I swear this is not a sports all the time blog but I wanted to briefly touch on the subject of if athletes are overpaid. Often you hear that sports athletes are paid way too much to play a child's game. To give you an idea of what I am talking about here are the salaries of the highest paid athletes in each of the major sports.
Kevin Garnett - $25,000,000
Alex Rodriguez - $25,000,000
Donovan McNabb - $15,000,000
So are these athletes overpaid. Absolutely not. How the heck can I say that? I don't think anybody in our society can really ever be overpaid. We live in a society where you are free to accept a job and someone is free to hire or not hire you (more or less but I won't get into the details here). This is especially true in sports where the ONLY thing that matters is how you perform and do your job. Obviously the owner of each of these clubs believes that each of these athletes is worth the money. Nobody put a gun to any of their heads and forced them to give the money to the players. Just to put into perspective you need to see what each of these teams are work and make
Team/ Value of Team/ Yearly Revenue
Minnesota Timberwolves $230 $85M
New York Yankees $849M $223M
Philadelphia Eagles $617M $134M
Now if the players don't get the money who will? The owners. A lot less people whine that they are making too much money. Some people complain that instead of making all this money that they should reduce ticket prices. Well if you ran a business and you could sell a product for $10 or $20 what would you do? I think most of you would probably charge what the market would bear.
What I don't understand is that many of the same people who complain that athletes make too much money are those clamoring to get more money for either themselves or working class America. If average Joe American has the right to make as much money as possible how come the same can't be said for athletes? I realize that $25,000 is quite different than $25,000,000 but the principle is the same.
Everyone should be paid what they are worth. Sports just happens to be very big business in America and it makes lots of money. How can you begrudge a man his money which he rightfully deserves. I mean a star athlete, more than any other employee, has a direct impact on the revenue of his company. He plays well, fans come to see games, fans buy more merchandise, etc.
If you like this post you may like these other post:
List of Overpaid Athletes
Athletes
Overpaid
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115 comments:
I tottaly agree
I couldn't agree more
Hopefully some of these jealous sports writers will get a chance to read this.
I can shoot a basketball, so do i deserve $25 million dollars? no i don't. people do so much more for our society and get paid so much less, it's pathetic. i'm one of the biggest sports fans in the world, but there's no way athlete's deserve millions of dollars to play a game.
Yes, quite frankly you do.
It isn't about someone's "value" to society. It's about having a free economy. If nobody would watch these athletes play, they wouldn't get paid. But self-admitted sports fans like yourself pay to watch these guys play, and you pay big bucks.
And there is a big difference between value and money. Water is the most valuable things to humans but is relatively free to have. Diamonds and gold have very little intrinsic value to a person yet cost hundreds of dollars for even the smallest amount.
No one would argue that water is more "valuable" than gold but if you want to, I'll trade you 100 gallons of water for a 1 karat diamond and we can call it even. Afterall, there is no way that a diamond should be worth thousands just to be sparkly.
Athletes are way overpaid i dont care how good you are they need to not be paid that much
You simply mistake price for value.
I feel that athletes get paid way too much and that they she be ordered to give some of ther money to charity. I mean some people out in the world die of starvation because they do not have the money athletes do. and that is an outrage!
Yeah, because your "feelings" should trump someone's rights.
Let's do this. How about everyone who makes more than average give to all those who make less than average. Yeah, that would be really fair. That way nobody would be poor and we would all be better off!
If you want that, please go live in 1980's Soviet Union or Present day Cuba or Vietnam. You will then understand how successful such a plan is.
No really, you are the idiot. Please make a coherent argument.
I've said it already but I'll reiterate. Value and Price are two very different things. The "value" that athletes bring to society is no doubt less than what soldiers who protect the country bring. However the "price" is much different because there are a lot fewer people who can perform an athletes job to our expectations than can perform a soldiers job.
Please see the above water and diamond analogy if this idea still alludes you.
Oh please, water is necessary to sustain human life...professional athletes are not! In our modern day society the price of many things does not match the monetary value we assign them...including professional athletes. Suppy and demand I hear you say...this doesn't make it right! Why does everything have to be about economics? You no doubt live in a society where water and other basic human needs are abundant. How can you honestly justify to someone living in a developing or third world country that the money we pay professional athletes is warranted! Especially given that many of these unfortunate people are without the basic resources they need to sustain human life. It's easy to justify your society and its inequalities when you are part of the group that supports and sustains such inequality! By the way, have you ever been to present day Cuba or Vietnam...didn't think so!
I thought differently until i read your blog. I think that they get paid what they are supposed to. Thank you for posting this blog for me to read
All you guys that disagree are idiots. Don't you know sports is a big business???? And if everyone can trow a baseball at 99mph or have such gifted athletic abilities to play a sport then we would all make millions of dollars, but the truth is hardly anyone can so don't hate on the people who can.
THANK YOU!!!!!
I hate it when people say that sports atheletes are over payed. When in rality. WHY!?!?! they cant give a good reason. Peyton Manning is now the highest payed QB in the league becouse the manager can pay him that. And if you want to be payed more just becouse you are a bigger part of society, than you might as well want a comunism.
It is absolutely ridiculous that professional athletes get paid that much. It makes me sick. Other people have lives and dont spend half their lives worrying about money.
to the person talking about the people in the 3rd world countries....Look in baseball, they make up 54% of the ENTIRE MLB rosters! I think they know what it means to be paid! And, I would also say that 90% of those players return to their countries and contribute. I would say that sometimes, yes, athletes can be over paid. But, try being one. I guarentee that 99% of you all that have posted aren't. I played in the minor leagues for 4 years. I know what it is like to have "grind" it out to make ends meet. You people think that just because a person is a "professional" athlete, they all get paid Millions! Not true! Yes, there are those that do and im sure its overwhelming. However, I challenge any of you that say we are over paid, to spend your enitre life training, traveling and busting your a.ss everyday for the chance to make millions. Its not as glamorous as you all would think.
