Why are professional athletes so over paid?
913757
It has to do with marketing and advertisement. Companies can endorse their products through professional sports. They give so much money to the sports teams/leauges so they have this money to pay their players.\n\nIf people enjoyed watching Doctors do their thing, then advertisers would market their advertisements towards that instead of sports.
757892
YES!! Not just football either. professional athletes get paid an obscene amt of money...oh, are they saving lives and changing the world?  Doctors earn their salaries.  Nurses,policemen, and all civil employees need a bump up.  No family of an American soldier should have to be on PUBLIC ASSISTANCE in order to care for their families.  Something is egregiously off center here.\n\nlike I said...obscene.
1063141
Why can't they be paid like the rest of do? I mean, sure they are good at sports but everyone is good at something. Shouldn't we all get paid millions because we do what we are good at? I would love to get a million dollars for helping people get their ged and improving their life but I know that I won't get it.\n\nEnough ranting.
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
79328
Well at least it makes you uncapitalistic. Follow this line of logic. Wherever you have a need (in this case entertainment) you have people willing to spend money. So you hire people to support this need (athletes) and pay them a percentage. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. It's only fair that these athletes take their percentage.\nI think you are way over generalizing athletes. While there are certainly selfish immature players. There are also classy, generous, respectable athletes as well, It's just that the more immature players tend to stay in the public eye do to their hijinks.\nNow the olympics are a complete abomination. They secure television contracts, charge unGodly prices for seats, yet they don't even pay the participants that make the olympics a reality. How is that fair? \nIt's not wrong to be rich. To make the money you earned. It's wrong to be an child and a thug. But these two things aren't really even related.
506579
The entertainment industry brings in much more money than the medical field does.  The medical field is very expensive to keep up, with paying for new equipment, maintaining the equipment, and research, as are things like stadiums, etc.  However, sports constantly have an inflow of money from fans buying tickets and merchandise, plus from companies that sponsor sports.  People don't go to doctors as a hobby or for fun, but when they need to.  Plus, the medical sponsors really consist of the government and private donations, and with government domestic spending being cut, the medical profession is losing tons of money.  Hence, sports are able to pay their players more, while neuro surgeons don't get paid nearly what they deserve.
845035
i think they get paid way too much. i do the exact same stuff just for fun and i'm not a multi millionaire. getting paid millions of dollars to hit a ball with a stick basically...
537954
NBA players make a lot more than NFL players.  Plus the money is guaranteed while no one in the NFL has guaranteed contracts.
794047
Some people just really like balls, so they are nactually not watching the people at all. It sure makes no sense for us to work our balls off trying to make a living then go pay a ton to watch a bunch of people do exactly what you are asking about and get paid more for in one year of playing than we may make in a lifetime.\n\nOnce we are all hooked on Yahoo Answers, they will charge as well.
911365
Yes!\n\nThey get paid millions just to kick a ball around a field. I think the people who really deserve  to get paid loads don't. People like paramedics, the police, nurses, firefighters, soldiers, engineers etc should be the ones who earn loads because they are making a real difference in this world.\nThe word "hero" is over used. I remember a football figurine advert wih the caption "A hero in your hand". That's not a true hero. A hero puts his/her life on the line for others, with no regard for their own safety. These true heroes should be paid much more for what they do.\n\nThe people who actually improve the world should go down in history and be revered for all time, not sportsmen.
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)
330460
Some people may argue that all professional athletes are paid too much.  However, based on what the other major sports' players are making, the short answer is 'no, not really.'\n\nDepending on how you base judgment of salaries, hockey players are quite reasonable.  They endure the most physical abuse of any athlete (perhaps comparable to football players - 82 games compared to 16...sometimes four times a week), and their skill is magnificent.\n\nHowever, the sport draws the least amount of money of all four major American sports, and the cause of the lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season was escalating player salaries - the owners simply could not keep up with the raises and market values of some of the greatest skill men in the game.  \n\nSo, in terms of skill - no.  But in terms of their market - yes.  Teams had to shut down for a year to make up for finishing year after year in the red, and as a result, the players had to accept a 24% salary rollback and a salary cap was installed.
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.
622185
I dont think that is fair because a lot of pro athletes have legal problems and still have great careers. Look at Kobe during his rape case, even with that legal problem nobody second guessed him. As long as he doesnt do anything serious like some pro atletes(i.e. OJ Simpson) he deserves a chance.
355223
Players need to forget about the money and play for the game and for the fans. And owners need to stop looking at pro sports as a for-profit business. Then all will be right in sports.
664241
because they don't want well-paid professional athletes coming in looking like a bunch of thugs from the hood...not while on team business.  they can save that for the backyard bbq's and the clubs on their own time.
145906
NBA players are paid yearly. The amount varies from contract to contract and depends on how many years is stated in the contract.