Pro athletes are paid too much

Introduction:

In an article written by Ade O on the sports article website “The Richest,” it was indicated that the largest fine ever given to a professional athlete was in the National Football League . This fine was given to Ben Roethlisberger who was to pay $1 894 118 and was suspended for six games for committing two acts of sexual assault in a span of two years. That fine is a joke, the civil lawsuit was finalized in 2012 but this hardly put a dent in his wallet. Roethlisberger, who is presently the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, makes $87.4 million plus endorsements every four years.

I'll be discussing various pro contracts and comparing them to salaries in non-sport occupations. Also on how much effort is put in by the athletes versus full-time workers in today's society to see who truthfully deserves the millions of dollars.

Professional sport leagues such as the NFL, the NHL, the NBA and the MLB have a very large variety of salaries in contracts and we are talking millions in the difference. As a hockey player, my primary goal is to play in the NHL and make money. I want to play the sport I love and not to be flooded with money, but to enjoy the experience as an NHL player. Signing that huge contract deal for an NHL team has been my dream since I started playing the sport, but being selfish with the amount of money I bargain for in a contract is an action I am not made out to do. On the TSN official website, they indicate the number of Lockouts which have occurred in all of these leagues. With a grand total of twenty one, the result of these lockouts is because of the greediness of athletes and how they do not accept the amount of money being offered by the organization.

In comparison to non-sport industries who obtain hard, well earned money, numerous pro athletes can get paid to show up to a game and sit on the bench. A sports website article written by Chris Mueller indicates some of the dramatic differences in money earned over a three year contract in 2015:

1. Highest paid Cubs player in the NFL makes $19 million

2. Lowest paid Cubs player makes $417 000. (Avg. Contract - $6 million)

3. Highest paid Chicago Bulls player in the NBA makes $13.5 million

4. Lowest paid Chicago Bulls player makes $850 000. (Avg. Contract - $5 million)

5. Highest paid Chicago Blackhawks player in the NHL makes $6.3 million

6. Lowest paid Chicago Blackhawks player makes $512 000. (Avg. Contract - $2.7 million)

Non-Sport Industries:

1. The highest paid doctors make $500 000 per year

2. A G5-13 Astronaut (highest rank at nasa) makes $107 000

3. Lawyer with twelve or more years of experience makes $170 000

These statistics catch my eye because of one reason, doctors and our health care system are much more important to our society than watching 11 minutes of “action” per football game. Although the average length of a football game is said to be three hours and 12 minutes, the total amount of time between the snap of the ball and a down in the whole game is around eleven minutes.

Which brings me to my next comparison on how much work and effort each professional player gives to earn this money, compared to a job that does not get paid near as much as they should; teachers. Our education system is a huge part of young males and females lives as they will pick a path to their own occupation in the future. While almost every pro athlete in existence cannot play a full game at the pace required to play, each player will have around five to six minutes of playing time. Yet, according to the NFL online official website, the average contract for a year is $1.9 million dollars a year and they only play sixteen games over a seven-teen week time period. On the other hand, Canadian teachers make $81 000 a year on average according to The Global News and work around 180 days for eight hours each day, not including the countless hours of paperwork and planning that they do not get paid for at home.

An easy solution is to use the access money that these athletes have been given for unnecessary reasons and put it toward more necessities for young men and women in need. People who fight for our freedom and who play an important role in our society such as our healthcare get paid much less than pro athletes. Some athletes themselves have similar beliefs such as; PK Subban of the Nashville Predators, who was once part of the Montreal Canadians donated ten million dollars to the Montreal Children’s hospital according to Sportsnet's official website. Although Subban was traded he continues to make donations to the hospital. On NBC sports, the most donations made by a single pro athlete is Lance Armstrong. The former road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France five times, created the “Livestrong” campaign and raised over fifty million dollars, while also donating a portion of his winnings for cancer research.

Many athletes have a reputation of being selfish while they are making millions, some pro athletes have realised there is more to a professional sport than making money. Of course they work hard to lead up to their games and competitions yet they still donate a fragment of their salary to a member of society in need. People in our society work even harder yet are not getting awarded as much for their back breaking labour. But when various pro athletes are fined, all their hard work goes to waste and they are punished for their actions. When athletes who are filthy rich get fined, the only thing they lose is some pocket change in their point of view and respect from numerous fans. Yet when a typical personnel in our society is fined for their unacceptable actions, they receive a serious punishment in the point of view of their bank account. If athletes were not paid as much, they would feel the real quilt and consequences of making imature decisions. I thank you for your time in listening to my speech and that you have taken a different perspective on the salaries of pro athletes in all sports.