Do Professional Athletes Get Paid Too Much?
In Mr. Miller's class we had to write a persuasive essay on a controversial topic. I chose to do the topic of professional athletes' salaries. I believe they deserve what they are getting paid. Below is my essay on the topic, stating my opinion and reasoning. Please read my essay then decide for yourself and select an opinion on the poll below!
Chris Posada
Mr. Miller
English 10
25 September 2013
Money Game
Sweat drips off the forehead of an athlete as they just finished their last sprint, drinking a Gatorade to quench their parched throat. A whole life’s dedication towards one goal, being the best, making it to the pros. Ever since childhood almost all of their time has been sucked away from training and trying to make that one dream a reality. Finally it all happens, they are professional and are getting paid millions of dollars. I believe professional athletes deserve every penny that they are being paid. They’ve dedicated their entire time and body, not to mention that the owners of sports teams make an unfeasible more amount of money, and children are inspired by these athletes. Athletes at the professional level do not get paid too much.
An entire life gone, vanished, time can not be taken back, but for an athlete it will always be worth it. Just being a college athlete is like having a job, college football players on average put in 44.8 hours per week (Wieberg, Steve. "Study: College Athletes Are Full-time Workers - USATODAY.com."). This is over the average 40 hour work week. Normal job holders deserve to get paid for their work. So, it wouldn’t be fair to have an athlete put more time in than a job and not get paid for it. According to studies done by the sports researcher, John Lather, to reach a professional level in athletics, it is required to put in at least 10,000 hours. This is called the “10,000 Hour Theory,” this would required at least 20 hours a week of intense training for eight years straights. Now, pro athletes however put in even more than that, averaging 23 hours of intense training a week. Not including games, scrimmages, etc but just training (Biasiotto, Judd. "15 Surprising Facts About World Class Athletes."). Anyone putting in 10,000 hours of intense, exhausting, possibly muscle damaging work deserves to be paid. Not to mention how hard it is to make it in a pro sport. Out of 250,000 high school seniors playing basketball, only 12,000 will have the opportunity to play Division 1 ball. Out of those 12,000 only 200 will be drafted to the NBA, even after that only 50 will actually sign contracts. Of those 50 only five players will receive a starting position, eventually only two of those five will play for more than 5 years. The reality of it is that these athletes have worked harder than anyone else, it is much easier to sit and memorize information in a class than to do sprints, push ups, and situps. These athletes deserve compensation for their work, it is wrong to deny them that.
Society sees the millions that pro athletes get paid, but fail to recognize the money the leagues or owners make. Even Arnold Palmer, the athlete with the highest net worth ever at $675 million, doesn’t even come close to the average NBA team ("Top 50 Richest Athletes." RSS.). The owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, Paul Allen, has a total net worth of $20 billion, completely demolishing any single athlete in history (“2004-05 NBA Salary Report." USATODAY.com). Aaron Rodgers, star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, received $60 million total last year after salary and endorsements. He was the highest paid NFL player of the year, but $60 million is nothing compared to what the NFL league makes. The NFL received $984.5 million in revenue last year, higher than any other sport league. Also, the average NFL team is worth about $898 million, to me that is unfeasible (Seepersaud, Steve. "Most Profitable Sports Leagues."). It is obvious that comparatively athletes in professional sports get the short end of the money stick, the teams, leagues, and owners are the ones making the real money.
Sports and athletes can be positive motivation for kids in school to achieve quality grades and learn to become peer role models. When people think of big name athletes, a lot of times first thing they think of is that “one time” they said something bad on television. It is almost like we remember these athletes for their worst moments and not for all the wonderful things they do for our youth generation. Athletes like Craig Biggio, former professional baseball player of the Astros, has donated thousands of dollars and a lot of time to charities. Biggio is the spokesperson for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, which raises money for children with cancer (Riggio, James. "Multiple Sports."). Not only athletes like Biggio help the community, the whole entire NBA participates in the NBA Cares program. Their mission is to set up safe environments for children and families to be able to learn and play positively. Since October 2005 NBA Cares has donated over $220 million to charities, invested 2.5 million hours of hands-on service to communities, and built over 810 recreational areas where families and friends can play, learn, and be active in their community ("Overview." NBA Cares: NBA Cares). Programs and athletes like this give the youth positive role models, wanting to be like them, to not only just play sports but also give back to the community. Also, according to a study done including roughly 9,700 high school students, it has been revealed that participation in team sports correlates significantly to higher grades. Not only higher grades, but higher enrollment in college (Stiffly, Ian. "Team Sport Can Help Kids Get Better Grades."). Sports give kids motivation and the discipline to achieve good grades so they can continue to play. Having an athlete as a positive role model and participating in sports can help kids to become the best they can be.
