expressing
the opinions from both sides of the argument in order for myself to
come to a conclusion. The general complaint has derived from the
general public’s view that only the minority of the money is spent on
things other than the players themselves, despite their occupation
being one of simplicity and unbeneficial to society when first looked
upon.
To begin with, I shall overview what effect the pay of these citizens
has upon our society if at all. It is apparent that their
contribution is worth while in the sense that it promotes good
business, (due to its appeal across the board; all ages, males and
-the ever increasing- female viewers and supporters of the renowned
international sport) it provides many job opportunities such as
coaches, cleaners, those in the box/ticket office, wardens, first-aid,
security, construction businesses for the construction of stadiums
etc. This showing that there are many links to the different array of
jobs which are available, all of which are outcomes from the main
source – the general publics want of football as an entertainment;
both live and on television.
Those who argue that footballers are paid too much are mainly
comparing the lifestyle and career of the professionals to those who
have chosen a career which gives first-hand evidence that people other
than themselves are being cared for. For example, those practising
medicine and those who teach. They believe that a ridiculous amount
of money is spent on play...
... middle of paper ...
... future of football on a knife edge.
In conclusion, it is obvious that professional footballers are being
paid a ridiculous amount - and they know it, but with nobody stopping
the increasing wages, there is nothing we -as viewers of the
traditional sport we all love- can do. Personally, their salaries do
not concern me since I am not experiencing any effects of them, other
than what the newspapers and news are constantly hurling upon me of
the general publics viewpoint. I do however; believe that it is
unfortunate that skilled beings such as doctors and teachers are not
getting such a large pay-check. Then again, footballers are skilled
in their own right and are, in my opinion, lucky to achieve what they
do. In my opinion, their salaries shall continue to increase due to
there being a world trade of the players.
I do not believe that people opinions are ever going to change on this issue and it will always be an issue in society, but I myself believe that AFL players are not over paid.
If there’s one thing we dread in the summer more than the heat, it’s the afflicting sentiment that surrounds oneself when one is inhibited from experiencing the thrills of football for six long and gruesome months. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football is a part of many Americans’ Saturdays, but to fewer does it mean their lives. Recently coming under debate, many sporting fans and college athletes believe that players should be paid more than just tuition, room, board, and books. Two articles on this issue that bring up valid points worth discussing are Paul Marx’ “Athlete’s New Day” and Warren Hartenstine’s “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” From these articles I have found on the basis of logical,
One might not agree with the salary cap and especially the players because the players and owners might feel as if, if they have the money to spend why isn’t the NFL letting us spend it on the players? The organizations also feel they are limited to success. If they only can spend a blank amount of money, they can only afford a certain player for a certain amount. Another reason, especially for players, is they might feel they are worth a lot more than they are getting paid. An athlete might be the best in the league but if their organization they are playing for can’t afford it, they may not be getting paid like they are the best in the league.
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.
For this paper, the discussion will go in four parts. The first part will introduce the readers to the basketball fever the NBA has brought millions around the globe and a brief rundown of the debate of overpaid athletes and salary cuts. The second part will be discussing the argument that the athletes of the NBA are not overpaid, while its subsections will point out three proofs to the matter. The third part will be discussing the position of this paper that the athletes of the NBA are indeed overpaid and its subsections will be refuting the claims raised in t...
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.
Professional sports were beginning to be organized in the 1850s. At this point, their salaries, although they were still higher than the average person’s, were not too outrageous. In the 1880s and 90s, baseball players in particular were making on average about $1,750 annually. Even though this was three times the salary of an industrial worker of the time, they were not happy with this amount of money and felt they should be earning more (Baseball n.d.). In the 1970s, the worlds of professional sports took a drastic turn. According to an article by J.L. Carnagie, “Two words described sports in the 1970s: big business. Owners and athletes in major professional team sports knew there was money to be made in their games, and they went after it.” (Carnagie, n.d.) Athletes, especially, realized how competitive teams were becoming, and they were well aware that talent was in high demand. In the beginning of 1980s, the best athletes were demanding even more money; and the majority of the time, they got what they wanted. By end of the 1980s, many athletes were making over a million dollars (Carnagie, n.d.) These increasing salaries were very ironic because when professional sports began they were intended to be a showcase of players’ talent and athletic ability. Professional sports leagues were also supposed to be similar to the Olympics in that they would be free of politics and influence of society. However, by the 80s, they had become all about the star athletes and how much money they could make. By this point, professional sports had evolved into an industry that was focused on entertainment and money, rather than the sports actually being played (Carnagie, n.d.).
