[flyt]

im giving a speech tomorrow on how athletes get over paid and i was wondering everyones opinion on the topic. and give a smart response and maybe i'll add it to my speech. like "they wipe they're but with $100 dollar bills"

[Divine Hand]

Athletes are overpaid in the literal sense, if you break down exactly what they do for a living and compare that to other jobs in the real world. For example, you can ask philosophical and moral questions about whether a basketball player should make more money than a teacher. In doing so, you find the realm of entertainment either breaks all the rules, or is an exception to the rules. If you argue against athletes being highly paid, you can ask if their jobs truly contribute more to society than that of other jobs. But on the other hand, you can argue for athletes being highly paid by stating that athletics is part of the entertainment industry; an industry that is fueled by supply and demand. If everybody stopped supporting athletes tomorrow, they’d suddenly stop being paid. Since that’s obviously not the case, you realize people want to see athletes perform and in doing so, the fans support the product and lifestyle.

This issue isn’t a cut-and-dry, open-and-shut case. There can be an argument made that certain athletes in nonmainstream sports are underpaid and unappreciated by society at large. Then you can argue that certain athletes are grossly overpaid. The question regarding athletes salaries has more depth to it than some perceive.

[epark1281]

athletes are overpaid? What about owners who make millons upon billions of dollars from their teams? What about the association that makes billions of dollars a year? Hell yea, they get paid a lot, but in comparison to the size of the sports entertainment market and considering the fact that the players are the main market/attraction, it's probably not as bloated as some feel. Of course, other players are paid more than others. For instance, AI gets paid exponentially more than salmons does, but check it, Salmons won't get a packed house in Philly. AI is $$, literally. AI might get paid a ton, but when it comes time for the 76er front office to cash in THEIR checks, they KNOW they made a pretttttty good profit from them. All that aside, if ur making that much money, you should quit whining about having to wear a pair of slacks and button down threads to a post game interview.

[flyt]

haha thanks for the 2 really good answers

[Mugen]

how bout underpaid atheletes -.-

i think hockey players are way under paid. and they received more brutal treatment from basketball players in many ways. (Fights, getting hit, good skills in stick handling, skating, etc etc)

[Chioster]

The reason for hockey players being under paid then basketball is because of the amount of players on the team and the salary cap. If Hockey players get paid the same as basketball players. A hockey team will only be able to have 12-15 players, compared to what hockey teams have now of 25-37 players.

[Mugen]

still, you dont see NFL have problems with that.

[kensai]

Athletes are not over paid. They are paid what the market dictates they are worth. What makes anybody worth a certain amount? What makes some art worth 10 million and another worth 1 dollar? It's simple supply and demand. They deserve what they get.

how bout underpaid atheletes -.-

i think hockey players are way under paid. and they received more brutal treatment from basketball players in many ways. (Fights, getting hit, good skills in stick handling, skating, etc etc)

This is a prime example. Hockey players aren't paid less than baseball players because they are any less athletic or because their sport is easier. They get paid less because their league dictates a limit on total team salary and mainly because their sport doesn't generate as much revenue as baseball does. Baseball generates more revenue, so baseball players get paid more. Football has a salary cap but their salary cap allows for more money because football brings in a ton more money than hockey does.

[lakers]

especially the nba players. starting salaries for rookies r like 1.5 million. i dont think they r over paid though, they work really hard just to make it to the pros. lots of athletes come from lower classes growing up, so sports r all they have to try and support themselves.

[epark1281]

especially the nba players. starting salaries for rookies r like 1.5 million. i dont think they r over paid though, they work really hard just to make it to the pros. lots of athletes come from lower classes growing up, so sports r all they have to try and support themselves.

give me a break, let's not sit here and sing a swan song and tell everybody how hard life was for some of these athletes, therefore, it justifies 3 million dollars a year. Sure, they work hard, but i work hard to. I don't get paid 3 mill a year to do what i do. My parents had a tiny stand in the mall to support 2 kids thru college, so life wasn't exactly EASY for me either. It's a business, and in a business, employees get paid by what the size and the volume of the market dictates, period.

[lakers]

^ if they have the talent y not? if ur so sad, y dont u try and make it to the pros too. stop whining

[thelivinlegend21]

Are athletes overpaid? Most definitely. What are they doing for the public? Giving them entertainment, and making a career out of what they're good at. So, does that make them anymore important than a doctor, rocket engineer, or teacher? Teachers educate, doctors provide them with the surgery if they get injured. If anything, these are the people that deserve such high paying salaries. If you ask me, they worked a lot longer and harder than any baseball or basketball player. Sure, you might say someone practiced and worked out for 6 hours a day and what not, but does practicing a sport value more than studying for 6 hours a night and providing the masses with the services we are capable of recieving now?

@lakers
As I said, is practicing a sport worth more than the values of education? No one said you needed money to go to a public school. But heck, you have people from lower class Compton kids graduating from High School with honors and heading off to an Ivy League school. Why? Because they devoted their lives to their studies and overcame all the hardships that were presented to them. To me, that's a much greater achievement than anything Michael Jordan's done (although he has the image of a role model type figure). Now I never said they shouldn't try out for the professional leagues, rather, what makes their profession so much more valuable than that of a doctor? Ask yourself that question.

