Do professional athletes earn too much.

1. 61

   Daffy Duckposted 13 years ago

   The good pros make millions of dollars a year.  This doesn't include bonuses either.  10 years 150 million and more for some.  People should get paid what they're worth, but what are they really worth?
   
   Please no answers about the owner decides or any cheap way out.  Take a stand.  THX.

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      canadawest99posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The stupid rabid sports fans in the U.S. determine the salaries cause they drop insane amounts of money that they can't afford on games and merchandise.  No other country glorifies athletes and actors like the U.S.
      
      In Canada, our football players go out and put themselves at injury risk for maybe $100-150k per year and many have side jobs in the off season.

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         Daniel Carterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Then perhaps they are very shortsighted about the health problems, brain damage and other issues they will face as they get older. Or, maybe they just need better, long-term health insurance to make up the difference.

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            Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Perhaps it's because they have universal health coverage.  An interesting link.

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         Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         If your players have jobs in the off season then they're not getting paid enough.  That's ridiculous.

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      3. 47

         iQwestposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with many of your points, canadawest99.  The sports players and movie stars get paid what they get paid because, we the people, pay it.  We spend more time going to the movie theaters and to ball games than paying attention to anything important.
         
         In fact, the vast majority of the American people scream how much they hate socialism and support their Representatives who scream even louder about socialism even though these same Representatives get paid by the government and have the world's finest health care (government sponsored the last time I checked).
         
         Ironic, sad, and not very bright all in the same breath.
         
         In the end, I don't fault sports players and the likes because they're getting paid the industry standard (a standard we the people set and pay for), it's just a shame that we don't hold other professions to the same degree of praise.

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      Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      that's a fairly easy question to answer, as all athletes are overpaid by definition.  therefore, i don't see why we're debating this.

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      Ohmaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes!!

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2. 63

   Daniel Carterposted 13 years ago

   Some pro athletes are paid too much. Perhaps not all.
   
   Human nature is to justify to ourselves why we should be paid so much, regardless of what our skills are. The upside is that many highly paid athletes adopt charities and start foundations and actually do have a pay-it-forward attitude. I think this is very commendable.
   
   Actually, there isn't any excuse for anyone not to have this attitude and do similarly, independent of pay.

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3. 80

   manlypoetrymanposted 13 years ago

   Do bears do Charmin commercials about going out in the woods?
   
   Professional Atheletes make way too much money and then usually end up making more of spectacle of themselves off the field then on the field. It is ludicrous!

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      Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Problems with narcissism.  I can think of a few who fit that.

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4. 59

   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   if you making 100,000 for playing football you dont need a side job!

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      Daniel Carterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      And that is usually below the low of pay for pro players. However, a lot of smart pro athletes do develop other business interests that are immensely successful because they know they have a relatively short life in sports. So that side job is really a retirement fund of sorts, for some of the lesser paid ones.

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      Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Actually they just migh need to if they get paid so little.  Remember that everything in Canada is much more expensive than in the US.  They would probably be able to live decently, but not as good as if they made the same here.  Not even close to as good.

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5. 59

   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   100,000 k is the league minninmum for canada, the nfl is around 500,000. Jeff faine center for the bucs has steakhouses, clothing line and pimp my ride type business. I know many players in many sports that have businesses. You have to have something to do after your playing days!

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      Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      You mean besides blowing your money on parties and hookers? :-)

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6. 61

   SomewayOuttaHereposted 13 years ago

   ...original question...or title of thread....YES...you wanna believe it!...way too much....obviously there is a lot of dough being made.....whatevvvvvvaaaaa!

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7. 59

   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   because its AMERICA steven that our right duhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! has that cat shot anyone yet, hes been at that window for a loooooooong time!

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      Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Nice  optimus. :-)

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      Daniel Carterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      

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         Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Hey daniel where do you get those emoticons or whatever they're called.   Sorry for the stupid question man.

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            Daniel Carterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            When you hit "reply" on the far right side on the bottom of the box is a formatting button. Press that and it will tell you how to get all the other stuff.
            
            

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               Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               OH Thanks DC.  Much appreciated man. 

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      Stevennix2001posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Well apart from a few mice and birds, he hasn't shot anything yet. I know his current target is major weenie down below.    j/k
      
      
      

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8. 60

   Matt in Jaxposted 13 years ago

   Athletes get paid way too much! I understand that some get charitable and that they need quite a bit to pay for possible health care issues during and after their career, but they need to be paid less.

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9. 82

   camloposted 13 years ago

   I say 'Get it while you can'.
   'Too much' is relative, and most athletes don't earn for very long anyway.

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10. 76

    shoganposted 13 years ago

    I'm not sure why people judge a pro athlete's pay on a scale with the rest of us.  Do I wish the rest of us got paid more?  Yup.  A pro athlete's pay, on the other hand, is a reflection of what teams can afford, and teams can afford these salaries because of us, not the athletes themselves.

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       camloposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       So, good luck to them!

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       1. 76

          shoganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Exactly right.  It's a free market.  If people were truly concerned about athlete's salaries, they'd stop watching the cable stations, buying team merchandise, and going to games.

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11. 67

    The Jetposted 13 years ago

    Yes, athletes earn way too much for playing sports. People like teachers should get paid more. But alas, we live in a strange world...

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12. 53

    johncimbleposted 13 years ago

    It's a tough question but I think people should be aloud to earn as much as they can make. Some athletes are just worth a lot more than others and also have a lot of power to drive sales of certain brands.

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13. 61

    theprojectbposted 13 years ago

    Just ask that same question to Montreal Canadiens fans about the $8 millions their club is paying (wasting on) Scott Gomez for 38 points this year.

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    I am DB Cooperposted 13 years ago

    If they were overpaid, the owners would lose money and pro sports would die out very quickly. If a pro sports team turns a profit of $1 billion in a year, does anyone ask if the owner made too much money? Of course not, because he made his money by selling millions of tickets at $100 each and earning millions more in television and licensing contracts. He makes his money from many different sources, and people say he's "earned it" because he showed exceptional business skill.
    
    If an athlete signs a contract that pays him $30 million a year, people say he's overpaid because all he does is play a game and he makes a lot of money for it. What's the real difference between the athlete and the owner? The owner's skills are in business, while the athlete's skill is in a game that people value. The athlete takes his skill to the free market and lets owners bid on it, and they come up with a value for what those skills are worth based on supply (how many similar players are out there) and demand (how many owners are looking for an athlete with these skills).
    
    It's no secret that the NFL has been making a lot of money for a long time. Player salaries, however, have been kept below what the equilibrium salary would be by an artificial salary cap, which is really just a form of contractually-obligated collusion on the part of the owners. The salary cap can be a good thing for competitive fairness, as it prevents the big market teams from signing all the good players, but it also means that NFL players are generally underpaid compared to the true market value of their skillset.

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    1. 61

       Daffy Duckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Yeah.  I wish I was underpaid only getting a few million per year.   

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    CyclingFitnessposted 13 years ago

    In my sport many 'professionals' earn less than 30 000 euros a year. And they're doing what they love!
    I have no grudge against any athlete earning what they can although realistically many are not responsible enough to deal with huge sums of money.

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