Pro Athletes
Sports Literature
Salaries & Pro Athletes
Most people in America probably have a pretty good argument when they say they are being paid too little to do too much. Professional sports stars, on the other hand, display a lot of nerve when they use such a phrase. Sports stars are also held to lower standards than are other people. With the high-salary and low-moral standards, sports stars are the most overrated and overpaid people on the planet.
For example, Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, who started his professional basketball career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, took the ACT test three times in high school, and failed all three times. He also took the SAT test once and failed. Garnett decided not to go to college although he was …show more content…
the most highly sought after basketball player that year, and if his test scores were high enough, could attend almost any college through a scholarship. This decision took him to the NBA draft in 1995, where the Minnesota Timberwolves selected him in the first round. The T-Wolves later signed an extension for six years for almost 21 million a year. That works out to "125 million dollars to play a game for six years, and he never was college educated" (Lenard 87). In 2007, when Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, they extended his contract three more years for sixty-million dollars (Kevin Garnett).
Every year we hear of some new name, some new player in the sports news getting a new record contract which sets a much higher mark and blows away the high from the year before. One must now ask themselves whose fault it is that these men and women are getting paid more and more. Most guesses are that the fans, paying fifty dollars for a ticket, a hundred dollars for a jacket, and twenty dollars for a cap, are the ones to blame. The fans are the ones who support these teams and the players. Ticket prices keep going up because more money is needed to pay all of our great, and not so great, players. Knowing that fans will pay anything to watch their favorite star play just sky-rockets prices up that much more.
LeBron James has made sixty million dollars for the past 3 seasons from his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers alone (not to mention the 19 million he made from his rookie contract over the course of his first 4 seasons). He has made 80 million dollars over 7 years (LeBron James), and that does not include his 93 million dollar contract with Nike (which he has recently renewed), or any of his other sponsors such as Coke, McDonald's, and State Farm.
Here is a little comparison for fans to think about; The Preside of the United States of America is making 400 thousand dollars a year (Presidential and Vice Presidential Salaries, 1789+."), while the minimum salary in the NBA as a rookie for the 2009-2010 season was 457,588 dollars. This is a sad, yet true, comparison of the average person's values: a bench warmer in the NBA is worth more than the leader of our country.
Not only are these players getting paid thousands or millions of dollars, but are we really "getting what we paid for?" When players sign multi-year multi-million dollar contracts, their performance tends to drop because of the job security it provides. According to Gary Horton, players become "underachieving millionaires" (Horton).
Along with being paid too much, professional athletes are also constantly getting in trouble with the law. The players figure that since they have money, they have the right to go out, spend it, and have a good time. Which is true, but very often this "party attitude" goes a little too far. Some players even become violent, or turn to drugs. Rae Carrot went to court for murdering his wife, Michael Irvin and Darryl Strawberry were arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana, again, Latrell Spreewell choked his former coach. Between drugs, sex, and violence, it seems that the money is going to the players' heads.
All this money for these professional athletes can easily hurt them.
By giving athletes all this money, it seems we are giving them free reign to disregard their role model position. Not only do they disregard their role model position, but also they seem to think they are above the law because of their celebrity status. Fans are angry with the athletes like football player Ray Lewis; Lewis signed a large contract and then went to trial for murder. Why are we paying so much money for these poor role models in our society? Fans are also upset with the actual sport, because athletes are no longer worried about the fan as much as the next million-dollar contract. It is players like Lewis, Darryl Strawberry, and Michael Irvin, that sets a bad example for professional athletes. These three athletes are all paid very well and have acted as though they are above the law, thus creating a bad …show more content…
image.
We can not blame the money for spoiling athletes; fans are a large part as well because they basically worship these athletes. These actions are not acceptable but after all, it is the fans that put all the pressure on the players to perform well and it is the fans that support the athletics--so it is not all the money's fault, it is partially the fans.
Also, naive consumers believe that just because their favorite athlete wears a certain brand of underwear, wears certain shoes, or drinks a certain bottled beverage, they are obligated to do the same.