[epark1281]

^ if they have the talent y not? if ur so sad, y dont u try and make it to the pros too. stop whining

yo, read my friggen quote before you blast off. When did i whine? Pay attention to what i said, fool. I said that we shouldn't play a swan song for these "poor and underprivaledged" players who came from "southside", etc. etc, and therefore, be justified for a 3 mil/year salary, cause there are PLENTY of people who make it out of similar circumstances. Did i whine? I don't think i did, and if YOU read it that way, READ IT AGAIN. I'm not said, i watch these athletes day in and day out. I love sports, i probably watch it more than YOU. So quit shooting off at the mouth if you can't read straight.

[kensai]

give me a break, let's not sit here and sing a swan song and tell everybody how hard life was for some of these athletes, therefore, it justifies 3 million dollars a year. Sure, they work hard, but i work hard to. I don't get paid 3 mill a year to do what i do. My parents had a tiny stand in the mall to support 2 kids thru college, so life wasn't exactly EASY for me either. It's a business, and in a business, employees get paid by what the size and the volume of the market dictates, period.

What you do isn't so rare that it deserves 3 million dollars is it?

Nope.

Are athletes overpaid? Most definitely. What are they doing for the public? Giving them entertainment, and making a career out of what they're good at. So, does that make them anymore important than a doctor, rocket engineer, or teacher? Teachers educate, doctors provide them with the surgery if they get injured. If anything, these are the people that deserve such high paying salaries. If you ask me, they worked a lot longer and harder than any baseball or basketball player. Sure, you might say someone practiced and worked out for 6 hours a day and what not, but does practicing a sport value more than studying for 6 hours a night and providing the masses with the services we are capable of recieving now?

@lakers
As I said, is practicing a sport worth more than the values of education? No one said you needed money to go to a public school. But heck, you have people from lower class Compton kids graduating from High School with honors and heading off to an Ivy League school. Why? Because they devoted their lives to their studies and overcame all the hardships that were presented to them. To me, that's a much greater achievement than anything Michael Jordan's done (although he has the image of a role model type figure). Now I never said they shouldn't try out for the professional leagues, rather, what makes their profession so much more valuable than that of a doctor? Ask yourself that question.

The market dictates what people are paid. What is so hard to understand about that? Are teachers/doctors/scientists more valuable to society? Yes. But there are more people who can be teachers/doctors/scientists than there are guys who can throw a football 80 yards. That's just reality. It's supply and demand folks.

[epark1281]

What you do isn't so rare that it deserves 3 million dollars is it?

you're not reading everything that i've said, read what somebody wrote, about how these people deserve 3million cause they "worked hard" and "came from a hard place"
i said exactly what ur saying now, that it's not pity money cause they came up from the slums, but money they get paid cause of the people they draw to the franchise, ticket sales, and jersey sales, period. yall need to get it straight and read the WHOLE thing before you reply.

[Chioster]

The salary cap people. Each league has a Salary cap. Some are higher while some are lower then others.

NBA 43million- 12-15 people on a team= around 3 million per person
NHL 39million- 25-40 people on a team= around 1-2 million per person

[epark1281]

The salary cap people. Each league has a Salary cap. Some are higher while some are lower then others.

NBA 43million- 12-15 people on a team= around 3 million per person
NHL 39million- 25-40 people on a team= around 1-2 million per person

nope, not the major leagues

[lakers]

yo, read my friggen quote before you blast off. When did i whine? Pay attention to what i said, fool. I said that we shouldn't play a swan song for these "poor and underprivaledged" players who came from "southside", etc. etc, and therefore, be justified for a 3 mil/year salary, cause there are PLENTY of people who make it out of similar circumstances. Did i whine? I don't think i did, and if YOU read it that way, READ IT AGAIN. I'm not said, i watch these athletes day in and day out. I love sports, i probably watch it more than YOU. So quit shooting off at the mouth if you can't read straight.

stop whining dude. i believe u said "i work just as hard, u dont see me gettin paid 3 mil" and ok u watch more sports than me. u want a cookie for that?

[epark1281]

stop whining dude. i believe u said "i work just as hard, u dont see me gettin paid 3 mil" and ok u watch more sports than me. u want a cookie for that?

did you even read the quote i was replying to?
if not, shut it
and why did i say i watch sports? cause you paint me out to be some 2 bit momma's boy who can't stand the fact that athletes make a lot of money. Am i? Nope, my point was that these people don't get paid all that money cause they work harder than any of us, effort does not always equal compensation, so quit yapping

[lakers]

did you even read the quote i was replying to?
if not, shut it
and why did i say i watch sports? cause you paint me out to be some 2 bit momma's boy who can't stand the fact that athletes make a lot of money. Am i? Nope, my point was that these people don't get paid all that money cause they work harder than any of us, effort does not always equal compensation, so quit yapping

alright alright u win. bottom line, i do think they get overpaid, but at the same time i think they deserve it.