Athletes Salary Research Paper

Are professional athletes overpaid? This topic has been argued for some time now. It is said that pro athletes are paid way too much money for playing a sport. On the other side, there are the ones that say that the money is fairly deserved because of their hard work to get to where they are. Should pro athletes ' salaries drop or stay as is? Do the top athletes deserve their pay?

Professional athletes are highly talented and determined entertainers with extraordinary physical abilities. They compete in various sports to entertain people and make a living. Those include basketball, football, baseball, hockey, tennis, and the list goes on to any athlete that gets paid to play. These athletes train really hard and for long hours to be the best at what they do. Fans pay to watch them perform because they really enjoy seeing them. Like other entertainers, such as actors and singers, athletes are paid large amounts for their performances. Professional athletes are not overpaid for the amount of physical and mental stress they go through to do their job.

Do you think professional athletes are overpaid? You might think they earn more than what they are worth for playing half a year, but athletes have many things which contribute to their salary. Some of these things include their earnings from endorsements, ticket sales, performance, merchandise, their social contributions, and TV ratings. Although there are many factors that contribute to their salary, professional athletes may be overpaid because as a society, we contribute to their success. So, in the end, part of the athlete’s salary comes from the people who support the sports in the first place. These are just some of the reasons why athletes are paid so much money.

In thirteen years of golf, Tiger Woods has made over a billion dollars making him the highest paid athlete ever. He has been the highest paid athlete now for five years in a row. We all know that many people in the world watch him play every weekend and admire him, but is the amount of entertainment he provides really worth 128 million dollars a year? Tiger is only one of many professional athletes who are extremely overpaid. “People forget that sports is entertainment,” says Leonard Armato, a sports agent. Although professional athletes provide entertainment for millions of viewers around the world, they are overpaid because the millions of dollars that they make could be distributed more evenly throughout society and go to things of a

Bennett, Dashiell. “Only 22 Of 120 Division I Athletic Programs Made Money Last Year.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc., 15 Jun. 2011. Web. 28 Oct 2014.This supports Frank Crumley’s claim that most athletic programs “work in the red.” The author also shows how football is the big money maker. Not all departments can pay their players. Therefore, it would be unfair for departments that can pay their players to do so. The figures come from the NCAA annual report of revenue and expenses for Division I sports. This is one of my main arguments against paying football players.

The chants grow louder, "Dayne, Dayne, Dayne", its 4'Th and goal, the Badgers trail Michigan by 5 with six seconds left. The winner takes home the title as the 1999 National champions. The ball is snapped, Bollinger drops back, fakes the pass, and pitches it to Dayne. He dodges a tackle, bounces off 2 blue jerseys, and stumbles in the end-zone for the game winning TD. Dayne's hard work and perseverance "paid off" and led Wisconsin to a victory.

As of today, there are over 460,000 NCAA student-athletes that compete in 24 different sports while in college throughout the United States (NCAA). Over the past couple decades, the argument for paying these college athletes has gained steam and is a hot topic in the sports community. However, paying these college athletes is not feasible because most universities do not generate enough revenue to provide them with a salary and some even lose money from the sports programs. These collegiate student-athletes are amateurs and paying them would ruin the meaning of college athletics. Also, playing college sports is a choice and a privilege with no mention or guarantee of a salary besides a full-ride scholarship. Although some argue that

From just 2004-2009 there were over 41,000 injuries in college football (NCAA). That means over 41,000 student-athletes had varying medical expenses to pay while still enrolled in college. College athletes simply don’t have time for jobs because of the demand of collegiate level sports; therefore, these athletes need a source of income to cover imminent medical bills. Colleges offering players a small salary would give injured players the financial support they need to get healthy.

Many people enjoy the competitiveness of collegiate athletics and the universities themselves love the amount of revenue it brings in each year. With the crowd going wild throughout the game and the passion athletes show, it’s a pastime that is rarely boring. A common discussion is if college athletes should be paid. College football and basketball generates 6 billion dollars annually. Which in total is more than the National Basketball Association (Brill 1). These athletes are practically working full time to improve in and out of season. They are putting their bodies on the line during game time too often to later in life compensated. Major injuries aren’t always the ones you get immediately. Down the road when athletes are adults their

Imagine working hours and hours at hand. Days, months and even years go by as you wake up dedicated and perform your best, giving maximum effort. Working for a business which makes billions of dollars at ease, and you are a major contributor to the success. Yet, you do not get paid. At moments you even undergo hunger while travelling with the business. This business is the NCAA, while coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University and John Harbaugh of Michigan are bringing in seven and nine million dollars a year, the players who sacrifice their bodies bring in nothing. While many players receive scholarships they should also receive some sort of pay to keep up with the constant travel, millions no, but enough to live comfortably, yes.

Both Dave Zirin in "The Shame of the NCAA" and Tim Ajmani in "Compensation for College Athletes" would agree that student athletes are being taken advantage of. In Zirin's piece, he speaks about how this treatment towards these students is a civil rights issue. These students are being overworked on the field, some may consider playing a sport in college is more than a full-time job, and aren't getting form of payment or protection. These corporations and universities are “enriching themselves on the backs of uncompensated young men whose status… deprives them of the right to due process guaranteed by the Constitution"(Zirin 204), the NCAA justifies its purpose with two principals, amateurism and student athletes. Since these athletes are students and playing amateur games, they don’t have to be compensated. The NCAA also justifies the fact that students don’t get paid by giving them free room and board but Ajmani makes a point that paying students would provide more of a motive for them to stay in school and complete their degree. In Ajmani's

In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding

In the economically driven world that we live in today we tend to compare salaries among professions and judge whether or not that amount is a just representation of their work. Salaries create a scale in which we associate the amount paid with the importance or impact of a job. We then come across certain professionals that many feel get paid unfairly for the level of importance of their job. This hot seat is usually reserved for professional athletes and their salaries. Are professional athletes overpaid? With the use of an argumentative essay I will explore this topic.

The source that will be evaluated is a scholarly article from the articles provided in Unit 4 that corresponds to the topic of paying college athletes. To begin, the article is titled “Paying College Athletes” by Justin D. Garda. This article was published in the March 2016 Research Starters Education on pages 1 through 1.4.

Did you know athletes do not technically have to play to get paid? Depending on the terms and clauses in a player’s contract, the fact of playing a game, may not affect his/her wallet. The Athlete’s unforeseen circumstance that could lead them to the bench-such as an injury or performance slump- may not negatively impact their pocket. Keep in mind, most contenders make an average salary of 3.2-5.15 million a year.The athletes in today’s generation are overpaid in the world because of the need for entertainment.