by 5 people |
HERE'S WHAT I THINK
Are Professional Athletes Paid Too Much?
Yes!
I think that professional athletes are paid too much money. It's fine for a company to endorse an athlete but for a sports organization to pay huge salaries is ridiculous. I think that players should be paid based on their position and tenure to a team. Why should one team have a better chance at winning because they have more money to pay their players?
I also think that paying large salaries increases tickets prices. Sports teams need to provide affordable ticket prices to families. It's sad to see that it costs a family of 4 $100 to spend the day at the ball park. What do you think?
Top Professional Athletes Salaries
The Top 5 Paid Athletes
- Tiger Woods - Pro Golf
$11,941,827 - Salary/Winnings
$100,000,000 - Endorsments
$111,941,827 - Total - Oscar De La Hoya - Boxing
$53,000,000 - Salary/Winnings
$2,000,000 - Endorsments
$55,000,000 - Total - Phil Mickelson - Pro Golf
$4,256,505 - Salary/Winnings
$47,000,000 - Endorsments
$51,256,505 - Total - Shaquille O'Neal - Miami Heat (NBA)
$20,000,000 - Salary/Winnings
$15,000,000 - Endorsments
$35,000,000 - Total - Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
$17,718,750 - Salary/Winnings
$16,000,000 - Endorsments
$33,718,750 - Total
YOUR TURN!
Are Professional Athletes Paid Too Much?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, you're right!
Cortez&Alexis says:
I believe that they are paid extremely too much. We don't give enough praise to our fellow policeman and firefighters. That is where all the money should be going. It's a game(sports) and everyday local people jump in fires in jump in front of a bullet to save us and don't get that much. Lower their salaries I say!
Posted June 10, 2009
Carla says:
o ya definitely! there are way harder jobs out there than pro sports
Posted June 06, 2009
Ally says:
hellllyes!
there's no reason someone should be being paid for something people do for recreation everyday.
Posted May 21, 2009
madeleine t says:
fuck yeah!!
I'm sure we would all love to earn 97 million dollars a year simply to play a game? And well done too the elite athletes that manage to do this, but is it really necessary or even fair? Michael Jordan makes $178,100 a day, if he decides to have a five minute egg; he'll make $618 while making it. While watching an episode of friends, he'll cash in at an obscene $3,710
i dont see how this could be considered okay by the worst of pople, when more then half of the worlds population is in poverty. they dont even have enough money to pay for a tv to watch a damn episode of friends. let alone on a 6 foot flat screen like these bastards that are doing nothing but swinging a bat!
Posted May 19, 2009
Duckylurve says:
There are still people in north america who work their asses off every day and can barely support their families and Tiger Woods gets over $100,000,000 a year to play a bloody game??? something is wrong here!
Posted April 21, 2009
Treasures-By-Brenda says:
I think that the best players should be paid the most...but I do not think that those salaries should be astronomical and I think that all teams should have the same to spend on salaries although I have no idea how you'd make that happen!
Brenda
Posted April 16, 2009
stephanie says:
Hell Yeah!!its not fair
Posted April 15, 2009
JD says:
yes, i am a huge sprots fan... but if you are get ing to play a sport its somthing you love why should get paid millions to do it.
Posted April 08, 2009
URMUM says:
Yes, cricketers that play in IPL gets milllions of US dollars just to play one tournemnt that only take one or two months
Posted April 01, 2009
faggg says:
April fools
Posted April 01, 2009
pop says:
they are to greedy u should play just for fun not for money it is something u should enjoy doing
Posted March 30, 2009
K.Brock says:
no they deserve a certain set amount because of the pain they endure. but they don't need millions of dollars a game.
Posted March 25, 2009
PlaYer of The PheNix SunS says:
i am a professional athlete. i play for the phenix sun. i think that we get paid an ridiculously amount of money a year. but yes, it is all part of supply and demand. also i think that the money can be put up to charity and schools. or just simply give back to the community
Posted March 05, 2009
UNknown says:
FUCK YES ITS RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted February 22, 2009
sarah says:
i think that they get Paid TOO MUCH becaue in the world people have to work for there money and all they do is play a sport
Posted February 18, 2009
vicky the icky says:
I SAY THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I MEAN WHO THE FUCK GETS PAID TO SIT ON A TOLIET ALLLLLLL DAY!!! TIGER WOODS THAT WHO
Posted February 13, 2009
ashley says:
there is no reason athletes should demand these large amounts of money
Posted February 04, 2009
swiney says:
yes, because it's not right for pro athletes to get paid more than our commander in chief.