And I agree with what "T" said. The reason why they are paid that much, is because the amount of people that can do the job that millions of people watch everyday, is very slim. Not to take anything away from any other profession, but anyone can be a firefighter. Anyone can be a cop. I can't figure out rocket science, and I know I never will. And I can't run the finances of a Multi-billion dollar company. But i could play baseball..I didnt make millions..For baseball, ill give you an example. each year, they have the draft, and up until this year, they have 50 rounds. 32 teams, and 50 picks each.Roughly 1600 players drafted each year. Thats not a lot. Now, look at every MLB roster. you got 32 teams, with a max of 25 guys(until sept call up's when you get 40)Thats 800 players in the MLB. Half of the guys drafted. and as you know, guys have 10-15 year careers so they dont leave the league every year. So they keep drafting 1600 players every year! and there are still only 800 players that can play in the big leagues. 1% of every player drafted makes it..and, just guessing, that it is basically the same for the 2 other major sports. You show me another job where only 1% ever make it! tough to do..
So, for those who think they shouldnt get paid what they do, boycott..Stop sports all together..see what our country comes to without them. There was a reason that one of the main reasons that this country held together after 9/11 was bcause of sports. Our country needs them. And in order to have them, we need the players..To have the players, they need to be paid..How do they get paid? They use the money you people spend on tickets, jersey's and the NFL Sunday Ticket to watch these over priced athletes!
how the hell can u say that when every 10 seconds or so someone dies because they couldnt afford the necessaries like food and water that people take for granted everyday, or they couldnt afford medicine for simple sicknesses that are treated and cured everyday.
sure athletes are good entertainment but there is no way that they deserve that much money when doctors, who save peoples lives everyday, get paid like less than an eighth of what athletes are paid. how many athletes have saved someones life? zero, thats how many. its absolutly ridiculous!
right on "T" your exactly right. How can people complain about athletes being overpaid when most of them give back to the community and the fans, where some movie stars get $20 million for one film and they don't have to give up a dime. I hate it when people rip on athletes you know a lot of them came from nothing and had to work their way to the top. Movie stars usually grow up in rich families that have mom and dad buy them everything, its all given to them all they gotta do is look pretty.
Joe D your absolutely wrong. Look at how bad role models alot of these athletes are. Take steroids for example. All these MLB player got caught using steroids and now over a quarter of young men have said that they have used some performance enhancing drug. BAD BAD role models. Your wrong
I tottaly agree all the way!
athlete work hard and practice all the time so that they could be as good as they are and should get paid whatever they want to
The amount of money you get for a job has no relation to the importance.
I don't think anybody in our society can really ever be overpaid.
We live in a society where you are free to accept a job and someone is free to hire or not hire you. This is especially true in sports where the ONLY thing that matters is how you perform and do your job.
Its all supply and demand. These players are some of the best players in the world and you wont be able to find anyone like them.
sports fans like yourself pay to watch these guys play, and you pay big bucks.
if everyone can throw a baseball at 99mph or have such gifted athletic abilities to play a sport then we would all make millions of dollars, but the truth is hardly anyone can so don't hate on the people who can.
I do not agree. Athletes should be paid millions of dollars.
i clearly do not see why they get paid as much as they do. This is because the big game really is hockey but like there are soccer athletes that get paid more then hockey.Also all the players just want the money there are so many people that can't even afford food to keep them and there families alife. Like they should help out since they have so much money. And the people fighting for are lives dont get paid nearly at all as much as they do..
This is why they get paid as much as they do. They are workers that generate lots of revenue, and workers that generate lots of revenue gets paid alot of money. And top CEOs make over 200million a year but you know what they make too much money just like athletes they should stop makin money 2 LMFAO.
They ARE paid too much. I can kick a ball shoot a puck or basket but does that mean some billonaire that doesn't know what to do with his money is going to give me $25,000,000?! Paramedics, sergeons, teachers and many more that do for our world get paid tousands of dollars less, it's not fair! Athletes really don't need all that money and why are they getting it? All they do is entertain us and encourage young children to fight over stupid things. They really don't need it!
i dont agree. do you have fun goin to a b ball game?? i do. I think they deserve it!
Look, I read all this and I think you all have valid points. But in the real world how often does the arguement "its not fair" work? These people are paid the money they earned. Teachers at private schools get paid more because they generate more income, so do college professors, so dont go blaming the community for not paying teachers/doctors etc the money they dont have to pay them with. Athletes deserve everything they are paid because it's what they earned. I agree that they SHOULD donate at least some of it to 3rd world countries and to saving the rainforests, but that's really up to them now isnt it? I also wanted to mention that that diamond/water analogy was friggin awesome.
Im both sides on this one. I mean yeah they are getting millions of dollars to play a sport that you think you can do. But they dont actually get $250 million dollars to play they get aboout $20-30 million or alittle more to play. To get to the $250 million, it came from sponsors. I know some of you are thinking ' so! $20 million dollars is good too!' I agree, but its not like elementary or high school were the field is like 1/6 of the size of an actual field. Its not like 'yay! you caught a ball, yay you kicked a ball and in 3 more minutes in non stop rolling, it will go in!' no its not.
Try running fifteen miles in 90 minutes and you'll see how David Beckham (of those who don't know, he is a soccer player) feels after every game. And then the thought of millions of fans watching you? thats gotta put on some pressure.
And its not like they just play sports then go to there 5,000 square foot mansion and relax and play video games. They have to practice everyday and go around traveling. So if you think you can run 15 miles a game, practice for hours a day, sitting on a plane and being on a field nonstop every day then be my guest. we'll see how you feel in about 2 weeks.
i think athletes are way overpaid, i mean look at alex rodriguez of the yankees he gets $25 million a year, and you go accross town and david wright doesn't get close to that and last year he had a phenomenal year. Let me just say that i think both are good athletes though. I think athletes can be good athletes without the crazy dollar amounts.
This has helped put things into perspective a little better for me. I used to think it was "so unfair that some pro athletes get paid so much." But I understand that the economy and our society supports the sport world so thats how it will be. I think if they are good they deserve to be get the highest pay they can. I've played sports before and I know its tough. I think the real issue in it being "not fair" comes back to value. People are willing to pay that much to watch sports events and support their teams. As far as low salaries for teachers and some other jobs, is that an indication that maybe our society places greater value on entertainment than education?
