Why Professional Athletes Are Overpaid

When trying to become a professional athlete, one must start playing sports as early as possible (Ferguson 34).Playing sports comes with many sacrifices. Athletes must commit time to

While participating in a sport requires a great deal of time and energy, many people have neglected the ways sports can provide a healthier lifestyle and anticipate them as a complicated which can result in delicate lives. As generations change so do people's mindsets. People have

Growing up many of us knew the importance of sports and recreational activities and how they benefit both physical health and mental health. Our parents, school teachers, the media, and even our childhood sporting hero’s told the importance of sports and how it can keep us fit and healthy.

What many people fail to see in an athlete is the amount of talent in them, the commitment they have, the intense training they go through, and the competitive attitude they posses. The physical challenges they face and endure is astonishing. An average person works eight hours a day behind a desk with his computer. Imagine working the same number of hours everyday while training your abilities, maintaining your physical form, and sharpening your skills (Anonymous par. 4). That is what a professional athlete endures. Athletes face short career lengths. They also face a lot of competitiveness; therefore, an athlete is at the top of his game when he is still young. Professional athletes also face the risk of career ending injuries when they are fighting to win a game and be the best they can. Combining all those problems they face, the average career length of an athlete is five years (Keown par. 2). Not only do these athletes need to stay in shape, but they also have to perform well. But all the hard works leads to health issues such as lack of sleep, fatigue, and continuous tension (Wilson par.3). If they are not able to put up to the

Staying physically fit at all times increases playing stamina and their abilities, but how is that different than the everyday man or woman that takes his or her work home with them at night? Here’s a scenario that may put things into perspective. A young sports fan has entered the work force as a welder. He is relatively new to the profession but is doing well enough. This fan works hard to pay off his bills and have money for the future. He wants to watch his favorite player win the game for the team, but by the time he buys the ticket and eats the outrageously priced food the total bill comes up to a few hundred dollars for just one night. Many people can’t afford to do this because they are trying to save enough money to put their kids through college and cover their basic needs while the professional athletes can decide where to spend the rest of their money. He then sits and watches his favorite player go through the game not putting much effort into it. This scenario raises the question: Do athletes put in enough hard work to receive the amounts of pay they do? This can be seen as robbing the sports fans because the athlete didn’t even try while the welder must work hard all his life to stay afloat (Are Professional).

Abstract:  Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.

Athletes are overpaid by their couches and businesses just for playing in their team’s games and doing commercials. Even after they retire they still make more money than they work for. They are paid millions every year, Shaqeel Oneel made enough money that he could hire builders to make him a full sized basketball court in his basement. Furthermore, Peyton Manning makes about 700 thousand after he retired. Most athletes don’t know how to handle that much money a pro football player bought a Ferrari even though he didn’t know how to drive. Another pro NFL player spent 30 thousand dollars on earrings. Some pro athletes know how to spend money a few athletes invested their money in companies. Other athletes donated to charities and other organizations. Few athletes do

When it comes to the world of sports, all sports, many topics come into debate when discussing the day to day issues facing athletes and their chosen careers. Many concerns with athletes are usually two sided and are black and white arguments without much gray area in between. Most of these issues with sport revolve around the athletes who play them. Such problems that sports spectators argue about are the leagues and athletes choices and if they are beneficiary to the sport that they consume. Many athletes of all levels make great sacrifices for the sport that they play,

When sports exploded in the 1900’s athletes were paid like regular working citizens. Most athletes had to work over the summer to keep their mortgages paid. In present day, professional athletes are dished out astronomical salaries in exchange for their play. Many of these athletes have the opportunity to be set for life within the first years of their contracts. Eighteen and nineteen year olds are given multi-million dollar contracts. While these athletes are getting paid these ridiculous amounts of money, we have millions of hard working public service members that are getting the tiniest fractions of some of these contracts. In comparison, “each basket

Accomplished athletes seemingly deserve the disproportionately large amounts of earnings in comparison with those of other professionals. This is partly due to the many years of intensive training they have to undergo with mostly subsistence wages and nebulous future. Facts have shown that most of them can never reach the tipping point of their careers, omitting to gain any significant recognition. Those who have trained industriously enough to win in contests earn themselves the higher incomes owing to their profound influence of being the role models of perseverance on the public.

