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Are Professional Athletes Overpaid?

By John Gugie, published Mar 25, 2008
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I believe that professional athletes are drastically overpaid. We see athletes getting paid millions of dollars just to throw or kick a ball. I mean what importance are they to society beyond entertainment? They aren't.

I think that the athletes being overpaid issue begins in school with high school and college. Schools place an emphasis on sports, making students neglects their studies and grades because it is reinforced that from a young age that supports are an important part of life. Students who excel in sports have inflated egos because the schools are telling them that they are good at sports and should focus on it.

I am disabled and participated in many high school academic activities and competitions. Many able-bodied students also were involved with these activities. I remember lots of times when the teacher advisors for these activities try to ask the school district for our money to run our activities, including transportation, supplies, promotion, among other things. Most of the time the school gave us a limited budget or not at all, while sports was well-funded and received funds at the snap of the coaches' fingers. What does this tell students? It tells them that it pays to play sports more than it does to use one's mind to compete. I think this is the sad reality of school life.

High school athletes see professional athletes on TV received millions of dollars in salaries and the idolization my millions of fans. This makes them really want to become professional athletes later in life and so they neglect their studies and focus on sports.

During the junior and senior years of high school, the college recruiters start looking for great athletes to sign up with their college to play sports for large amounts of money. The colleges bribe the athletes with scholarships, cars, money, and many other perks to go to their schools. Of course, to young people at this age, the lure of big money and fame is a great attraction for them and they will aim for it.

Comments
Comments 1 - 7 of 7
 
 
to think otherwise. My logic is sound, based on my opinions. There is always more than one way to look at things. You're under the notion that earnings is the only factor involved, which is not the case. It depends on how deep you look. Personally, I'd cap athletes at $250,000 per year. Maybe then more would appreciate the idea of earning money based on more important things than just throwing their balls.

Posted on 09/07/2008 at 11:09:13 PM

 
Worst logic, Jimbo? Tickets are overpriced, food is overpriced. You bring up the ever popular "earnings" argument, which, while true, still creates athletes, like Jones and Vick, who think they're above the law. If you read and understood my arguments, you'd see that I'm arguing about the moral aspects, not earnings. Sure, the teams profit millions but I don't believe that pro athletes actually "earned" that much. Firemen, military construction workers, etc. earn what they're paid and should get the big bucks. Athletes entertain but don't do crap for society. I'm pro-communism in the belief that workers should be paid based on their benficial output to society. I'm sorry but no athlete is worth $5-10m per year. What should be done with the millions the teams makes? Sure, why not donate like half to charity, where their profits will help society? I never said all athletes are bad. Of course some other athletes are bad and haven't been caught - Vick wasn't caught for years! You're naive

Posted on 09/07/2008 at 11:09:32 PM

 
This article features some of the worst logic I've ever heard. Professional sporting leagues should donate their multi-million dollar revenues instead of paying the people that helped earn them those revenues? What a joke. Also, you basically make the assumption that all athletes are bad people, without realizing that every industry has its share of bad apples. Some CEOs and politicians do things the right way, others are corrupt. My favorite line is the one that says: "I'm sure other athletes are bad too, they just haven't been caught yet." Maybe you should learn to argue at higher than a third-grade level before you write about a topic you understand nothing about.

Posted on 09/07/2008 at 9:09:14 PM

 
if teachers and cops and all those who really helped the community were paid more i dont think it would even be that big of a deal but until the ones who really deserve it get paid enough i will agree with athletes getting paid to much, im not saying that they dont work their asses off but they dont help the community as much.

Posted on 09/05/2008 at 9:09:41 AM

 
athletes dont choose to get paid that much most of them play the game for passiopn to the game not for money....its the association that be paiding them so much so they'll be really glad to get paid that much

Posted on 05/28/2008 at 7:05:58 AM

 
They are definitely overpaid!

Posted on 04/01/2008 at 4:04:29 PM

 
I agree they get paid way too much!!!!!!

Posted on 03/27/2008 at 5:03:42 AM

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