I beilieve athletes are not paid enouhg money for the hard work and amount of hours they put in for practice and in the games!
my dad played 22 years of pro golf, its very stressful and their paycheck changes every week, they have no set contract
so i think pro athletes get payed the right amount
of course u can shoot a bball but ur not the best in the WORLD at it there genius.
I agree with T about this
I have a debating about there is too much money in sport and I could tell you that 80% of the money used to pay the athletes.
The athletes train hard, as hard as they could, to win the game. They are deserve lots of money for that. Look at it, 10-12 hours a day in the yard practising ,for example, soccer. If there is a match 5 months more, they have to train at least 500 hours.
They pay what they deserve to
Whats really annoying is that people who actually deserve the money (aka teachers and farmers etc.) are paid the scum of the earth while big shots who are playing big boy versions of tag are paid the big bucks. We couldn't live with out some one who was patient enough to teach us and we definately couldn't live without farmer cause they grow vital foods and yet we treat them like we don't need them. I'd like to see the athletes would do if they were only getting paid 35,000 a year. The big babies would probably sit in a corner and weep.
you know wat i can do with 134 million dang they do get paid too much then they are worth example the seattle sonics they should be buying their own stadium,.....
they are overpaid. What do they do for the country besides entertain people. There are other professions out there that deserve more credit than athletes, but they dont get it.
I believe that pro athletes are getting paid what they deserve...Who ever says that there are people starving across the world because they don't have basic needs full filled, they are right but how do you know what the pros do about it?! Pro athletes do donate a lot of money to those people in need but what do you do? If you EARNED $500.00 what would you do with it? Would you give those poor helpless people the things they need???
Athletes deserve the amount of money they are making. Yes it sucks if you work 40 hours a week in an office building and die never making a million dollars;whereas you have people such as kickers in the NFL making close to a million for just kicking a ball through two posts. In that sense, it can come off as unfair and you could say athletes are overpaid. However, if your skill is working in the office and theirs is kicking a ball, should they not get rewarded? They have an ability just as everyone else does and they deserve to get paid for it no matter how much that amount is. You can't complain about athletes being overpaid. Go in your backyard and practice kicking a ball for the next 4 years, then try out for the NFL. I say good for the athletes that can accomplish what they have so far. Not to mention athletes are entertaining all of us.
The most controversial sports events happen in America. Basketballers especially are way overpaid. Take Tyrus Thomas for example, a famous US basketballer, he won $35,000 at a “basketball all star weekend”
He said “I’m just in it for the money” it’s shameful to say such things.
It would be reasonable if these sports stars were making a difference in the world, but they aren’t!
For ‘playing a game’ these people are making more money than the people saving our lives, the people that are running our country!
The amount of money given to basketballers is an average of around 4.9 million dollars. What are sports people spending this money on ?
Their 4th Mercedes Benz, their 3rd house with countless unused rooms, $2000 shoes, wardrobes full of designer clothes.
There are so many more valuable things this money can be spent on, what about food and water for developing countries, medical supplies and more vacancies for hospitals, money for research to find cures for cancer.
Take a step back, look at what its 'real value' is
my name is samantha, im from australia i am 14years old, i wasnt so strong about this subject, but i had to do a debate on it and with time and research it has made me come to realise many wrong things about this industrie. i hope you like it whether you agree or disagree. comments would be appriciated =]
maybe these atheletes are making up for their lost time spent on foul shot after foul shot. or take professional golf, how can a price be put on the hundreds of hours spent at the practice range the money spent developing into the athlete the traveling the mental stress. maybe that 2 million dollar paycheck at the end of 4 days is just payback for thousands of practice hours that were done without wage. professional athletes arnt paid to practice they are paid to play. would you say that at the a man of age 25 dosnt deserve a paycheck for 2 million dollars after 25 years of tireless (not paid for) work...?
so here is my thinking pro athletes are way over paid most of them are money hungry now anyway they are more money loyal than anything else i read a comment saying that all the time they put into it that they earn their money. well i will tell you what i am a highschool football player i bust butt all summer long in the weightroom i go in on my own time i bust my butt all season long doing school work and practice i wake up early on saturday mornings to go and watch film i couldnt tell you how much time i invested in the last 4 years but i can say this i didnt see one penny for all of my time invested i did it for the love of the game football was life to me so if you ask me i will say yes pro athletes are overpaid they should play because they want to play not for money
i COMPLETELY disagree. some people are paid $80 million a year when some are only paid a fraction of that for a more practical job, such as teaching. athletes are DEFINATELY overpaid. P.S. the author of this may want to update his salary list.
we live in a society where we are paid based on the worth and value of our work. the way you put it, I'm almost tempted to agree with you, but you have to see, if athletes weren't paid so much, people would persue better careers. i don't know if you already touched on that, becuase i didn't read the whole conversation, but I'm saying it anyway. I'm going to post an essay i wrote on this subject later as food for your thought.
you guys that say they get paid as much as they should are idiots
When a surgens doing open heart surgery he has way more pressure than a athlete being out of thousands of fans.
Were talking about a human life here.
You couln'd pay 500 million to bring back somebody from the dead.
So yes athletes are over paid, they entertain and been through a lot, but who hasn't.
I agree with the last comment and they're getting paid as much as 97.6 million (tiger woods) a year.
Can you really believe that its because that the players work hard and have talent that they get paid, in some cases, 10,000 times more than scientists who are the reason we live in the world we do today, who put their whole lives, not 10- 20 years into their research.
And its a shame that us as a society as "T" said give the players the Price.
There is a difference in the word "justify" and "immoral." Whether or not they are paid too much is subjective. The fact is, it IS fair. The Entertainment Industry is a private industry where the government is not involved. Professions which fall under Social Services, Education, and Law, for example, are paid through the government. The truth is, Athletes as well as entertainers are one, not all paid in huge amounts and two, are paid when there is a high demand for that player. It is a job. Only those who are a professional athlete can say how much work they put into their job. We see the final "product". People want to be entertained. Americans buy merchandise and tickets. Even those viewers whom don't pay anything contribute. The more people whom watch shows such as American Idol encourage companies to sponsor so they may advertise. Take the superbowl for instance. the amount of money they get depends upon supply and demand. I agree, the troups are not paid enough however that is the governments job to decide that. This is not a communist nation (looking at america) and at least in this country we perchase magazines, books tickets etc, of our own free will. Boycott if you want, but it really isn't up to you.
