Are Professional Sports Players making too much money?
469891
I think they are. But mainly in the field of baseball. When players go on strike because they are not getting paid what they think they are worth, which in most cases is grossly exaggerated, everybody gets mad. The players because " WE WANT MORE MONEY OR WE DON"T PLAY", the owners because they are losing money, and us fans, because they are getting paid for our entertainment. Every sport should be like football and have a salary cap. Did you know the New York Yankees are worth over 1 billion dollars? Isn't that a bit ridiculous? That's why they are so good. They can buy all their players. But every time they complain they get there way. PRO SPORTS PLAYERS ARE GETTING WAY TOO MUCH MONEY!!!!
675868
I've always said that if any professional athelete makes more than $1 million/season, they should give anything above that to:\n- pay off the national debt\n- feed the hungry in the world\n- research cures for disease\n- make eduacation (from preschool to university) FREE for all!\n\nI figure that if a brain surgeon makes say $300,000/year there is NO WAY that A-Rod is worth $20 million\nBut that is just me . .  and what do i know
611501
These are two unrelated questions. I will start with the question about athletes.\nFirst of all you need to realize that there is a big difference between most athletes and  “star” athletes. Most athletes go out there day after day and work and train hard and are happy if their income is high enough to allow them to keep training.\nA “star” athlete however earns truckloads of money because he is just that, a star. Hence WE spend more truckloads of money buying tickets, posters, jerseys, and the products that advertise during games on TV. And my personal view is that the athlete SHOULD be getting that money, because it is due to him that we spent it in the first place. We don’t go to the stadium, pay premium prices for third-rate hot dogs and drink beverages with three molecules of actual soda in a bucket of water just so that the CEO of the team can make his yacht payment.\nAnd would you REALLY want a health care professional to charge one million dollars for saving a life? (Don’t forget folks, when it comes to caring for people and saving lives, it is the NURSES on the front lines and in the trenches) I wouldn’t want to be the one to have to set that price tag. I wont even go into the oath that doctors have to give.\n\nAs far as stadiums go, two things. They are paid for by tax payers, but they also generate tax income. I don’t know how much, maybe we are paying more then we spend on them. And even if we are, we are talking about our recreation and fun here. Bread and Games, people. \nSecondly, it is in the power of the voters to determine who is in office and what they do there. Don’t like what they’re doing? Vote them out of office, but voter turnout has always been a weak point in American society. \n\nTo Centurion: One of the reasons we are lagging in the world is because we grossly underpay our teachers, especially in the Junior High to High School levels. If we TRULY care about education, then we should make sure that the teaching staff receives the best possible education and training and meets the highest standard of requirements and then are paid the kind of money that profession truly deserves.
701640
Anybody earning over half a million annually to entertain (football, hollywood, whatever) gets paid too much. I don't care how hard they work, blah blah blah, they are siphoning off money from the middle class...and they should feel ashamed.
490825
Last year £786 million in wages alone was paid to 2,347 professional footballers, that's roughly equivalent to the GDP of Mongolia in 2005. Of that sum, £583 million went to Premiership players. And the likes of Steven Gerrard and David Beckham are reported to earn over £100,000 A WEEK – that's more than £5 million a year - not bad for playing a bit footy.
105740
Before we discuss that you have to take into consideration that teams make lots of money due to tickets, broadcasting payments and advertisements …etc, the more the money inflow the more they pay on players’ wages. The players playing in a professional team dedicate all their time to the team so its their only job, and players playing in good teams are so unique and exceptionally good that they are paid lots of money, the better and more unique the player the more they are paid, its like any other job, the better you are the more you are paid, the stronger the firm you work in the more you are paid. You can’t just find the skills of professional players anywhere, therefore teams need to compete to secure the services of the good players and the only way they can compete is by using money
84871
I haven't followed the NBA for many years for this very reason.\n\nWhile all professional sports seem to have their share of athletes who seem to only care about their statistics and how that translates into a paycheck, there seems to be a lot more of it in the NBA.
95551
I think it is suppose to be about the best of the best.  Since they get paid alot of money to play a game, chances are they are the best at what they do.  That doesn't mean that there aren't amatuers out there that might deserve to be there but were overlooked due to status.
