Are Athletes Overpaid?
Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player, playing for the Chicago Bulls. He is the highest earning athlete, with 2.62 billion dollars (adjusted for inflation).
Athletes possess exceptional skills and talent that others don’t have, and generally they are greatly rewarded for having these talents. Yet many argue that they are being paid too much, and they aren’t entitled to such wealth.
“I feel like it’s a reasonable controversy to have, because a lot of sports are mostly there for other people’s entertainment, and I wonder if they get grossly overpaid for something that doesn’t provide much for the rest of the nation,” sophomore Anika Seidenverg said.
Seidenverg, a swimmer, thinks that athletes are overpaid and that the money could be put to better use.
“[To] people who provide something else for the community other than necessarily entertainment,” Seidenverg said.
As of 2019, the average annual salary for an NBA player reached eight million US dollars, compared to a firefighter’s average annual salary of seventy thousand dollars. A great deal of people believe that athletes don’t deserve the amount of money they receive, and that their jobs are insignificant compared to first responders. It seems unreasonable that someone who puts their life on the line makes 100 times less money than someone who plays a sport for public entertainment.
“Sometimes I’m amazed by how much money professional football players get paid… I can see where it comes from, it’s like a part of the entertainment industry. It’s kind of an offshoot of that,” senior Kyla Kelly said.
Kelly is also a swimmer and has recently committed to Bucknell University.
“I think regarding [the comparison between the wages of athletes and first responders], it’s not so much an issue of taking away from this to make that better. You just make the other issue better rather than making it a game of comparison,” Kelly adds.
Comparing the wages of athletes to first responders isn’t fair, as they are two completely different situations.
Athletes are an essential part of extremely profitable entertainment and recreational industries. Sports are a very big part of American culture, and it makes sense for the sports industry to capitalize on that.
In 2020, the NFL made 12.2 billion dollars in revenue, the NBA made 7.92 billion dollars in revenue, and the MLB made 3.66 billion dollars in revenue. Sports leagues bring in huge amounts of money, which is then reflected in the salaries of their players.
I personally believe that athletes are not overpaid because of how hard they work.
Athletes are incredibly hard workers which make them important role models and good influences for the youth population.
Becoming a professional athlete takes years of sweat and tears, and aspiring athletes put in countless hours of training to achieve their dream. To get to this level takes a lot of work and sacrifice. Only a few of these athletes become professionals, and to sustain that level of excellence takes a lot of hard work as well. Professional athletes often have very short-lived careers, around 5-10 years.
Athletes also need to support the lifestyle that comes with being a professional. More personal training and constant physical therapy are only a few of the expenses that professional athletes have to face. They are also constantly in the public eye and worshiped like gods by their fans. They are expected to have the best clothes, cars, houses, etc; things that the working class can only dream to afford.
Athletes contribute greatly to multi-million sports enterprises and deserve to be compensated for all their hard work.
Aarushi Khurana is a senior at Monte Vista and is returning for her third year in journalism. This year...
Michael Skoczylas • Mar 27, 2023 at 11:17 am
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I don’t want to say • Mar 1, 2023 at 8:34 am
This was very helpful thanks.
slay • Feb 10, 2023 at 11:15 am
Pro athletes make millions from sports, while everyone else can considerably less. What do you think about this? Athletes making millions of dollars is unacceptable and is unfair, and therefore, should not happen. My reasons for this are that athletes make more money than teachers, doctors, firefighters, and police officers. My second reason is that athletes spend their money on personal things, and don’t help the community. My last reason is that athletes don’t need extra money because of their short career, and they can easily pursue another career afterwards.
My first reason that I think athletes are overpaid is the fact that they make more money than people who save or teach people. A quote from the article, “Are Pro Athletes Overpaid?” from The New York Times Upfront is, “Does it make any sense that someone who throws a football for a living is paid more than 700 times as much as someone who helps save people’s lives, or that swinging a bat gets you nearly 650 times as much as educating kids?” This proves my claim that athletes are overpaid because people who teach or save lives are more important to society, while athletes are just a form of entertainment. It makes no sense! A quote from the article, “Pro Athletes are Paid Too Much” from the Sphinx that proves my claim is, “After all, there is no surprise that teachers were having to fight for the ability to buy supplies for their classrooms. If our society did not spend so much time obsessed with the world of sports and so much money for 3 hours of entertainment, teachers would not have to struggle to buy items to teach future generations.” This quote proves my claim because it is not right that athletes make so much money, while teachers, preparing the next generation, can barely afford to get the right teaching materials. Athletes make more money than people who help the community in one game then some teachers, firefighters, police officers, and doctors get in a year! This makes no sense because those services provide for the rest of the community, while athletes offer only a little bit of entertainment to people.
The second reason that pro athletes are overpaid is that athletes spend their money on personal belongings and not helping the community. A quote from the article, “Are Professional Athletes Really Overpaid?” from the Stampede is, “We think that athletes are overpaid and that the money could be put to better use.” This quote proves my claim because if the money that they are being paid is not being put to a better use, they should not be getting that much money. A quote from the article, “Are Professional Athletes Really Overpaid?” from the Stampede is, “Athletes should be people who provide something else for the community other than necessarily entertainment” This proves my claim because athletes do not help the community past entertainment. They only spend their money on personal belongings, not the community. Athletes spend their extra money on cars, houses, and exotic pets, but do not help the community. This proves my claim that pro athletes are overpaid because athletes spend their money on personal stuff, yet they do not spend it helping the community.
The last reason that I think athletes are overpaid is because athletes do not need the extra money because of their short career, and can choose another job afterwards. A quote from the video, “Should Athletes be Paid High Salaries” by Simple Show Video Maker is, “Some people argue that the short length of an athlete’s career should not affect their salary and that athletes can easily pursue another career after participating in sports.” This quote proves my claim because it shows that athletes can pursue another career, and do not need the extra money. A quote from the article, “Professional Athletes Make Too Much Money” by The Daily Utah Chronicle is, “Athletes can pursue another normal career after, and do not need the special treatment of a ton of money because a career as an athlete is short.” This proves my claim because if athletes can pursue another career after, why do they need the extensive amounts of money? Athletes usually retire earlier than most people after participating in sports. This proves my claim because if athletes didn’t get so much money, it wouldn’t be bad because they could pursue another career and retire like normal people.
In conclusion, I think pro athletes are overpaid because athletes make more money than teachers, doctors, firefighters, and police officers. My second reason is that athletes spend their money on personal things, and don’t help the community. My last reason is that athletes don’t need extra money because of their short career, and they can easily pursue another career afterwards. Does it make sense that athletes make millions? Does it bother you that they make more money than you can?
Christopher Geisler • Oct 2, 2022 at 5:16 pm
This was very helpful for my school essay and i enjoy what you had to say and how you said it. Thanks 🙂
ageewana • Mar 29, 2023 at 12:04 pm
fr!!!