I believe athletes are overpaid and actually waste our resources the public is paying taxes on. Think of how many athletes go to college with out any expenses because they can play a sport. A lot of them take classes they don't care about because they just want to make it big. Then you have a student who works harder than anyone else but since their family doesn't have money, they cannot attend the school they want because all of the money is going to pay for potention professional athletes, looking to make millions just to join a team. If you think people deserve 10 million dollar sign on bonuses, then you're fricken out of your mind. How can you justify the fact that most bench warmers, in the NFL, still make more than 90% of the public. You're arguing that athletes aren't overpaid? Maybe you should start funding dog fights and becoming criminals like 25% of the athletes so we can pay more money while you're sitting in jail. That's a great way to spend tax payers hard-earned money. What about the guys who refuse to show up because they want 17 million instead of 16 million? How do you justify that when you think if sports didn't exist, how much money would they be making? The people who argue athletes aren't overpaid are the people who make money because of them. You can argue value, price, demand...etc, nothing is worth watching people die while go bankrupt after making 13 million in one year. I don't even know how you sleep at night.
i totally agree that pro athletes get paid to much, they arent saviing lives like fireman or soldiers. the millions of dollars they get to throw a football should go to life savers and everyday hereos
i played 25 yearsin the NFL and i put my life on the line every game. i deserve what i earn. no one can take it away from me you dont no wat i go through out there
there not over paid.if u want them to make less money quit going to games and buying mechendise
The value of something, or someone, is what someone else is willing to pay. If no teams are willing to pay 25 million for a player, then that player is not worth 25 million.
Players are worth millions because owners have the millions and are willing to hand the money over. End of story. That doesn't mean I have to like it, I think the professional sports industry (among other industries also) is wasteful and self-indulgent, and a bit blown out of proportion, but still I recognize what value is and that players are worth what they are paid, because they are paid.
It is not the athletes Fault they get paid so much they are just doing it because it is what they love. If you cut their pay they would still play and people would still pay to see them. all for "Love of the game."
some of you guys r really ridiculous athletes are not over paid at all. they deserve every single penny they get. there not many people who can perform like them. and im 100% sure if u were getting that money u wouldn't complain one bit... so keep ur shit to yourself... and dont be jealous
athletes are the biggest waste of space to society. they complain when they make 8 million a year as oppose to the 10 million that they demanded. they are supposed to be role models and yet most of them are in and out of the law, do steroids, and don't do any charitable work. some of the athletes have started their own charities but let's think about this for a second. they OWN the charity. where and to whom do you think the money is going to? furthermore, some donate a penny of what they earn. you can't tell me that 8 million dollars a year is not enough for you to live off of when the poverty line in the united states is $16,000 for a family of 3!
dont be mad that they make like 100 times more then your yearly salary in one game
athletes deserve the money they make 100%. they have been training probably since they were what 4, to make it to the leagues or super bowl, etc. people who disagree don't know what your talking about. if you do, show us some proof! not all players use their money for bad or whatever. some put all their money into charity and I know that because diamond backs "Gonzalez" does that.they are all better than you think and they have worked so hard for this. Imagine if you were one of them and you read all of these comments.
There is no way any sportsperson should make over 1 million bucks!, we have homeless elderly, starving kids and an inadequate health system.
1. If average joe didnt pay such huge pay tv prices just to watch them they would be unable to generate this cash.
2. If you didnt watch all these "heroes" the west would probably not have an obesity epidemc and get of their arses and play sport themselves.
We have all been brainwashed by FOX SPORTS and Rupert Murdochs pay tv empire!!!! Pathetic
take into consideration that pro athletes take a great risk when they play their sport. If something should happen to them where they get severely injured, they need money for support. If a hockey player gets hit with a puck and becomes paralyzed, he needs money for health care and money to survive since he doesn't have another good paying job.
i don 't understand your point of writing. what do you want anyways?
I'm doing a debate saying sports athletes are paid too much, you don't seem like the person to be the affirmative but there is a prominent unfair distribution of money between different sports, this is when their is a difference between A Sport and A business, athletes in sports are paid not only a salary from their club though also sponsorship from companies. This shows sport people are just in a huge business which uses the alias name of sport. I probably lose the debate though I have to have a ping at trying to find one fault in Sport Athletes Salaries.
I'm the debating guy. Sport is just a huge business. look at the IPL it is just alot of businesses cashing in on the popularity of certain players. Invest in sport it could be hotter than property investing. I love the games that we have down under and the rivalry made, sport is a great business. If you play for your country that's still a game were you're being paid. If we cannot stop the Computer manufacturers, property investors, mining tycoons what is the point of stopping sports people getting paid. Its what the athletes do with the money, they could realise the humanity and injustice in nations outside of America, or go out to the pub, get in a brawl, get on the media and cash in on their publicity, even though they could be suspended from playing or even get the thinnest and most attractive partner, then go to central park in the twilight and give them a $100,000 ring. Average Joes may be jeolous of the athletes though we cannot stop them being ignorant to the worlds crisis status
sport stars get paid accordingly to how they play.
if u are upset with the fact that sport stars get paid so much, realise that most elite athletes have been training most their lives to be sucessful. Elite sport people such as the david beckham or peyton manning are in in the best .5% of people playing that sport, do you think that a life time of training followed with the responibility of being a pro sport player deserves the same amount that a teacher earns??
Correct me if im wrong but do teachers dedicate their lives (including their school time) studing to be a teacher??? i feel that people who are jelous of the dedicated sport players are people that are unhappy with their carrer and slacked off when at school/university.
Ask yourself, do you enjoy watching any form of sport?? do you realise that every time u buy a ticket to a game, or buying sport merchendise, or simply eating a box of cereal that sponsers a sport team that u are helping these sport teams that pay the big bucks too Sport stars.
