Introduction
Professional athletes’ pay often becomes the center of discussion among the public. Annually, magazines reveal the list of the highest-paid sportspersons and talk about their salaries, comparing them to famous actors and CEOs of major companies. The debate regarding this topic presents two major sides – the first group states that athletes are extremely overpaid for their performance, while the other group argues that they earn the amount of money they deserve. In reality, the border between these two statements may be less clear if one takes into account the fact that players are often judged not only by their performance but also their popularity and exposure. Some professional athletes’ pay is inequitably high in comparison to salaries of specialists in other spheres, although less recognized players may be underpaid due to the lack of celebrity status.
Background
The pay of the most popular players is often questioned regarding its necessity. According to McIntyre, journalists and sports fans are often concerned with the amounts that some athletes receive because of their contracts (1). For example, in 2014, Forbes released a list of athletes with the largest salaries, revealing how much money a sports celebrity can earn in a year. The list included such players as Christiano Ronaldo, Floyd Mayweather, and Kobe Bryant (Korzynski and Paniagua 186). The last of these athletes, while not being at the very top of the list, still managed to earn “almost eight times [more] than any other basketball player” (Korzynski and Paniagua 186). This data shows that a disparity between athletes’ wages exists in the industry.
Earnings also differ from one country to another. A study by Liu et al. revealed that U.S. baseball players earned as much as 75 times more than Taiwanese athletes (865). While this number may be connected to the economies of these countries, the correlation between it and perceptions of athletes in the states is also present. Many factors affect the players’ pay: performance (both personal and of the team), experience, contract length, and received awards (Liu et al. 866). Popularity and status can also be considered, although they are not included in the calculation explicitly.
Opposition
Some people believe that athletes’ pay is justified for a number of reasons. First of all, professional players are viewed as entertainers and public figures whose primary responsibilities are not limited by sports-related activities (Korzynski and Paniagua 186). Therefore, their salaries may be compared to those of famous performers and actors. Some individuals can even view them as role models for children and young persons if players are framed as people who have achieved their dreams.
Another argument states that athletes sacrifice their personal lives in order to achieve a high level of professionalism. Indeed, professional sportspersons spend a significant amount of time training, and many of them start pursuing this path in their childhood. College football and basketball players, for instance, often play without any monetary incentives, although they often have to forgo other activities in order to compete and maintain good grades (Berry 246). Thus, high salaries may be interpreted as compensation for players’ past time and efforts.
Position
Presented arguments show that athletes should be earning enough money as famous and hard-working specialists. Nevertheless, it is necessary to note that the high salaries of popular athletes do not contribute to the overall earnings in the industry but create and exacerbate income inequality. The sports business is rather monopolistic – athletes engaged in a particular sport have limited options for business affiliations (Humphreys and Pyun 677). Therefore, the competition for earning a place in a team may restrict players’ ability to demand better treatment. Thus, some less famous players may have lower salaries in comparison to their famous counterparts (Korzynski and Paniagua 186). Such inequity may be enforced further if one treats athletes only as entertainers.
Moreover, the inequality between different industries may also be viewed as a reason to argue that athletes are overpaid. As this occupation remains to be among the ones with the highest salaries, less recognized careers may seem undesirable and undeserving of high compensation. Healthcare professionals and teachers can also be framed as role models, similarly to the presented above argument. Nevertheless, their salaries often cannot compete with those of professional athletes, although their duties and training are also demanding.
Common Ground
It is possible for one to see a connection between these arguments. Indeed, athletes sacrifice their free time in order to train and achieve results. Therefore, they should be rewarded according to their efforts. However, this statement applies to other occupations as well and should be regarded as unifying and not separating for different industries. Furthermore, the disparity between more and less famous athletes, as well as the lack of financial compensation for younger players, should be addressed. It may be possible that young athletes may benefit from a more just system of financial support.
Conclusion
The issue of overpaid athletes should center on the fact that a small number of famous individuals attract the attention of the public and form the view of the whole industry. It is vital to address the inequity of salaries for different types of players and the difference in perceptions of various careers. Athletes deserve fair pay as much as other committed professionals. Nonetheless, some arguments dismiss the problems in the sphere of sports, neglecting the disparity that high salaries create for less recognized sportspersons.
Works Cited
Berry, William W. “Employee-Athletes, Antitrust, and the Future of College Sports.” Staford Law & Policy Review, vol. 28, 2017, pp. 245-272.
Humphreys, Brad R., and Hyunwoong Pyun. “Monopsony Exploitation in Professional Sport: Evidence from Major League Baseball Position Players, 2000–2011.” Managerial and Decision Economics, vol. 38, no. 5, 2017, pp. 676-688.
Korzynski, Pawel, and Jordi Paniagua. “Score a Tweet and Post a Goal: Social Media Recipes for Sports Stars.” Business Horizons, vol. 59, no. 2, 2016, pp. 185-192.
Liu, Zhenjia, et al. “The Relationship between Player Characteristics, Team Characteristics and Athletes’ Remuneration: An Advanced Empirical Study of Asian and US Professional Baseball Leagues.” Modern Economy, vol. 8, no. 7, 2017, pp. 865-877.
McIntyre, Kevin. “The NFL Salary Cap and Veteran Players’ Salaries.” Archives of Business Research, vol. 5, no. 7, 2017, pp. 1-11.