Posted November 24, 2008
joe says:
YES!!
you are so right!
Posted November 17, 2008
kloe says:
Yes
Because they should be playing for the love it not the money.
So many professionals get in trouble for drugs or assult and
it has gone to their head.I believe that they should get payed
at a reasomalbe salary because at the end of the day they should
be playing the game for the love of it and to see if they can
archieve their goals and be succesfull and be a successful sporting hero.I play sport for the love of it not the attention
Posted October 28, 2008
No way, Monkeybrain!
dunkchamp says:
I agree with rydigga: supply and demand determines an athletes worth.
You'll get paid pretty close to exactly what you're worth to the marketplace.
The risk, I believe, lies in overpaying someone for their potential rather
than work that they've already done for you. That's a worry for the front
office execs, you are also paid "above average" salaries.
Posted June 18, 2009
Tony_Z says:
They're worth every dollar they are able to generate. If an athlete generates $100 million in ticket sales, then they are entitled to a percentage of those profits.
Posted May 25, 2009
wewt says:
If only people understood pain they endure on a daily basis.
Posted May 19, 2009
rydigga says:
Everybody makes what they are worth. If the franchises couldn't afford it they wouldn't pay. There is no limit to money so I can't understand the concept of "too much" or "not enough."
It's simply a matter of supply/demand.
Posted May 19, 2009
harley says:
nooooo
Posted May 18, 2009
James Garrity says:
They are not paid too much. They deserve Everything that they get. They risks their lives every single time that they go in the court or in the field or what ever.They deserve every single penny.
Posted May 17, 2009
meera says:
Wouldn't it be great to make 31.3 million dollars a year and an additional 47 million dollars in endorsements simply to play a game? Michael Jordan, along with many other professional athletes thinks so. In the 1996 season, playing 3,106 minutes Michael Jordan made 170,000 dollars a day, equaling out to be 160.97 dollars a second. Even more unbelievable are Mike Tyson's earnings in his match with Peter McNeeley. In a single second, he made 281,000 dollars ("Professional AthletesÉ"). Do these athletes really deserve all that money?
"Professional athletes are making too much money in a society where salaries and wages are traditionally based on the value of ones work" ("Professional AthletesÉ"). In today's society, one will be paid more if their job is more economically important. However, teaching is one of the most economically important occupations because our future economy relies on the education of its youth, yet teachers are paid much less than the average professional athlete. The U.S President makes decisions that affect our economy and yet he only makes 250,000 dollars a year (Turner). Professional athletes do not play near as vital role in the economy as the president, but their salaries reflect otherwise. These games are supposed to be played for fun, not for millions of dollars.
Opponents of this view say payment is being received for a service, therefore professional sports are a business. Many people believe athletes are being paid for little work, but in fact they work harder than any one else. Not only do they work during their particular season; they also work in the off season. Most professional athletes train on their own striving to become better. They also attend miniature camps and their seasonal training camps. These athletes work year round to earn their high salaries.
Making it into the pros isn't an easy thing to do. It takes a tremendous number of hours of hard work and dedication every day to earn a job in professional sports. These athletes sometimes go through life threatening injuries for the love of the game. Considering this, one might think that these athletes do it for the love of the game not for the money. According to Gerald Sim, "The odds are higher for someone to become a brain surgeon than a NBA player, so isn't it more logical that the professional athlete get paid more than a brain surgeon?"
According to Chris Butterfield, it is the fan's fault these athletes make the money they do. They are the ones who pay 50 dollars for a ticket, 100 dollars for a jacket and 20 dollars for a hat ("Professional AthletesÉ"). If the public didn't help by buying these items, the money to pay these athletes the huge amounts wouldn't be there. In turn, their salaries would decrease.
Contesting such statements, take into account the Pittsburgh Pirates. A team of average players whose combined salaries were less than the personal salary of Albert Belle of the Chicago White Sox ("Professional Athletes..."). The Pirates were in a pennant race while the White Sox were not. This shows that a large amount of money is not needed to achieve success. Even if the owner spends millions of dollars for spectacular players, his team is not guaranteed success.
In addition, the enormous salary paid to these athletes is a vivid reminder of how money is ruining professional sports (Dickey). Every year there are strikes and lockouts because the athletes think they are not getting paid enough money. Once they have gotten a whiff of the riches they will do anything to get more, even if it means going somewhere else to play (Turner).