Okay so you say everyone should get paid what they are worth???? My parents work a 5am-4pm job and my dad gets home and goes back to another job. He does not get paid good but yet he works with all his might. So I guess shooting a basketball, hitting a ball, and making touchdowns are worth a lot more than real hard workers. All I can say is WOW!
that is not what he's saying but believe what u want. What he simply is trying to say is that if your dad can do whatever a professional athlete does, tell him to try out, im sure he'll get paid that much and get famous as well. You cant blame athletes for stepping up to the plate and doing what they do, they entertain people, if no one is entertained by them, they wouldnt get paid nothing at all.
[quote] Im both sides on this one. I mean yeah they are getting millions of dollars to play a sport that you think you can do. But they dont actually get $250 million dollars to play they get aboout $20-30 million or alittle more to play. To get to the $250 million, it came from sponsors. I know some of you are thinking ' so! $20 million dollars is good too!' I agree, but its not like elementary or high school were the field is like 1/6 of the size of an actual field. Its not like 'yay! you caught a ball, yay you kicked a ball and in 3 more minutes in non stop rolling, it will go in!' no its not.
Try running fifteen miles in 90 minutes and you'll see how David Beckham (of those who don't know, he is a soccer player) feels after every game. And then the thought of millions of fans watching you? thats gotta put on some pressure.
And its not like they just play sports then go to there 5,000 square foot mansion and relax and play video games. They have to practice everyday and go around traveling. So if you think you can run 15 miles a game, practice for hours a day, sitting on a plane and being on a field nonstop every day then be my guest. we'll see how you feel in about 2 weeks.[quote]
I know i can run 15 miles a game, practise for hours a day & be on field nonstop everyday, But i gave it all up because i know it's not worth it. It's pointless really, you just run around and practise becasue someone says they'll pay you if your good enough at it! Sure I had the skills but there's so many other things i could be doing like studying suergry like i am currently and now I know people will pay me because im good at something, not just for the money I would have made.
oh please! Professional athletes deserve every cent of what they get, And people who dont agree, why dont you train ur ass off every single day. Athletes dont get to be professional just like that, it takes years of training, travel, and spending money, and what keeps them going is their passion for sport.
seriously, are all of you people who think athletes deserve their money stupid? or do you just not care about the underdog people who get paid hardly anything or the people all over the world who are suffering and fighting for scraps. if you think they are not overpaid, please just shut up and get enlightened.
MATE, think about the poooooor.....the pooooorrrrrrr.... the poooorrrrrrr I say! the POOOOOORRRRR!
yup.... the poor ones...
but atheletes deserved to, because of their profession
so...think again deeply
everyone have profession, and of course aiming for high income..
thats it
As a debate group, the members of this blog have a lot of research to do.
In any business, you need legal breaks and lunch time. At home, you need enough sleep and food to fuel your performance. Perhaps as an American, we have the advantage to over-achieve and come out on top. In third-world countries their definitions of success vary from ours.
In one particular instance, if an American institution dropped a truck-load of food in a third-world society, they would possibly gorge themselves and die because their bodies are not regulated or adapted to that manner of living.
Likewise, a "normal" citizen would literally "freak out" when placed in a baseball or football game. The surface study explains that it's not very complicated. The deep study explains that it is much more complicated than the visual aspect.
Who's right? Should athletes be paid as much as they do? Should musicians be paid as much as they do for one symphony? Should firefighters be paid more for putting their lives on the line to save your flame-encompassed house? Well, I ask, what is ethical? Perhaps athletes need continual training on how to budget their money or put it to good use to sustain those hungry fans who get a loan just to sit on the fifty yard line seat.
I don't necessarily find it a bad thing to be paid that much if that is your talent...but you bet your bottom dollar I am expecting you to support me too for my talent in my concert or what ever I do.
It's not about being paid too much, it's about hording money that is now static from the community and is not used for anything we consider reasonable.
these athletes dont even know what to do with all that money, even a million a year, still wouldnt know how to handle there money. there are better possisions that do so much more help for the society that deserve the money like police officers and teachers, i love the game of football but i definately would not deserve 30 million, thats outrageous, think about our economy, use some of that to pay out our debt or something, do something that the money can go good use to
This isn't an argument over if they "should" or "shouldn't". This business, just like any other, is about making money. Whether it involve the people behind it being greedy or selfish, isn't going to be altered by what we have to say or think. This business is fueled by the people who pay for the tickets, who pay for the entertainment. So lets quit abandoning our responsibility and if you want to see change, quit paying for this entertainment. When you criticize the people who pays them, your talking about yourself. So quit judging the business and if you really need to, judge what the athletes do with their money if you really are that much of an idiot /useless person to society.
I'm an athlete at a young age of 13and I can see already that professional athletes like Kevin Gaarnett get paid way too much for their occupation! As a female I feel the obligation to state that females only get paid only a fraction of the males. The top paid WNBA player only gets $87,000.
For the top paid team they get $700,000 to be divided all through the team of 12 players, and not to mention the coaches! That price of $700,000 is one of the lowest paid salaries in the NBA (which is said to be stated by "ashamed" fans of the NBA) Tickets for WNBA games are only about $15 when NBA games tickets cost about $45 per ticket (and that's not even for a good seat!). Where I come down on it is, things need to be changed around here or more equally divided.
Personally i believe that these players should not be paid this much because they obviously are not mature enough to handle millions of dollars. For instance Plaxico Burress went to a club with tons of money and a gun that most likely was bought with his pay check and shot himself in the leg.That is not what that money should be going to the money should be used for purchases that help out in the long run. I do appreciate what pro athletes do but i just wish that they could do things like old times where you played to have fun not to make millions then go spend their recent made millions on strippers, drugs, alcohol, guns, and bling bling. Some Athletes do make wise desisions with their money but i believe the ones that are clearly not mature enough should either be reduced pay or more heavely disiplined when they do something against the law or the conduct of their sports league so when they do get (sorry for my poor use of words) fucked by the long cock of the law they learn that they should make wiser decisions. Thanks for reading what i had to say and that is the way i feel.
I totaly agree
If war and an economical downfall were not happening right now this question would be one of the biggest issue right now, are athletes overpaid?