Ms. Jennifer Fontaine does not support the idea that athletes are overpaid. Ms. Fontaine suggests that athletes who are superior in their skills and talents associated with their respective sport should be duly compensated. Ms. Fontaine also states that the money earned by these athletes is justified because professional athletes work harder than people in almost any other profession. Last, it is her premise that the money earned by these highly talented athletes help to cover the high costs of medical treatment for serious, if not life-long, injuries such as knee, back/spinal, and head injuries.
Athletes are being paid hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to entertain us. They work less hours than the average person and make considerably more. Athletes all around the world are paid handsomely because they are talented and have extensive knowledge of their sport. But, is that knowledge and talent really worth what they are earning every season? Compared to some of the most common and needed professions are athletes really earning their paychecks? It’s time to take a deep look into what requirements besides natural ability athletes really need? How many hours are they expected to put in a week and what their job really is.
Do you think professional athletes are overpaid? You might think they earn more than what they are worth for playing half a year, but athletes have many things which contribute to their salary. Some of these things include their earnings from endorsements, ticket sales, performance, merchandise, their social contributions, and TV ratings. Although there are many factors that contribute to their salary, professional athletes may be overpaid because as a society, we contribute to their success. So, in the end, part of the athlete’s salary comes from the people who support the sports in the first place.
When the world cup was hosted by Japan it brought in a big influx of foreign currency, tourists and additional spending on goods and services. Large sport events such as Wimbledon or the European championship has a similar effect as a multiplier effect. The economic situation of British football has changed massively in the last ten years: what was a hugely under-capitalised industry at the end of the 1980s (that operated on very tight margins and often had to endure enormous losses) has been transformed into a multi-million pound business where the maximisation of revenue and profit are key strategic objectives for clubs and associations alike. (http://www.liv.ac.uk/footballindustry/ninetieshtml). There has been a rapid growth in professional footballers since 1986 accompanied by a significant increase in player employment turnover There are a number of employment opportunities available to those on the football programmes.
As entertainers, athletes are paid for fan satisfaction. The more fans that want to see an athlete perform, the more the athlete is paid. In fact, most athletes, even those who make millions of dollars for each flubbed fly ball, dropped pass, and missed free throw, feel they probably deserve even higher salaries; the reason being that they’re still in demand. While certain athletes may never bring a championship ring to their team, or even bring home a winning season, those athletes will always pack the stands. Fans in the stands translate into ticket sales. Ticket sales can potentially lead to national television broadcasts. Inevitably, the formula of ticket sales plus national television broadcasts leads to massive revenue, and this is how owners and organizations can afford to pay players like Michael Jordan $25 Million for his retiring season alone. However, how does society (as a whole) benefit from these over-inflated salaries? In short, it doesn’t.
When addressing the value of entertainment, there is without a doubt, that we as a society value entertainment highly. But there is no reason that these athletes, who are here to merely entertain us, get paid higher wages than those that save our lives and teach us such as medical doctors and teachers. I find it ridiculous that players make millions of dollars a year, and yet demand more. The entertainment that these athletes provide is solely entertainment; it is not essential to the function or productivity of society. If I were to become a professional football player I would not complain about my salary for many reasons. I am playing the sport that I love and getting paid for it. The minimum wage for football is well over $100,000 a year, as is for many professional sports. These reasons by their lonesome are enough to warrant that the salary professional athletes are paid is suffice.
Many players have risen to stardom by becoming a professional athlete. Athletes have come from many different backgrounds; some from wealthy and some from poverty raised backgrounds. Salaries are continuing to rise, and money doesn’t seem to be an issue. Athletes are getting what they want from the owners by negotiating through their agents. Athletes’ salaries aren’t from their owners, but they come from other sources (“Athletes’ Salary”). Athletes get paid an extremely high salary for the work they do, and should consider the value of their work. They do not deserve the extreme amount they get paid and something should by done about it.
A subject that is becoming increasingly talked about in the footballing world is money ruining football. Every year the transfer record is being broken. For example the tea get fee record in 2016 was 89 million pound for Paul pogba,then a year later that fee more than doubled to a shocking 198 million pounds for neymar. Also,Billionairs taking over clubs,Tv deals worth billions being made every day and the average ticket price is rising every year too. This essay will discuss the huge money wether positives outweigh the negatives .