It is true that professional athletes get paid a lot of money. Some say too much, and that people like doctors and teachers should be the ones getting paid a lot. I too believe doctors and teachers should be paid more but, pro athletes deserve all the money they receive. The fans, the people complaining about the money, are the ones who are feeding the source of income for athletes. They are willing to pay high ticket costs and prices for merchandise. This all in turn allows leagues and teams to pay their players more. These athletes have worked their whole lives to be where they are at. If fans really had a problem with how much these athletes are being paid they wouldn’t pay high costs for tickets and merchandise.
The topic of whether or not professional athletes get paid too much is constantly discussed. In my opinion, they deserve every dime they are being paid. These athletes dedicated their entire lives to these sports, media, leagues, owners, and commissioners make way more money than these athletes, and these athletes inspire kids in positive ways. People will continue to debate this topic, but the fact of the matter is, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Work Cited
"2004-05 NBA Salary Report." USATODAY.com. N.p., 20 May 2005. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Biasiotto, Judd. "15 Surprising Facts About World Class Athletes." « StrengthPlanet.com. np., n.d.
Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
"Overview." NBA Cares: NBA Cares. Turner Sports Digital, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Riggio, James. "Multiple Sports." Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting, 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 23
Sept. 2013.
Seepersaud, Steve. "Most Profitable Sports Leagues." AskMen. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Stiffly, Ian. "Team Sport Can Help Kids Get Better Grades." TheExpressTribune.com. The Express
Tribune, 28 May 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
"Top 50 Richest Athletes." RSS. Celebrity Net Worth, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Wieberg, Steve. "Study: College Athletes Are Full-time Workers - USATODAY.com."
USATODAY.com. USA Today, 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 02 Oct. 2013.
Mr. Miller
English 10
25 September 2013
Money Game
Sweat drips off the forehead of an athlete as they just finished their last sprint, drinking a Gatorade to quench their parched throat. A whole life’s dedication towards one goal, being the best, making it to the pros. Ever since childhood almost all of their time has been sucked away from training and trying to make that one dream a reality. Finally it all happens, they are professional and are getting paid millions of dollars. I believe professional athletes deserve every penny that they are being paid. They’ve dedicated their entire time and body, not to mention that the owners of sports teams make an unfeasible more amount of money, and children are inspired by these athletes. Athletes at the professional level do not get paid too much.
An entire life gone, vanished, time can not be taken back, but for an athlete it will always be worth it. Just being a college athlete is like having a job, college football players on average put in 44.8 hours per week (Wieberg, Steve. "Study: College Athletes Are Full-time Workers - USATODAY.com."). This is over the average 40 hour work week. Normal job holders deserve to get paid for their work. So, it wouldn’t be fair to have an athlete put more time in than a job and not get paid for it. According to studies done by the sports researcher, John Lather, to reach a professional level in athletics, it is required to put in at least 10,000 hours. This is called the “10,000 Hour Theory,” this would required at least 20 hours a week of intense training for eight years straights. Now, pro athletes however put in even more than that, averaging 23 hours of intense training a week. Not including games, scrimmages, etc but just training (Biasiotto, Judd. "15 Surprising Facts About World Class Athletes."). Anyone putting in 10,000 hours of intense, exhausting, possibly muscle damaging work deserves to be paid. Not to mention how hard it is to make it in a pro sport. Out of 250,000 high school seniors playing basketball, only 12,000 will have the opportunity to play Division 1 ball. Out of those 12,000 only 200 will be drafted to the NBA, even after that only 50 will actually sign contracts. Of those 50 only five players will receive a starting position, eventually only two of those five will play for more than 5 years. The reality of it is that these athletes have worked harder than anyone else, it is much easier to sit and memorize information in a class than to do sprints, push ups, and situps. These athletes deserve compensation for their work, it is wrong to deny them that.