Athletes like Alex Rodriquez and Kobe Bryant are getting paid all these millions, but are they worth it? YES! Think about this the New York Yankees payroll is 209,081,579 dollars, thats a lot of money but think about how many fans go to Yankee Stadium every year and buy 8 dollar beers and 4 dollar hot dogs. Or here's another one Kobe Bryant just hit a three to win the game at Staples Center, and your sitting watching with your 2,500 courtside tickets and your 80 dollar replica jersey. Are you getting my point? If not baseball is expecting 80 million fans this year with an estimated revuene of 6.5 billion dollars. The reason why athletes are getting paid so much is YOU! Can you tell me the last time someone put a gun to your head and said watch the game or else? Why do you complain so much about an athletes salary when you are the one's buying the merchandise, buying the 2,500 tickets, and watching the games on t.v., my friend Webster would define you as a HYPOCRITE. The sports industry is a 100 billion dollar industry. And if you are thinking yeah, yeah athletes just buy fancy sports cars and beautiful homes with the money, wrong again. 12 combined athletes raised 500 million dollars. Thats only 12 athletes, their are over 10 million athletes in the world, think about all they do. The average American works at their job for 35-40 years, if an athlete plays for 10-15 years it's amazing. The average football player plays for 3.5 years, now compare that to the average American, 3.5 years to 35 years. Can you name the 5 richest men in the world? If you think athletes are on the list of the richest people in the world your not even close!
Warren Buffet...62 billion dollars
Carlos Slim Helu...60 billion dollars
William Gates lll...58 billion dollars
Lakshmi Mittal...45 billion dollars
Mukesh Ambani...43 billion dollars
Tiger Woods the richest athlete in the world makes 100 million dollars a year, it will take him 620 years to match Warren Buffets annual salary. To Warren Buffet, Tiger Woods salary is chump change. We live in a economy know as capatilism but what excactly is it? An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market. Sports is a corporation, as long as they are making money why can't they make more? Think about this: your job offers you 7 dollars an hour, then someone comes along and offers you 17 dollars an hour to do the same job, are you going to turn that down? No, you would have to be an idiot, but the average Joe is going to take that and laugh all the way to the bank. Don't bag on athletes because they are doing what they love and getting paid to do it, the owners are out to make a profit, the athletes are not overpaid; they are simply getting their fair share of the money they earned for their abilities. When you walk out of a movie theater you don't complain about actors when they are making 20 million dollars a movie and you are paying 10 dollars for a movie ticket and the movie only lasts one hour to an hour and half. While for baseball you pay 8 dollars for a ticket and you are watching a live game and enjoying a past time for hours on end. The truth is not every athlete you see is getting that fat check, some athletes are lucky to make that 45,000 dollars in the minors and hope a team will pick them up when the sad thing is some never play in front of all those thousands of fans and hear the cheering in Yankee Stadium. Or as a top running back you have the fans cheering in the Super Bowl your name and its 4th and inches you turn one way your knee turns another, your sponserships,your chance to play, your career is gone. Athletes are entertaining us by putting their bodys and career on the line every game and are repaying us and giving back to charity and what do some of you have to say, they are overpaid.
---Keaon D
I know! Being an athlete is a HUGE job! Everyone thinks it's so easy but it's not. I'd like to see you try to train VERY hard everyday and work your butt off to keep fans saticfied. Look, it may look easy, but once you think about it, it takes talent, patients and strenght. Who ever wrote this article: good job. It's good to see someone actually apreciates our fellow athletes. WOOT LeBron James! I'm a girl and even I see the importance of the players.
you know what also takes a lot of hard work and training becoming a doctor. i would like to see you try to stick it out and get into medical school let alone make it through. or how about having the courage running into a burning building not knowing if you are going to make it out... what is an easier job driving your 300K car to work so you can play basketball or suiting up to perform a brain surgery that will save someones life. you tell me who is paid more. that is what i thought. i think that sports are a very important part of society giving young kids the idea of teamwork and confidence but those are elementary. you do that before college and its always less important that learning. heck some of these athletes don't even go to college or finish college... what a life. in my opinion they contribute the least to society. college sports are way better anyway and they don't get paid a dime. they are the true hero balancing sports with education and most of them become doctors or other usefull parts of society.. so in fact we don't need pro sport athletes.
you know what also takes a lot of hard work and training becoming a doctor. i would like to see you try to stick it out and get into medical school let alone make it through. or how about having the courage running into a burning building not knowing if you are going to make it out... what is an easier job driving your 300K car to work so you can play basketball or suiting up to perform a brain surgery that will save someones life. you tell me who is paid more. that is what i thought. i think that sports are a very important part of society giving young kids the idea of teamwork and confidence but those are elementary. you do that before college and its always less important that learning. heck some of these athletes don't even go to college or finish college... what a life. in my opinion they contribute the least to society. college sports are way better anyway and they don't get paid a dime. they are the true hero balancing sports with education and most of them become doctors or other usefull parts of society.. so in fact we don't need pro sport athletes.
"you guys that say they get paid as much as they should are idiots
When a surgens doing open heart surgery he has way more pressure than a athlete being out of thousands of fans.
Were talking about a human life here.
You couln'd pay 500 million to bring back somebody from the dead.
So yes athletes are over paid, they entertain and been through a lot, but who hasn't."
Actually, if you compared a surgeon's salary over about 50 years to a football players over about 15, you would get roughly the same amount. And to those people who say that they are overpaid because of other people in hard conditions or poverty, that's why America is a democracy.
can i get your autograph
email eunderwood23@yahoo.com
Honestly, these athletes are OVERPAID for the service they give. They are playing silly children games; they are merely entertainers like circus clowns, just for our amusement. But only because society is willing to pay for it. You people love sports and are willing to pay for the entertainment that is why they are being overpaid.
Teachers, Doctors, Engineers, etc. are underpaid, but it's the way a capitalist economy works. It seems like society as a whole value entertainment more than a good education, good health care, and good roads/bridges. If society valued these things more than entertainment, we would have better salaries for people who actually provide meaningful service. And if the government butted in and forced salary caps on how much athletes should make and how much it should cost to see a game, etc. Then we won't have overpaid athletes. But when will *that happen in America? (that as in both our values changing and having a more communistic style government, at least towards entertainment)
yes I agree doctors don't even have half the amount of money paid for them and they save lives!