Why do popular brand name companies think fans should go out and pay these outrageous prices for an ordinary product? The reason they think this is because no matter what price companies charge, there will always be demand, which, in turn, sells the products.
These high salaries can hurt a team as well. It can separate a player from his team or it can separate a team from other teams. Albert Belle made more money playing for the Chicago White Sox than the entire payroll of the Pittsburgh Pirates. How does that effect the play of the league? That can not be seen as being fair.
Money does not hurt only professional athletes but it can hurt student-athletes as well. The money in professional sports is so enticing that college athletes might leave school early to enter the pros or skip college all together, which is not a smart move for their future.
The bottom line is athletes are paid too much, and the only thing expected of them is to show up and play. No hard work, and no moral standards. Jon Shepard said it perfectly when saying, "Professional athletes are making too much money in a society that's salaries and wages are traditionally based on the values of ones work"
(Shepard).
�
Horton, Gary. "Underachieving Millionaires." _ESPN_ n. pag. Web. 2 May 2010. <http://www.sports.espn.go.com/>.
"Kevin Garnett." _Basketball Reference_. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www.basketball-reference.com/>.
"LeBron James." _Basketball Reference_. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. http://www.basketball-reference.com/.
Mosher, Stephen. "Athletes Should Not Be Expected To Be Role Models ." Sports and Athletes. Editor Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Bender, 1999.
"Presidential and Vice Presidential Salaries, 1789+." _University of Michigan Library_. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2010. http://www.lib.umich.edu.
Samuels, Allison, and Mark Starr. "Nothing But Garnett." _Newsweek_ 135.7 (2000): 56. _Academic Search Premier_. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2010.
Shepard, Jon. "Athletes Should Not Be Expected To Be Role Models ." Sports and Athletes. Editor Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Bender, 1999.
Thomaselli, Rich. "LeBron James." _Advertising Age_ 74.46 (2003): S-6-S6. _Academic Search Premier_. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2010.
Salaries & Pro Athletes
Most people in America probably have a pretty good argument when they say they are being paid too little to do too much. Professional sports stars, on the other hand, display a lot of nerve when they use such a phrase. Sports stars are also held to lower standards than are other people. With the high-salary and low-moral standards, sports stars are the most overrated and overpaid people on the planet.
For example, Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, who started his professional basketball career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, took the ACT test three times in high school, and failed all three times. He also took the SAT test once and failed. Garnett decided not to go to college although he was …show more content…
the most highly sought after basketball player that year, and if his test scores were high enough, could attend almost any college through a scholarship. This decision took him to the NBA draft in 1995, where the Minnesota Timberwolves selected him in the first round. The T-Wolves later signed an extension for six years for almost 21 million a year. That works out to "125 million dollars to play a game for six years, and he never was college educated" (Lenard 87). In 2007, when Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, they extended his contract three more years for sixty-million dollars (Kevin Garnett).
Every year we hear of some new name, some new player in the sports news getting a new record contract which sets a much higher mark and blows away the high from the year before. One must now ask themselves whose fault it is that these men and women are getting paid more and more. Most guesses are that the fans, paying fifty dollars for a ticket, a hundred dollars for a jacket, and twenty dollars for a cap, are the ones to blame. The fans are the ones who support these teams and the players. Ticket prices keep going up because more money is needed to pay all of our great, and not so great, players. Knowing that fans will pay anything to watch their favorite star play just sky-rockets prices up that much more.
LeBron James has made sixty million dollars for the past 3 seasons from his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers alone (not to mention the 19 million he made from his rookie contract over the course of his first 4 seasons). He has made 80 million dollars over 7 years (LeBron James), and that does not include his 93 million dollar contract with Nike (which he has recently renewed), or any of his other sponsors such as Coke, McDonald's, and State Farm.