Society sees the millions that pro athletes get paid, but fail to recognize the money the leagues or owners make. Even Arnold Palmer, the athlete with the highest net worth ever at $675 million, doesn’t even come close to the average NBA team ("Top 50 Richest Athletes." RSS.). The owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, Paul Allen, has a total net worth of $20 billion, completely demolishing any single athlete in history (“2004-05 NBA Salary Report." USATODAY.com). Aaron Rodgers, star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, received $60 million total last year after salary and endorsements. He was the highest paid NFL player of the year, but $60 million is nothing compared to what the NFL league makes. The NFL received $984.5 million in revenue last year, higher than any other sport league. Also, the average NFL team is worth about $898 million, to me that is unfeasible (Seepersaud, Steve. "Most Profitable Sports Leagues."). It is obvious that comparatively athletes in professional sports get the short end of the money stick, the teams, leagues, and owners are the ones making the real money.
Sports and athletes can be positive motivation for kids in school to achieve quality grades and learn to become peer role models. When people think of big name athletes, a lot of times first thing they think of is that “one time” they said something bad on television. It is almost like we remember these athletes for their worst moments and not for all the wonderful things they do for our youth generation. Athletes like Craig Biggio, former professional baseball player of the Astros, has donated thousands of dollars and a lot of time to charities. Biggio is the spokesperson for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, which raises money for children with cancer (Riggio, James. "Multiple Sports."). Not only athletes like Biggio help the community, the whole entire NBA participates in the NBA Cares program. Their mission is to set up safe environments for children and families to be able to learn and play positively. Since October 2005 NBA Cares has donated over $220 million to charities, invested 2.5 million hours of hands-on service to communities, and built over 810 recreational areas where families and friends can play, learn, and be active in their community ("Overview." NBA Cares: NBA Cares). Programs and athletes like this give the youth positive role models, wanting to be like them, to not only just play sports but also give back to the community. Also, according to a study done including roughly 9,700 high school students, it has been revealed that participation in team sports correlates significantly to higher grades. Not only higher grades, but higher enrollment in college (Stiffly, Ian. "Team Sport Can Help Kids Get Better Grades."). Sports give kids motivation and the discipline to achieve good grades so they can continue to play. Having an athlete as a positive role model and participating in sports can help kids to become the best they can be.
It is true that professional athletes get paid a lot of money. Some say too much, and that people like doctors and teachers should be the ones getting paid a lot. I too believe doctors and teachers should be paid more but, pro athletes deserve all the money they receive. The fans, the people complaining about the money, are the ones who are feeding the source of income for athletes. They are willing to pay high ticket costs and prices for merchandise. This all in turn allows leagues and teams to pay their players more. These athletes have worked their whole lives to be where they are at. If fans really had a problem with how much these athletes are being paid they wouldn’t pay high costs for tickets and merchandise.
The topic of whether or not professional athletes get paid too much is constantly discussed. In my opinion, they deserve every dime they are being paid. These athletes dedicated their entire lives to these sports, media, leagues, owners, and commissioners make way more money than these athletes, and these athletes inspire kids in positive ways. People will continue to debate this topic, but the fact of the matter is, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Work Cited
"2004-05 NBA Salary Report." USATODAY.com. N.p., 20 May 2005. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Biasiotto, Judd. "15 Surprising Facts About World Class Athletes." « StrengthPlanet.com. np., n.d.
Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
"Overview." NBA Cares: NBA Cares. Turner Sports Digital, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Riggio, James. "Multiple Sports." Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting, 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 23
Sept. 2013.
Seepersaud, Steve. "Most Profitable Sports Leagues." AskMen. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Stiffly, Ian. "Team Sport Can Help Kids Get Better Grades." TheExpressTribune.com. The Express
Tribune, 28 May 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
"Top 50 Richest Athletes." RSS. Celebrity Net Worth, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Wieberg, Steve. "Study: College Athletes Are Full-time Workers - USATODAY.com."
USATODAY.com. USA Today, 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 02 Oct. 2013.