I agree and I'm doing a debate on it thanks for the info.
Wow! Guys come on, none of you have a good enough argument. Athletes are WAY overpaid. Sure they are entertainment but we don't NEED it, we NEED soldiers out there saving our butts!! Or people out there educating Americas future!! And about what they call "Giving back to the community" Yeah right, it's just for the fame, guess what- more $$$$ for them! People are out there dying from starvation and others are out there spending their millions on a 22 yatch for running around tackling another person! Really, how do we stand for this?
i agree 110 percent
Honestly does not matter what you all think, it's a reality.
Now here is something to think about.
Dan Gable trains average kids to become national champions. My point being that a lot of people can be trained to be "elite". If they are coached right and truely believe. There is no such thing as a natural and it is a proven fact.
Like anything you work hard to get where you are and trust me all of them work hard to be where they are today.
Same goes with business. Think of it this way. If a programmer comes up with an idea that will save the company millions and even billions a year would he get the benefits. Nope he still is making his average salary.
So you say well there are a lot of programmers that could have done the same and I say to you I assure you there and plenty of atheletes that could have done the same. It's a mute point.
We have to accept that society has just accepted it that way and money drives people to do better so in sports people to go to extremes today to succeed.
What I'm getting at is it is sad that businesses don't adopt this philosiphy. Instead we give it to the executive staff when statistically it is proven that less then 20% of the time that ideas ever stem from them.
So now I ask you whose is right?
And another fact for all of you. You talk about how sports do so much for the economy when in fact it only makes up about 2% of the GDP and a lot of reasons for that is that most sports figures as much as we like make for poor decisions when reinvesting.
...And this goes to the brillent women that posted. We all train at least 8 hours a day on our jobs. It's not as physical but I assure you mentally it is just as hard.
You keep on believing that because I can assure you, you are the perfect employee for that CEO that is making millions upon millions off you.
In my honest opinion I believe athletes are paid way to much. There are people all over the world that play the game for free and love it. Then there are doctors, dentists, the army, firefighters, ect. They all save lives and with out these people doing their jobs we would die. They definatly do not get paid as much as the athletes do and athletes are only doing their job to entertain. If anyone should get paid nearly as much as they do it should be the people we absolutly need to do their jobs. So before you state your debate on this question think about this, would you rather have athletes get paid this money or the people that we all regularly use their services but hardly ever give credit to?
if the president got paid that money, would he want to help the country or just be out for the money?
The way that I see it is more of problem with our society as a whole. I do feel that athletes are paid to much, but it is the fans fault. The fan is willing to pay hundreds of dollars to see a game, thousands for a playoff or championship game, hundreds of dollars for memorabilia, hundreds of dollars for a "sports" tv packages. But when it comes down to paying the teacher that molds and educates their child they whine if that teaches asks for a raise to put food on the table. Not sure what the average teachers salary is but I am sure it isn't much. Then that same person will complain about paying a few thousand dollars out of pocket for an operation that saves their life. But they sure as heck won't miss the Lakers in the playoffs. I don't blame the athletes at all. It is the fans fault that our values have gotten so out of whack. These athletes are playing a game, it has no real value.
It's funny how all of you are on here arguing about overpaid athletes. Yes people are out there starving, you realize that these althetes that are so called "overpaid" give to these countries. There is only so much one person can do. If you are on here ARGUING about these 3rd world countries and how they are starving, are YOU helping them or just using them as an example??? Athletes are talented, I give them that. They get paid for their talent. If you don't like that they are "overpaid" dont watch sports, you argue that they are overpaid, yet you still pay to watch them play, whether it be to go to a game, or the cable/satallite you have. By watching these sports you are ADDING to their salaries! You aren't out there arguing that movie stars are overpaid are you? No, I didn't think so. They are paid more then an athlete for ONE movie. Know why? because you go see their movie in theatres, and then you buy it when it comes out, or you rent it, all that adds to what they have ALREADY made just to MAKE the movie. You realize that althetes only have so long to be apart of the sport they play? They get too old to play and no one wants them. You have a job your whole life, not a limited time. Just chill out, grab a soda and watch some talented people play the game they love.
I agree with this articale "Are Athletes Payed Too Much". if someone has a skill that is in high demand, like in a sport then yes they can sell their skill to the highest bidder to make a profit. it's supply and demand and if a sports team wants a certain player they will pay as much as it takes to get that player. we all have to remember that the sports industry is a business and we can't get mad if someone's getting payed a lot to play just because they are successful in what they do.
you said athletes are paid for what they are worth, than why are they paid more than $10,000 teachers and doctors are the ones making the difference in our society, athletes do nothing. ur stupid
6 years later in 2010; Did you know that firefighters get paid 44,000 dollars a year and now in 2010 Alex Rodrugiez of the New York Yankees gets paid 33 million dollars. Lets measure this for 2 seconds, risking your life to die painfully in a fire or risking a hurt shoulder. Hmmmm was it hard to see who actually diserves it?
Another thing, everyone who is saying that they are paid the right amount because if they weren't they would complain, think about this. They shouldn't be playing for the money, they should be playing for the love of the game. Even I who most would condier a child know that. I pay a bunch of money to play lacrosse because I love it, not because I hope that one day people will pay me huge sums of money. Oh and another thing use proper punctuation and spelling.I haven't even graduated from the 8th grade amd my spelling is better, come on.
I don't think that athletes are paid too much for what they do, as it is quite common to be almost unable to walk after 35 if you were a pro athlete,even without specific injuries, but I do feel that there should be:
1) A better balance between what is paid for sports, and what is paid for necessary, and lifesaving jobs jobs, to encourage more fit men to choose a job as a fire-fighter rather than an athlete
2) A better balance between what is paid for different sports (it is almost impossible to be a professional gymnast, even at the very top of the sport, because so little is paid to come and watch it)
3)Greater equality between men and women's pay for the same standard of play at a sport, although this may not be achieved as top sportsmen are on average stronger and faster than top sportswomen
Before anyone shoots me down for sexism, I would like to point out that there is a biological reason for this (testosterone encourages muscle building) , and that I am a woman, and don't feel that women are worse than men
I think that many athletes are under payed while some are over payed. Many difficult sports such as gymnastics and rowing are underpayed while things like AFL and all the "macho" sports are payed millions!!!! Gymnastics is the hardest sport in the world, yet they get paid hardly anything??! How is this fair. Some athlete can win many gold medals and still get no money from the government. As a training athlete myself, I am outraged that people may think that athletes are over paid!! We work EXTREMELY hard, hours a week, more than the average citizen! I might also add that equality of payments towards different athletes from different sports should be reviewed all over the world especially in Australia!!