Here is a little comparison for fans to think about; The Preside of the United States of America is making 400 thousand dollars a year (Presidential and Vice Presidential Salaries, 1789+."), while the minimum salary in the NBA as a rookie for the 2009-2010 season was 457,588 dollars. This is a sad, yet true, comparison of the average person's values: a bench warmer in the NBA is worth more than the leader of our country.
Not only are these players getting paid thousands or millions of dollars, but are we really "getting what we paid for?" When players sign multi-year multi-million dollar contracts, their performance tends to drop because of the job security it provides. According to Gary Horton, players become "underachieving millionaires" (Horton).
Along with being paid too much, professional athletes are also constantly getting in trouble with the law. The players figure that since they have money, they have the right to go out, spend it, and have a good time. Which is true, but very often this "party attitude" goes a little too far. Some players even become violent, or turn to drugs. Rae Carrot went to court for murdering his wife, Michael Irvin and Darryl Strawberry were arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana, again, Latrell Spreewell choked his former coach. Between drugs, sex, and violence, it seems that the money is going to the players' heads.
All this money for these professional athletes can easily hurt them.
By giving athletes all this money, it seems we are giving them free reign to disregard their role model position. Not only do they disregard their role model position, but also they seem to think they are above the law because of their celebrity status. Fans are angry with the athletes like football player Ray Lewis; Lewis signed a large contract and then went to trial for murder. Why are we paying so much money for these poor role models in our society? Fans are also upset with the actual sport, because athletes are no longer worried about the fan as much as the next million-dollar contract. It is players like Lewis, Darryl Strawberry, and Michael Irvin, that sets a bad example for professional athletes. These three athletes are all paid very well and have acted as though they are above the law, thus creating a bad …show more content…
image.
We can not blame the money for spoiling athletes; fans are a large part as well because they basically worship these athletes. These actions are not acceptable but after all, it is the fans that put all the pressure on the players to perform well and it is the fans that support the athletics--so it is not all the money's fault, it is partially the fans.
Also, naive consumers believe that just because their favorite athlete wears a certain brand of underwear, wears certain shoes, or drinks a certain bottled beverage, they are obligated to do the same.
Why do popular brand name companies think fans should go out and pay these outrageous prices for an ordinary product? The reason they think this is because no matter what price companies charge, there will always be demand, which, in turn, sells the products.
These high salaries can hurt a team as well. It can separate a player from his team or it can separate a team from other teams. Albert Belle made more money playing for the Chicago White Sox than the entire payroll of the Pittsburgh Pirates. How does that effect the play of the league? That can not be seen as being fair.
Money does not hurt only professional athletes but it can hurt student-athletes as well. The money in professional sports is so enticing that college athletes might leave school early to enter the pros or skip college all together, which is not a smart move for their future.
The bottom line is athletes are paid too much, and the only thing expected of them is to show up and play. No hard work, and no moral standards. Jon Shepard said it perfectly when saying, "Professional athletes are making too much money in a society that's salaries and wages are traditionally based on the values of ones work"
(Shepard).
�
Horton, Gary. "Underachieving Millionaires." _ESPN_ n. pag. Web. 2 May 2010. <http://www.sports.espn.go.com/>.
"Kevin Garnett." _Basketball Reference_. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www.basketball-reference.com/>.
"LeBron James." _Basketball Reference_. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. http://www.basketball-reference.com/.
Mosher, Stephen. "Athletes Should Not Be Expected To Be Role Models ." Sports and Athletes. Editor Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Bender, 1999.
"Presidential and Vice Presidential Salaries, 1789+." _University of Michigan Library_. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2010. http://www.lib.umich.edu.
Samuels, Allison, and Mark Starr. "Nothing But Garnett." _Newsweek_ 135.7 (2000): 56. _Academic Search Premier_. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2010.
Shepard, Jon. "Athletes Should Not Be Expected To Be Role Models ." Sports and Athletes. Editor Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Bender, 1999.
Thomaselli, Rich. "LeBron James." _Advertising Age_ 74.46 (2003): S-6-S6. _Academic Search Premier_. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2010.