The Cost of Maintaining a Professional Athlete - Essay Example

Are Athletes Overpaid? Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Introduction Debate over compensation of professional athletes has flared up. Professional athletes are paid to run in organized athletic games around the world. While they exploit their natural abilities and talents to succeed in their field, some people feel that are paid way beyond the normal compensation of any work. On the other hand, others perceive them as deserving and valuable in society because they go through grueling practices and schedules that may leave them with injuries in the lifetime. In essence, the sports teams make huge amount of money from fans, advertisements, tickets and sale of merchandize. People spend exorbitant amount of money and time to watch athletics and football games. As a result, it would only be fair that the huge amounts of money collected should be paid to athletes making them to seem overpaid. Are athletes overpaid? Sports companies receive a lot of money from fans and other interested parties watching their favorite sports teams. While some argue that a huge portion of the money earned should be given to athletes, others feel that there is no justification to offer athletes salaries that surpass that of big business CEOs. On the contrary, taking the money away from athletes and giving to government in form of taxes or fees may help set a maximum wage. According to Kaser and Oelkers (2007), people should be rewarded based on their economic importance of their jobs and their value in society. Athletes are hardworking than almost any other occupation as they struggle to maintain fine-tuned bodies and to stay healthy. Moreover, current economy is driven by pleasure and entertainment in which sports partially fulfills. While many athletes earn more money than they know how to spend, they deserve to be rewarded to the extent that huge amounts collected could go (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011). Zimmer (2001) argued that professional athletes are not overpaid and that there are other groups that earn similar salaries. The author found that professional athletes are not just the highest paid individuals. For example, Usain Bolt, the short distance runner, could be earning less compared Apple CEO, Tim Cook or movie actor like Angelina Jolie. When considered entertainers, professional athletes are highly paid but that deserve such salaries for their hard work (Monduy, 2014). While some athletes are notorious for going broke, they face challenges of financial ingenuity in the real world. Warner (2012) observes that it could be the overspending they do that project professional athletes as overpaid while in reality that are not. Yet, as the world tows towards entertainment and fun, the idea of rewarding these athletes meager salaries, would only make them less motivated and enthusiastic in what they love most. It is only reasonable to observe that athletes should earn their fair share of money collected from their favorite sports teams. Nonetheless, the cost of maintaining a professional athlete is high (Kaser & Oelkers, 2007). For example, a knee-replacement surgery on average is between $35,000 and $40,000 for an athlete without insurance cover. In addition to follow-up examinations and physical therapy, these costs remain exorbitant to average athletes (Mueller, 2012). The stage has been set for athletes to demand more money from their managers as pressure piles on the coaches to deliver. In reality, athletes earn abnormal salaries compared to average citizens (Zimmer, 2001). This is besides their compensation for bonuses or endorsement deals. For example, the highest paid middle distance runner and Bears Player in 2012 was 7 million and 13 million dollars in the US in 2012 respectively while the highest paid doctor was $500,000 per annum in the same year (Mueller, 2012). From the above statistics, it is obvious that huge margins separate the professions making athletes to be overpaid. While many fans are willing to buy overpriced merchandize and gate fees to watch their favorite games, they are actually making such huge payments to the athletes. However, others assert that athletes inspire and fulfill great things in their lives which cannot be priced like products in store shelves. Monduy (2014) concurs that athletes are overpaid and that the excess money should be channeled to armed forces, cancer research institutes and to help the homeless. While LeBron James of NBA earns $250,000 per game, a professional lawyer of 11 years earns $170,000 per year (Mueller, 2012). This may not be a better compensation for a doctor or a lawyer with many years of experience and abilities. One reason why athletes get paid highly is that they not only entertain but also demonstrates that sacrifice and training is rewarding. Secondly, the industry determines the salaries and not the individuals. They pay-check may be gigantic because fans choose to pay for mugs, calendars, jerseys and tickets which directly goes to the athletes. In simple terms, as the sports world makes more money, the athletes will always get paid the hefty amounts. Although athletes earn too much money, they are not overpaid (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011). It is sports franchise that makes a lot of money and reward athletes that make them seem overpaid. In reality, what they a paid is a small percentage of what the sports industry earns. Technically, they are not ‘overpaid’ as their industry has a huge income and rewards them a meager portion. While they make too much money, they earn every penny of it. With the growing publicity and advertisement of professional games in the television and social media, such attention will make the sports industry lucrative and more relevant (Mueller, 2012). The World Cup and Olympic Games has in the recent decades, received wider coverage and following from fans around the world. Companies are joining in the enthusiasm to promote their products and brands further enhancing the image of the games. Despite the latest doping cases observed in some athletes, Rosner and Shropshire (2011) show that the fun and lessons of determination and consistency of many athletes makes the industry more appealing. In developing countries, majority of citizens earn average subsistence income. Athletes from these countries tend to be viewed as overpaid because they earn, in one race, what many can earn in 10 years. Coupled with their lavish spending, many people have regarded athletes as rich and ‘overpaid’. There are two sides of the coin to the debate on whether athletes are overpaid or not. When perceived from the consumer point of view and their lavish spending, the athletes are overpaid (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011). On the other hand, comparing their earnings to the sum total of what the sports industry collects, they are ‘underpaid’. It can be concluded that athletes are not ‘overpaid’ because they inspire through hard work and determination and also entertain fans. Conclusion The essay has found that professional athletes are paid way beyond what other professional occupations such as medicine and law compensate. From this comparison, it is evident that athletes are ‘overpaid’. However, it is not the case since the athletes are compensated a small portion of what the sports industry receives. As the current world is driven by entertainment and increased consumerism, more money is flowing to sports arenas and to the purchase of merchandize. Athletes tend to spend lavishly to a point others perceive them as having too much money, hence ‘overpaid’. In my opinion, athletes are not ‘overpaid’ and that they only need to spend wisely. The sports industry continues to earn abnormal profits from their revenue collection activities but channel a meager percentage to salaries of athletes. From this perspective it is evident that athletes are not ‘overpaid’. References Kaser, K. & Oelkers, D. (2007). Sports and Entertainment Marketing. Cengage Learning. Monduy, E. (2014, October 2). Are Athletes Overpaid? Zeitgestnewsonline. http://thezeitgeistnews.com/2014/10/02/are-athletes-overpaid/. Mueller, C. (2012, March 4). Two sides of every coin: Are professional athletes overpaid? Bleacher Report. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1089195-two-sides-to-every-coin-are-professional-athletes-overpaid#. Rosner, S. & Shropshire, K.L. (2011). The Business of Sports. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Warner, T. (2012, August 21).  NFL players add financial literacy to their game plan.  Retrieved from http://www.moneymanagement.org/Community/Blogs/Blogging-for%20Change/2012/August/NFL-players-add-financial-literacy-to-their-game-plan.aspx. Zimmer, M., & Zimmer, M. (2001). Athletes as Entertainers : A Comparative Study of Earnings Profiles. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 25 (2): 202-215. Read More