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Are professional athletes overpaid? Use details from the texts to support your answer. By: Ellie L. The basketball player jumped and slam-dunked the ball into the hoop.The fans roared. Another 20,000 dollars for this shot. Athletes like LeBron James and Tom Brady are getting paid millions for entertainment. Professional sports players today are getting overpaid because they are getting paid more than people with more important jobs and because of their jobs, society make it seem like professional sports players are worth more than the rest of us. First of all, athletes, people who play games, for a living get paid more than others with more important jobs. They get millions of dollars as salaries while others with jobs helping people are not even paid half as much. In the article Athletes Make a LOT of Money the author states how people who work their whole life, never make a much as athletes do in a short period of time. “What’s more, many Americans will work a full-time job until they are about 70 years old and not make as much in a lifetime as an athlete like Tom Brady makes in one year ($36 million).” …show more content…
Most American citizens who work just as hard as athletes do, and for a longer time, yet they never live to see even ¼ of how much athletes get paid for playing one season. In addition to athletes getting paid more than people with more critical jobs, they are paid so much, it make them seem like they are worth millions more than the general public because of their talent, job, and the hardships they are required to take due to their job.
In the article Athletes Make a LOT of Money the author talks about how this shows that we, as a society, value entertainment over compassion and safety. In the article, the author states, “What does it say about our society when we pay athletes—men and women who play games for a living —millions more than we pay people who save lives?” Being an athlete is a hard job, with training and publicity, but that does not mean athletes are worth millions more than the average person. Others with just as risky jobs do not get loads of money handed to them because of the dangers included in their
jobs. In conclusion, athletes are overpaid. They do deserve to make a decent amount of money because of the time and dedication they give to their job, but they should not be paid millions of dollars more because others with more important jobs are not paid as much and professional sports player’s salaries make it seem like they are worth more than the rest of the human population due to their job.
When asked “Are elite sports people overpaid?” people have varied responses. Some people would agree with this and say ‘why should a person that hits or kicks a ball be paid as much as someone who saves lives or teaches children everyday? But on the other hand some would disagree and say that sports people are paid for their skills just like everybody else! These are both very good arguments.
Many people in today’s world complain about how much Pro Athletes get pay. So I ask are Pro athletes overpaid? Look at it in this sense; they are living their dreams just like most business men do everyday. If you think that professional sports is not a job then just try to walk in the shoes of a athlete for a day. Sports, like medicine, healthcare, or software, are a business. In that business, owners pay their players what they deem they are worth.
I see advertisements and high profile appearances these players partake in, the question just keeps on popping up in my head. Reading through discussion boards, articles and even editorial papers about the issue, I have found this to be an interesting topic to discuss and with these sources in mind, this will be my foundation for this topic. In this paper, I intend to prove through an intimate discussion and debate that the players of the NBA are overpaid with regards to how much their salaries and contracts are worth. For this paper, the discussion will go into 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 overpaid athletes and salary cuts.
Americans believe that athletes, celebrities, and CEOs are the highest paid jobs in America. This belief is true however the average income of these three jobs is nowhere near what the perception is. Athletes are the most confusing when it comes to pay since people do not factor in that an average professional is only 4.85 years, NFL is 3.5 years, MLB is 5.6 years, NBA is 4.8, and NHL is 5.5 years, (RSVLTS, 2013) United States Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that an average income for “athletes and sport competitors” was only $47,710 (BLS, 2017). People believe that athletes are only the stars you see on television, but this is not the case. Athletes are risking their health for that paycheck. They spend a majority of their lives in the gym or on
Do athletes get overpaid? Is it fair that the average NFL player gets paid 1.9 million dollars a year while the average heart surgeon gets paid 533 thousand dollars annually? I think that professional athletes don’t get paid too much. There are multiple reasons that proves that their pay is not excessive. Their careers are short, they risk their body for our entertainment, and they motivate children.
In thirteen years of golf, Tiger Woods has made over a billion dollars making him the highest paid athlete ever. He has been the highest paid athlete now for five years in a row. We all know that many people in the world watch him play every weekend and admire him, but is the amount of entertainment he provides really worth 128 million dollars a year? Tiger is only one of many professional athletes who are extremely overpaid. “People forget that sports is entertainment,” says Leonard Armato, a sports agent. Although professional athletes provide entertainment for millions of viewers around the world, they are overpaid because the millions of dollars that they make could be distributed more evenly throughout society and go to things of a greater cause.
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.
Firstly, people who save lives every day barely make the same amount of money as an athlete does, though the work they’ve done has been very valuable to the safety of others.
Every day, people around the world complain about professional athletes salaries. Even though the top athletes make millions of dollars every year, the majority of athletes do not make any more than the average working class citizen. There are also many risks along with the job, and job security is very unstable. Expenses and taxes also limit the amount of money an athlete makes. Tax rates are extremely high for the men and women who participate in professional sports.
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.
Are elite athletes/sports men or women being paid too much if not how are there high salaries justified, if so, why, and how could there money be put to better use?
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.
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.
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.
Sport has always entertained and influenced our lives. It creates dreams for children and goals for adults. However, many fans are oblivious to the millions they pocket each year. It is without doubt that our sports stars are grossly overpaid. Their annual earnings exceed those we make in a lifetime, even when compared to highly qualified professionals.