Signing contracts for enormous amounts of money has a down side too. Once an athlete signs a high dollar contract he is expected to play like a high dollar athlete. When an athlete has a bad day, the fans and sports writers let them know about it ("Professional AthletesÉ"). This happens because their salaries are public knowledge. Athletes complain about the public knowledge of their salaries, but why shouldn't the public know, they are the ones who pay the athletes' salaries.
The money given to the athletes could be used for more probable causes. Recently Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers signed a contract for 252 million dollars over a span of 10 years. This is enough money to feed the nation's poor for a year or to provide a lot more housing and shelters for the homeless. Others could benefit from the millions being wasted on these athletes.
The opposition has pointed out that what people do not realize is that if these athletes stop receiving the outrageous amounts of money; the public would not get the money. Society thinks that if the athletes weren't getting the money then it would be redistributed throughout the working class. That is not true at all. The money not given to the athletes simply goes into the owner's pocket, not back to the public.
Many of the professional athletes live paycheck to paycheck even if they make one or two million dollars a year (Greenberg). Some of the athletes spend extravagant amounts of money every day, causing them to be broke long before the next paycheck arrives. Many other athletes provide for their immediate and extended families. Athletes have to hire managers to manage their money. This is partly because they don't appreciate how hard it is to make a dollar. However, some are catching on. One wiser consumer received a bonus up front and invested some into fixed annuities and tax-free bonds. It's a good thing because, for example, the average NBA career lasts 6.2 years and it's half that for the NFL. Unfortunately most won't realize until it is too late (Greenberg).
Many athletes raise and donate money to charity. The United Way has become one of the largest charities due to the publicity and donations given by these athletes (Turner). Many of these athletes are not frugal with their money. They help our economy by spending excessive amounts of money. The public needs to realize that without the sky-high spending, the economy would not function as well as it does now.
In closing, these athletes are making too much money in a society that traditionally bases salaries on the value of ones work. These athletes do not know what real work is or how hard it is to make a dollar. Although their job is difficult, they do not play a role in our economy like their salaries indicate. Therefore, they should receive less money.
Posted May 06, 2009
MadameDuchess says:
People have to understand that entertainment celebrities'huge salaries that you see above incorporates other "honoraniums" and "royalties" that the team/movie studio/film makers receive for television rights, corporate sponsors and advertisements, memorabilia, ticket sales, concessions, interviews, parking, etc. These celebrities performing their "skills" or "talents" are what draw in huge numbers of customers/fans, which means huge multi-streams of revenue that the team owners and leagues must share with the players/performers.
Posted May 06, 2009
j-holliday says:
the love of the game won't pay for the life of a professionally tuned athlete's body.. the rest is how much the owner's think they are worth..simple as that.. if they're willing to pay.. they can pay.. and what human would turn down that money???
Posted April 28, 2009
imtheman says:
Why should the lowest paid NBA athlete recieve more money than the president who holds the highest office in the united states?
The odds to become a professional athlete are slim but the odds of becoming president are even slimmer
Posted April 16, 2009
That guy says he plays for Pheonix down in the left hand column says:
Athletes get paid that much because you pay the money to go watch them. Then that money is used to pay for the athletes
Posted April 02, 2009
URDAD says:
I get more pay than tiger woods
Posted April 01, 2009
faggg says:
Mitchell has aids
Posted April 01, 2009
Artois says:
Pro sports is a business people!!! If they have to pay Joe Bloe a billion dollars to play, then so be it. If the organization has a big enough budget, then the sky is the limit.
Posted March 29, 2009
BlindOptimism says:
it's all about supply and demand. The very best athletes are paid so much because nobody else can do what they can do.
Posted March 04, 2009
tristan says:
no
Posted February 06, 2009
paulette says:
no!....athletes like tiger woods deserve the money. He works hard and has talent. He deserves the money!
Posted January 26, 2009
Gordy says:
Why arnt people comlaining about actors?
Posted December 10, 2008
Gordy says:
No because. The money that the players get is from every time you buy a Jacket, hat ,Mug , And other stuff with the logo. Its not like Its coming out of your taxes to pay these guys. If you think that there getting payed too much...then don't go to the game or buy any of the stuff.
Posted December 10, 2008
killa kill says:
think about if you were them...id want that money
Posted December 02, 2008
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