Hey guys just thinking about some of the salaries of these players and when u think about it, it's ridculous. Some of these athletes have $100 million + contracts while you got hardworking ppl living from check to check, (don't get me wrong I'm a student right now) Do you think athletes are overpaid? And if so, how much do you think is a proper/fair amount?
It's actually not the athletes' fault that their employers are willing to pay them that kind of money. Given the chance, you'd take the money too.
It's amazing how their able to piss away all their earnings too. They make more money in a year than a regular person in his lifetime, yet their broke after a few years out of the league.
If it weren't for them, the multi-billion dollar sports industries wouldn't exist. Why shouldn't they get a piece of that pie?
Its only fair that the athlete -the people that make the damn sport what it is- are entitled to a healthy percentage of total revenue. Then take players like Beckham, Yao, or A-Rod, players that have such a huge impact on all aspects of the organization. Yes they deserve an extra large slice. Where do you want the money to go? To the owner? Save the slave labor for college sports.
They are the top .1% of their respective field. I think in any industry, if you're considered the top .1% of your respective field, you'll be well compensated.
It really depends on your perspective. Remember how the cast of Friends started wanting a million per episode? A lot of people were saying that they didn't deserve it because they weren't doing a milion bucks worth of work. But look at it a different way. If the show generates hundreds of millions of dollars, and the actors are the key element in the show, aren't they entitled to a fair piece of that very-large pie? Same with sports. If teams generate many hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps the players should get a piece of that pie. Players should be cautious not to get too greedy though. the NHL had a strike not too long ago. Players wanted more money, and owners were saying that revenues were too low to pay the salary demands. If I recall, the players had to concede.
with the amount of money they generate in their industry I don't think their pay is much of a stretch.
Agreed 100%. Most people aren't aware of the CEO's who sometimes take upwards of 10-30 million a year. Its just that athletes are in the public and media's eyes while most other people are not
Simple economics: Scarce resource + high demand = $$$$$$$. This applies for everything in the world, more or less. Let's just use basketball as an example. Players in the NBA are the best in their field. Hence, they are scarce. Note that not every Joe who plays some pick-up basketball can make big money, because there are too many of them with that level of skills. Second, there's the demand factor. NBA has a lot of fans who are willing to pay big bucks to see in person, or willing to sit through commerials on TV to watch. You don't see kayaking champions getting $100 million contracts and large shoe deals with Nike, because the demand's not there. I don't begrudge sports stars for making their money. Hey, at least they're earning their money, which is more than I could say for rich kids living off of their parents.
Don't forget the downsides to the profession too. Constant travel, scrutiny, public humiliation if you wind up on a poster, and likely achy joints for the rest of their lives.
The reason the athletes are paid so much is because pro sports is more of a business than ever before. The money involved has skyrocketed, the owners make much more than they did 30 years ago, so the athletes do too. Meanwhile, the fans get screwed by having to pay much higher ticket prices, concession prices, etc. This is why many, if not most, season tickets for pro sports events are purchased by corporations and companies. They can write them off. I haven't paid for a ticket to a pro sports event in nearly 20 years, and likely never will again. If I'm going to spend big bucks for a ticket to a live event, it's going to be a music concert.
The funny thing is that with TV and endorsement deals, the ticket price didn't need to rise to the obscene levels we have now. Meanwhile, the team battles the city for new stadiums with pricey box seats and the players balk at contract agreements. Both have the audacity to tell us that the other's greed is the reason tickets are up.
I guess they could just explain how people will pay virtually whatever it costs to see/keep their team.
Please apply this same logic to Singers/Actors/Politicians/and CEOs Athletes work PHYSICALLY HARDER THAN ALL of these folx Rocket River