I really agree with you
Although it is more open minded about why athletes are paid so much and I would have to agree about the market. We are still very closed minded to the real problem. Perhaps this article can open some minds up further.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1255279/Fabio-Capello-dared-say-think-overpaid-footballers.html#
We created athletes and what they are today. People think they are just big babies and all they think about is money…. Well that may be true for some but in reality we have created this. For all those people who are useing examples of starving children in the world i have a suggestion for you, if we instead of watched a game or bought our favorite players jersey or went to the big game last night if you just donated that time and money then guess what the people threwout the world will be better off and athletes wouldn’t get paid the amounts that they do…. But wait you are the same way you don’t want to give of your time and money you just want to spend it with how you want to spend it on and so do they. The media and fans are the reason these athletes are getting the big bucks so don’t hate on them because of your own creation.
what pisses me off is when for example derek jeter wants $23-25M a year for 4-5 yrs and balks when team offers 3 years for total $45M. i mean, how much does one person need?? geez louise
this is why i support college sports, alot of the players dont get paid and the better ones get paid much less than the pros...like cam newton and his pops getting about 200k at auburn,etc
While I do believe athletes are overpaid, that is not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is how fast these idoits blow their money. According to an NFL more than 80% of retired NFL players go broke after they retire. 80%. How is it possible to spend all that money so quickly? I believe that the main culprit of this is giving a 20 some old person millions of dollars and then just expecting them to be smart with their money. The millions of dollars being payed to them doesnt nearly piss me off as much as seeing ochocinco buying himself a semi for his birthday. I mean come on. Grow Up.
I absolouteley agree... Most of these althletes we are talking about have worked hard since they were young to get where they are!
Okay I know that baseball players do deserve quite some money, and that they are hard working, but come on people do they derserve more money than someone that can save millions of people. There are people out in the world that make a difference and instead of giving that 25,000,000 million to someone that is a great athlete give it to someone that actually makes a difference in the world. i mean there people that are trying to cure cancer and your willing to give it to someone that, gosh danget hits a ball and runs in a circle. I understand that sport players deserve to get paid money but not more than someone that could literally save your life in the future, I mean come on
here is what i think.... i think do athletes get paid too much? yea! but is anyone going to do anyting? nope! and you cant compare 25,000 dollars to 25,ooo,ooo dollars sorry but thats reality!
My brother plays professional footbal and rides the pine.... everybody in the organization know they are getting paid too much.
here are some points.
we as viewers are just allowing it to continue. we buy an 8 dollar beer and pay 100 bucks to watch the game.
the organization knows this and thirves off of it. good business you might say? yess but is it right? well whole different argument I personally dont think so. they could easily take 40,000 off each paycheck to the players and save every american a much needed 80 bucks. pro golfers make a ton of money just through endorsments and sponsors and if you aint making cuts then teach and you will be just fine(I know a few who play the pepsi). your debate is based on opinion so dont tell people there cant base there arguments on feelings. if you want facts well there is no fact that says yes or no... just our opinions... personally i think that it isnt justifiable to pay an athlete 25 mill when you have someone serving in Iraq that makes 40k. we live in a business world and I get that but does that mean I agree with it or think its right. you asked if athletes are paid to much? my opinion is yes.. do you think they deserve it... heres a question to you... you talk about value in the players... there are many ex pro or ex college athletes that serve our country. and so you think the ones that make 25 million playing games on the free soil that are soldiers are fighting for making 40 k a year are more valuable? just because athletes are more "rare" doesnt mean they deserve to make that much money... just a few thoughts..
thanks for the good info
how can anyone disagree with this blog? its 100% correct..
You think athletes are overpaid? EVEN THO THEY GENERATE their income and much much more from sales for tickets and memorabilia and ect??
So you think even though a Sports team makes hundreds of millions from paying customers, the players of the team should not get a few million out of those 100's of millions the team made?
So what you think the players should make far less and the rich owners should be even more rich? (and with them your talking close to or over BILLIONS)
WAKE UP - its the same with any big entertainment indusdry like tv movies music ect. They generate a massive ammount of money and they get a slice of the pie, which happens to be millions..
If you were getting paid commision on sales and were GREAT at what you did and made 10x what others made, would that be unfair? no - because its only a percentage of the money you actually generate for you company - SAME CONCEPT IN SPORTS!
I read your blog, i agree with you.
but i think athletes are being paid to much to just kick a football around. Alot of there money comes from sponsorship and endorsements. I think within todays society, with problems with obesity, and bad healthy living. Sports stars should be promoting good healthy lifestyle choices, i think with there wages and contracts, 40% of there salary should be placed on good healthy living and reducing the many problems that society has, if athletes want more money, they should work for it within a community value. instead of Nike giving them another 10 million just for hitting a tennis racket in a 10 second commercial.
In my opinion its wrong.
If athletes love their sport so much, then they don't need millions of dollars to play per year. It's just a sport. Yes, people love to watch, but what about our doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers, EMTs, scientists, and people dedicating their life to find cures to cancer and other diseases? What about our soldiers? We have people in our country that help save lives, and even risk their own lives to protect our country and save other people from harm. Some of the aforementioned careers require years and years of secondary education, leaving the doctors, nurses, scientists, and others who actually help our society in serious debt. Our soldiers, firefighters, and police officers get paid so little to put their lives on the line every single day. Athletes get paid ridiculous amounts of money to play a sport, when the people that cure, save, and protect our society get paid nowhere near that. That's not right.
-DJ
That would never work out, because why would anyone work to be a doctor or lawyer, when they could stock shelves at Walmart and make the exact same amount of money.
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