Do Athletes and Actors Get Paid too Much - Term Paper Example

Do Athletes and Actors Get Paid too Much? Every rational human being is bound to get excited and judgmental at the thought of the figure that some of our athletes and actors from their sporting and acting endeavors respectively. The question as to whether these sport and acting personalities merit these huge pay packages usually generate heated debates to those against them getting huge pay packages, and those of the idea that they are justified and duly meet their handsome pay packages. Those who assert that athletes and actors are grossly overpaid bring various opinions forward. To start with, it is a belief that in a typical society where traditionally the amount of money payable in salaries and related earnings is determined against the value of one’s work to the society, the pay packages of athletes and actors go against the grain. It is a common economic practice in the modern society that in determining the pay commensurate to someone’s work, it is to be determined by the economic significance of their work, and value added to the society by that particular job. For instance, the teaching profession is among one of the most economically significant profession since the future of any economy is dependent on the education acquired by its young generation. In spite of this fact, teachers are paid peanuts when compared to established athletes such as Usain Bolt (Quirk, Rodney and Pay108). In addition, there is the opinion that athletes and actors do not encounter hardships and life-endangering situations in their work. However, this cannot be said of occupations such as those of policemen, medical practitioners and fire brigades who save lives of other people even risking their lives in the process. What of the gallant police officers and military personnel who even abandon their loved families for the service of protecting and defending their nations with some paying the ultimate price in the process? They all earn just a little fraction of these athletes and actors. In fact even the number one patriot in America, President Obama’s pay cannot stand what these A-class athletes and actors take home in spite of the fact that he handles and makes critical policy decisions that directly affect the entire world each day he is in office (Hanold 89). The group that hold this view reiterate that if athletes and actors are to be paid these huge pay packages, then they should at least give back some of it to the society. They can do this through charity organizations as a show of goodwill since the same people make their payday. In addition, they should be positive role models to the many children that adore them as well as to the aspiring athletes and actors to pass on ethos that these aspiring athletes and actors should not just be motivated by the huge paydays to enter into this lucrative field. However, various groups of individuals are opposed to these opinions and hold out that athletes and actors merit their paydays. To make their point, these groups have convincing opinions that support their assertions. It becomes of importance to look at these opinions and appreciate their argument (Hanold 92). Athletes and actors are not overpaid because they start young and finish young. The average career of a professional athlete usually starts at a tender age of 16 years and in most cases ends when the athlete is in their early 30’s. On the side of actors, each new day there is a new younger face that is usually waiting in the sidelines to displace the ones in the mainstream already. Such a career demands one to forgo the pleasures of teenage years and even education such that when the career ends at the relative young age of 35 years, the athlete has nothing to fall on except the money in the bank. In addition, this is not the position in other professions such as teaching where one can go on teaching to their late 60’s and earning their pay packages (Brown 45). Moreover, the athletes and actors get paid these huge pay packages simply because they are the best at what they do. Most of the athletes that get paid huge amounts of money are the ones that are the best in their fields, for instance, Lebron James in basketball or Ronaldo in football. They take a lot of time to train investing both their time and resources to be the best in their fields. In other professions as well, the top who are said to be at the top of their respective hierarchies receive huge pay packages. For instance, the CEO of a particular company commands the same huge pay packages just as any of these athletes. The position is the same to lawyers, engineers, and doctors with the distinction being that these other professions just do not publicize their paydays as the case with athletes and actors (Brown 48). It is vital to acknowledge the fact that the careers of an athlete can all end in just a matter of a second. The career of an athlete requires that they are physically fit and remain so for as long as their career exists. This is dangerous with the physical nature of sports where anything can happen on the field or in practice that can result in a career ending injury. An awkward fall, a mistimed tackle or even an unfortunate accident all have the potential of ending an illustrious career of an athlete in a matter of a second. To safeguard the athlete from such an unfortunate occurrence, a huge payday is justified to ensure that the athlete has some security should such a career threatening injury hit the athlete (Brown 50). Perhaps one of the points that are worth noting is that this is not taxpayers’ money. Those who are against the pay packages of athletes and actors usually complain and argue that these pay packages are not commensurate with those of teachers or policemen. However, this being true, it is important to know that these professions are usually paid by the taxpayer. On the other hand, the payday of athletes and actors is not a taxpayers burden. Their pay packages are not financed by taxpayers but rather by rich billionaires who have money to indulge and pay such paydays. In fact, even if Lebron James or Lionel Messi for instance were to get huge pay cuts it would in no way benefit the government since it would even result in revenue loss from taxing such huge pay packages (Morgan and Jane 83). Appreciating the nature of the profession of athletes and actors is an important point too. Not several people who can dazzle and light the football pitch like Messi or Fabregas does. The same proposition is true in the mainstream acting industry since not many can perform The In the Pirates of the Carribean film, the role of Jack Sparrow like Depp does. The success of the film is built around the star Jack Sparrow, who makes pirates cool same as Lionel Messi who makes Camp Nou be filled by spectators coming to see him dazzle the opposition defenders with the meticulous football. These stars generate huge income to their fields and so they too deserve huge pay packages (Oriard 60). In addition, it is imperative to realize the fact that athletes and actors earn their pay packages. Many times in these other professions such as teaching and police force, it is whom you know that counts rather than what you have to offer. However, this is not true to athletes who have to prove themselves before they are hired or even paid their paydays. In the sporting profession, questions of who your father is or whom you know do not count anywhere but it is the talent and hard work of each particular athlete that counts. When an athletes performance dwindles due to age or any other performance affecting issue, it directly negatively affects the pay package of the athlete (Oriard 62). In conclusion, various misconceptions, and inadequate information has led to athletes being unfairly castigated and labeled as ungrateful individuals who are paid huge pay packages that they do not deserve at all. Sensational claims have been brought forward all that portray the athlete or the actor as the source of the economic meltdowns in various economies. However, in the real sense, these are individuals who are unfairly judged by the same people who pay huge to see these athletes and actors entertain them. If the world became less hypocritical, then they would stop castigating these innocent hard workers who fully deserve their huge pay packages. Works cited Oriard, Michael. Brand Nfl: Making and Selling Americas Favorite Sport. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010. Internet resource. Morgan, Melissa J. J, and Jane Summers. Sports Marketing. Southbank, Vic: Thomson, 2005. Print. Quirk, James P, and Rodney D. Fort. Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1992. Print. Brown, Ronald L. Valuing Professional Practices and Licenses: A Guide for the Matrimonial Practitioner., 2014. Print. Hanold, Mylon. World Sports: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print. Read More