591310
No, I think that having a salary cap for each team is enough.  Besides, 250K is well below the minimum salary now, and the NHLPA will never go for a cap that low.  \n\nBut I disagree with the person who said that they play for love of the game now.  I am sure they all love the game, but just because they're not making as much money as NFL players doesn't mean they're playing *only* for love of hockey.  If they played for the love of the game only, we wouldn't have lost an entire season while the players refused to consider a salary cap.
1153945
Well, as far as I am concerned, Football is still a Sport.\n\nBut the question you are really asking here is: Is the modern overpaid professional Sport (of all kinds, and not just Football) still Sport? \nHere I tend to agree with you. The millions and billions that are pumped into the modern mass media sporting events have ruined the spirit of true sportsmanship and turned the whole scene into nothing more than a branch of show business.\n\nNevertheless there are plenty of decent people left who play their Sport every week as amateurs without getting a single penny for it. That includes many good and decent footballers.
976988
NO, but they are going to get them anyway and be raised to expect them. Then if they make the Pros they have the money so they will get them one way or the other. Doesn't make it fair or right but we all know it happens.
544446
I think all professional athletes should get paid a lot LESS money! Don't get me wrong, I understand their career's are much shorter, so they need to earn enough to live off for the rest of their lives sometimes (barring a career in management or commentary) but come on, Ballack is now earning £120,000 PER WEEK! That's 6 times my annual salary every week....\nThe girls should be more on a par with men, but that ammount is obscene, nobody, athlete, politician, business man or otherwise should be making so much money.
903817
not everything is about money. these are players who have more than likely accumulated a lot of money over their playing careers. unless they squandered it all on gambling, i'm sure there is no need for more money. sure, the value of their baseball cards go up, but that's a different story. and being inducted into the hall of fame isn't necissarily completely for the player either. a lot of fans are very happy to see their favorite players being inducted into one of sport's most prestigious resting places so to speak. while i don't know if there are any financial benefits to the players, i can say that is the last thing on their minds the day they are inducted.
811147
it is a sport! the profesionals can make good money out of it.\n\nkby\n\n.
575672
basketball players make a little more than football players, because of their collective bargaining agreement with the league allows players to make a certain amount.  \n\nNBA Salary (rookies $398,762-$473,604) | (veterans $641,768-$1,352,181) the salaries rise each and every year\nhttp://www.insidehoops.com/minimum-nba-salary.shtml\n\n "Average NBA salary is $4.9 million (U.S.), the highest of any major North American sports league. The collective bargaining agreement came up for agreement in 2005 but NBA Commissioner David Stern decided to make no attempt to implement a hard cap or any other major changes, to the dismay of many commentators who felt that changes were long overdue and that the NBA could take advantage of the NHL's momentum." (Wikipedia - Salary Cap)\n\n\nNFL Salary \nThe minimum salary for an NFL player is $235,000 in his first year, and rises after that based on the number of years in service. Exhibition game minimum is $10,000. These numbers are set by contract between the NFL and the players' union, the National Football League Players' Association. These numbers are of course exceeded dramatically by the best players in each position.\n\nYears Experience Minimum Salary \n0 $260,000 \n1 $305,000 \n2 $380,000 \n3 $455,000 \n4-6 $540,000 \n7-9 $665,000 \n10+ $765,000 \n\n(Wikipedia - NFL, National Football League)
369032
The top players earn enough money these days to not have to work when they retire.  The less well paid players will often go into management or the media and some will re-educate themselves towards the end of their career.
230404
It is a simple lesson in economics supply and demand. For athletes, people are willing to pay money to see a game and receive a service. Owners are willing to pay star players more because they attract more fans to the games, sell more gear, get more endorsements, get more radio/tv money. The players pay for themselves.\n\nTeachers, policemen and other civil servants does not fall so much into this same criteria. Most of these are paid with taxpayers money.  The taxes come from property, sales or income taxes.  At the same time, they do not produce the revenue that a baseball player/team can produce.  Due to both of these factors they do not get paid as  pro athletes do.\n\nThe same applies to anyone with a specific job with the city, county, state or federal government such as an attorney or an engineer. They typically get paid less than a counterpart in the private industry. They have the same skill set and experience but get paid less. In exchange, they usually get better hours, more benefits. More importantly they usually enjoy knowing that they are working for the citizens.\n\nAs with everything in life there is a tradeoff.