Megan Smith

Are Professional Athletes Overpaid? A.Intro a. Who here thinks professional athletes make a justified amount of money each year? That the millions of dollars they are paid is perfectly fine? b. And who here thinks they get paid a ridiculous amount of money that they often dont deserve? c. Professional athletics (the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and Mens and Womens Golf and Tennis) is a multi-billion dollar industry, handing out contracts worth millions of dollars, to rookies who have yet to prove themselves worthy of such high paychecks. Why do they deserve these high salaries? B.Support
a.

The salary of any working American is based on: how many people can do their job, and their jobs economic importance/ or value to society. Pro-athletes may seem indispensable, or as if no one else could do what they do, but the truth is, that aside from the star players who make the mega-millions, the majority of the players on a team are just back-up for those with the exceptional talents. This means that, with a lot of practice, almost anyone could be a professional athlete as long as their health was very good and they had the strength to endure long, hard practice sessions. And yet, these backup players will still rack up millions of dollars in their careers. Simply put, a persons value to society is asking whether their job is absolutely necessary. Are professional athletes a necessity? Of course not. No one will die tomorrow if all professional sports were suddenly banned, and all athletes were out of a job.

b.

c.

Megan Smith

They dont save lives by running into burning buildings, they dont treat disease, illnesses, or other health issues, nor do they operate on hearts or treat cancer. They dont catch criminals, dont risk their lives each and every day fighting for our country, and they dont educate our youth - the future of our economy. i. The president, who makes critical decisions that affect the entire world every day, only makes $400,000 a year. While President Obama is hard at work reviving the economy, the unproven rookie in the MLB is earning way over that figure. ii. Each basket Kobe Bryant scores, earns him equivalent to the average classroom teachers yearly salary. You may not love all of your teachers, or think they are all great at their job, but maybe thats because not many people go into teaching due to the low salary. If they were offered more money, more college students would look into teaching, and then students would only get the best of the best. iii. On average, doctors are paid about $150,000 a year. Doctors save lives. Period. Why should they make three times less than people whose sole purpose is to provide entertainment? iv. Soldiers. They do their jobs every day prepared to die; athletes play their favorite game everyday prepared for maybe an injury. Guess how much soldiers earn? $20,000 a year. v. Now guess how much the average professional athlete makes in a year? My researched number is for the average athlete, so even this seems a bit low, but I came up with: $4,000,000 a year. And even then, a big-time athlete makes at least $30,000,000. vi. Does any of that seem wrong to you? C. Opposition

Megan Smith

a. The main argument supporting the high salaries of pro athletes is that they make the amount they deserve in relation to the companies they work for. b. Between ticket sales, television and radio deals, advertising, and merchandise sales, professional sports is one of the most profitable businesses in the world. c. Most NBA teams bring in between 200 and $300 million annually d. The players who help to fill those stadiums, attract fans to their tvs, radios, computers, and sell their jerseys and team apparel deserve their cut of this $25-35 billion dollar pie. e. This, I can understand. Its true that professional sports make way too much money, with their high ticket prices, expensive souvenirs, expensive everything. In our current economy, few families can afford the luxury of a pro sport game anymore. Kids are being neglected of the excitement of live sports all because families cant afford the $50 tickets and the $6 hot dog. f. But the other arguments seem invalid: i. They claim the athletes deserve their millions because they are working 40 hours a week, they are providing entertainment for millions of people at once, they physically strain themselves to do their job, they do a daily job with the knowledge they may not be returning the next day due to an injury. Really? They are Playing. A . Sport. They get paid to a job like everybody else in America. What makes it so special that they have to be paid millions and millions of dollars? Why are they guaranteed money even when they are injured? They do absolutely nothing for most of the season because their (insert body part here) hurts, while the working class man and woman have to physically work year round for just a fraction of what the athlete makes.

Megan Smith

ii. These same athletes, that are paid to do nothing, are the same ones that take illegal drugs, deal illegal drugs and have the youth of America looking up to them as role models. g. Take Michael Vick for example:
i.

You know, the Atlanta Falcons football star that was running dogfights at some of his homes. In 2004, he signed a 10-year contract with the Falcons for $130 million and a $37 million signing bonus, making him the highest paid player in NFL history. With such a high salary, why did Michael Vick have to resort to dog-fighting? It just makes no sense and makes it all the more deplorable because he didn't have to do it for the money, yet he still did it. What does this tell other professional athletes, and young children? It tells them that athletes don't have to follow the rules, like normal people in society.

ii.

D.Solution a. So whats the solution? b. Contracts should not be negotiated for years and years of guaranteed money. If a player gets injured he still gets paid. Why? Two year contracts for every player will ensure that the players who have proven themselves worthy of the cash will get their high salaries, while those have been sitting on the bench can get a lower salary without complaint. It makes much more sense to base a salary on value of the player, right?
c. Next, the NFL, NBA, and the rest should all be regulated

to lower ticket costs, as well as souvenir prices, food

Megan Smith

prices, etc. They make plenty of money as is, they dont need the extra income. And in these times, less and less people have the luxury to buy tickets to the games. The decrease in prices is inevitable, so why not drastically lower them now while also lowering the paychecks to the players? E. Conclusion a. What can we least afford to be without? Police officers, soldiers, teachers, social workers or athletes? Which would we miss the most? b. The answer is obvious, so why is it that we pay such a premium for the least necessary of the choices? Until our priorities change, and pro-sports teams lower their costs and alter their contracts athletes will continue to be undeserving, over-paid entertainers.