Why do professional athletes make more money then physicians?
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.
1059095
Everyone has asked that question. The answer is simple, People enjoy entertainment & will pay top $$$ to watch/attend these games. VIP seats cost in the 5 digit area alone. It's harder to find a good athlete to draw in a crowd, whereas all the nerdy or overweight guys/gals I went to school with make up our local police force. The issue is the same with doctors. A Dr. of Plastic Surgery will make more $$$$ than a Heart Surgen. What's even worse is that the same people who share your same complaint are the ones that never donate/hang up on "the support your local State Troopers or Firefighters foundation" when they call for support
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.
71975
Yes, some are.  The problem is that many of them try to practice outside of their profession or abuse their skills.  I work in the medical field and I have a lot of athletes who see chiropractors.  Some want to snap, crack, and pop everything.  Some want to pretend they can treat flu, colds, ear infections, skin disorders and sports medicine related injuries.  Then you have the small majority who just want to do their job.  They serve a purpose, it's just hard to find one that does their job well and understands their role in the medical field.  This is partially because insurance companies don't reimburse for chiropractic care.  They have to get their money from somewhere.
369004
the florida marlins, what a story. 6 players in the major leagues make more money in one year then the whole Florida Marlins team.
611584
Aah let me guess; "SMART"people answered these questions, well let me set the record straight  I think some athletes are worth the money that they receive because they had to work hard to become PROFESSIONAL athletes, and a major fact is that most of them put their own bodies on the line just for the entertainment of fans. So they deserve every penny.
670039
I assume that you are talking about the players.  In that case it is baseball.  The NFL has a salary cap.  You don't see any football players signing $200 million dollar contracts like in baseball (Alex Rodriguez)
666470
Let's face it..nobody's getting rich playing cricket now are they? Your question could apply to footballers, golfers, tennis players, etc. etc. Outstanding athletes in any sport are a marketing tool for sporting goods companies to sell more stuff, and I think if an athlete has the kind of talent it takes to catch the eye of these companies then they should be compensated for it.
137010
Don't be so quick to paint all athletes with the same broad brush. I am sure that many of them are motivated by championships or just plain love of the sport. Look at most of the Olympic Athletes. Even the champs aren't going to make much money off of it, yet  they are training like mad for the chance to be called the best in the world. Most younger athletes play a game for the love of the sport. As they get to be the best in the world, I do not believe that love or drive to be the best ever leaves them. I think this is why someone like michael jordan will try another sport like Baseball when he felt that he had accomplished everything he could in basketball. It is also why so many athletes play golf, a game in which they are not the best in but work hard to improve in..
242820
its pretty stupid if you ask me. Pro sports players make tons of money just to play games. \n\nBut our school teachers, police officers , fire fighters. and any other person that is a God send to a community, doesnt make much money at all.\n\nis it sad that we have our ideas of heros and role models backwards in this country? I think so!!!!
692945
people spend more than 60% of their income on entertainment. we live for that stuff. since sports players "entertain" fans, they open new avenues like other endorsements that could make the company they work for very profitable. often, the people that make a real difference like stay at home moms and teachers are overlooked and seen as "ordinary".
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
352197
Well my mother is a phsycian. It really depends on a wide range of things. If you have your own practice, work for someone else, or a mix of both. It also depends on their speciality and level of skill. Physicians with a few years of experience can expect to start out at around $150,000 per year. The more specialized the doctor is the more money they make. Another large factor is location. In private practice it depends on how large the practice is and how many patients are seen and can be significantly more than the 150K. Doctors earn their money though. They work long hours, work hard, and put up with a lot of stress. Who would want to have to worry about saving lives every day. With a person's life on your shoulders, this causes a huge amount of stress.
727112
NBA players have the highest average salary of all professional sports in the United States. As of last year, NBA players averaged $4.9 million. Coming in second are MLB players, who averaged $2.49 million. NHL players averaged $1.79 million in 2002-03, the latest season in which their union has figures available. And NFL players averaged $1.26 million last year. \n\nAs mentioned earlier, this is due to a combination of factors, including sport marketability, number of regular season games played (82 for NBA players, 16 for NFL players), and number of players on each roster (About 14 for NBA teams, versus 53 for NFL teams).
1186756
it all depends on the winnings they made per year, the sponser stuff they had.. and how much money they put back into the team.. and also it depends on how much the team makes and how good of a driver they are.. \nfor example, tony stewart probably banked the most last year b/c of being champion and having a hell of a sponser.. his earnings alone for his races were 6,987,535.. that doesn't include other income.. \nyeah, they make some pretty darn good money though...but they use a lot of that to help their career. a lot of driver's put money into planes to make travel easier, and be able to do more.. a lot of them get better motorcoaches as time goes on, and lot of them start plahying in owning cars/tracks and all that good stuff. i mean, sure, they are living a bit ncier than the average joe..but they make shit compared to most athletes, b/c their sport is so expensive to get into, and keep operating in in the first place.
389260
No, because they can see how their parents live. They know not everybody lives that way. The thing is that they need to realize is very few people make it to play pro sports. The ones that do have real talent, work real hard and there is alot of luck involved. Its not something that is just bestowed on them. They cannot just expect to be a pro player because they are great in their league. They need to know that even if they are great they could be one ALC injury away from needing that college education. These are the things that kids don't understand.
622706
When you make all that money just to play a game, and millions of people watch sports, before long you get to thinking they are just there to see you play. You get the big head, and your ego goes crazy. Same thing that happens with those overpaid actors in Hellywood. It's all ego and sinfull pride.