Should Athletes Be Paid?

The United States is referred to as “The land of the free and the home of the brave” in The Star Spangled Banner. Without our armed forces to fight in battle, we would not have the freedoms to do anything that we do now, including playing sports. Many athletic players receive more money than most soldiers do. Many agree that athletes should, but I beg to differ. I think a man with a helmet defending his country should make more money than a man with a helmet defending a football. Football players make more money than soldiers do, they get thousands of dollars every game, hit, touchdown, or kick-off of each season. The Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, Matt Ryan, gets paid $11,500,000 just as a base salary, while the highest ranking Officer, O-10*, gets paid $20220.07 each year after serving for a little less than 38 years. This means that the average athletic player receives about $11,479,779.93 more than the highest ranking officer in the army does. How could this possibly be fair to soldiers? Armed forces, that fight to protect our country, are getting
lower amounts of income than a quarterback for a football team. An O-10 Officer in the military receives about 98% less than Matt Ryan. Soldiers should receive higher income because they are the reason we are here today. Soldiers need more money to send back to family, pay bills, and be able to retire confidently, at the right time, while knowing that they helped fight for the right things: their life, my life, and your life. Athletes get injured on the field just like soldiers do in battle, so what’s the difference? Sports players get hurt from playing a game and only getting injured physically, not mentally. Soldiers can get injured mentally and physically because of the things they have experienced at war. The war can cause mental illnesses, which result in a hard life for the soldier. The soldier may have to come home and he suffers from a mental illness, so he has to go to a hospital and be there until he gets better. To better understand, picture this: a sports player on the field ready to play a game. They go out play a hard game and in the end, win. They may get hurt, but only physically, a few scratches here and there. Soldiers who come home - if they survive the brutal treatments of combat - could be scarred for life because of the things they’ve endured when overseas. Athletes do not experience this kind of pain from playing a sport. Many soldiers have died trying to defend our country.
Football, baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, volleyball, tennis, basketball, and many other sports have players that have died trying to play something the chose to play and do things they wanted to do. Soldiers go into war, or battle, to help protect you and your family. Without soldiers, how would we feel safe enough to play sports? How would we feel safe enough to go out and watch a game while cheering our loved ones on? Sports are a fun activity for everyone to enjoy and play, so why do professional ball players get paid so much when U.S. soldiers are risking their lives to protect this land? Many say sport players are important and should earn loads of cash, but I do not agree. Athletes should get paid enough money for them to be able to retire and raise a family, but not as much as the people protecting them, not to mention all of our homes and
families. There is a difference between soldiers and athletes. Soldiers fight to defend our country, homes, and families, while an athletic sports player fights to defend a ball, goal, or net. Soldiers should receive more money than a sports player, soldiers fight to help protect us and the things we do, including playing sports. I think a man with a helmet defending his country should make more money than a man with a helmet defending a football.