The passages present a discussion about arguments concerning whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. This is an important debate since professional sports represents a multi-billion-dollar-per-year industry. The two positions argue whether or not professional athletes should be paid the large yearly salaries they are paid. Both viewpoints have valid claims warranting consideration. For example, evidence suggests that people with far more important jobs are paid much less than professional athletes; in contrast, opposing evidence suggests that since professional athletes generally have short careers and must train very hard to build and maintain their skills, the higher salary is justified. While both sides of the issue have valid points, the viewpoint that professional athletes are not overpaid is the best-supported position, the position supported by the preponderance of the evidence cited in the passages. The strongest and best reasons supporting this position are that professional athletes must endure grueling and intensive training, they generally have short careers that often end in injury, and the amount that they are thought to be paid is often inflated. Accordingly, these reasons and opposing viewpoints will be discussed next.

In the words of Participant 27, a 37-year-old Manager, “We are offered health talks by experts on healthy lifestyle… dieting, resting and doing what’s right for the body. We are always told, to achieve the desired results, we are encouraged to particularly participate regularly in the right way to obtain the maximum benefit we also relay this to the athletes.” Sport participation exposes athletes to new ideas and ways of doing things. Participant 54, a 22-year-old elite athlete explains that “I like the educational part because there is always something new to learn… we learn the most effective and latest techniques for training to obtain optimum performance in

Professional sports leagues need to do more to help prevent physical injuries in sports “Physical/Medical Symptoms include Sleep difficulty Change in appetite and/or weight Shaking, trembling Fatigue, tiredness, weakness Gastrointestinal complaints, headaches Overuse injuries” In all sports athletes have pressure to do well which leads to large amounts of stress. Many people believe that the only injuries professional athletes can face are physical. However, athletes can also experience emotional issues such as stress. They can also suffer from economical issues such as college athletes not being payed during their college career. Some people will say that stress is just part of the game and that every player encounters it. Every player does encounter stress but on massive amounts. Players should on occasion get some breaks due to stress. As a result Professional Athletes will endure emotional injury during their career just as much as they endure physical

Many people agree that there has been a sense of justice when remunerations of the sports professions are frequently at the top of the highest-paid people. Granted that the careers of athletes are relatively short, commencing from five or six years of age, they may sacrifice the youth, blood, sweat and tear. Their serious attempts deserve fabulous prizes, enviable reputations and a large sum of money.

According to Markser there is a common idea that only emotionally strong athletes can compete at the professional level and therefore, mental disorders do not occur in professional athletes (Markser, 2011). However, it can be concluded that there are just as many cases of mental disorders in professional athletes as there are in the general public (Markser, 2011). Anxiety disorders are common amongst both gender athletes, and are acknowledged in the sport psychology field (Markser, 2011). Eating disorders are also subject to a lot of research in this field (Markser, 2011). It has been documented that 15% of female athletes that take part in an aesthetic sport suffer from anorexia or bulimia (Markser, 2011). It can also be stated that athletes that take part in endurance sports or sports where weight is an important factor, are at a higher risk of suffering from eating disorders (Markser, 2011). 23% of athletes who have reported taking anabolic steroids also report symptoms of bipolar disorder, and 12% report symptoms of psychotic disorders (Markser, 2011). Depression is the most common mental disorder of athletes (Markser, 2011). It is approximately just as common a mental disorder amongst athletes as it is in the general public (Markser, 2011). Rigorous exercise can contribute to depression, but also positively affect it (Markser, 2011). Regular physical