In the article, “Are Pro Athletes Overpaid” (Upfront) I learned that there are some people who believe that professional athletes make far too much money and that it is wrong but there are also some who think they should earn as much as they make now. Athletes rarely make less than six figures a year and this is if they don’t play all that often. The stars and faces of their leagues make millions and some like Stephen Curry can make up to 40 million in one year. For those who are against the athletes’ wages, their main argument is that it isn’t fair that they make millions of dollars to run around with a ball while there are people saving lives or educating our future generations making far less. It’s a fair argument but when you consider the amount of work the athletes put in throughout their whole life to get to where they are and how difficult it is to make it that far, it starts to be justifiable.

In my opinion, I don’t believe that athletes are overpaid or that their wages should be brought down. The athletes that get paid the most are the athletes that draw more attention which is more often than not, the best players. Players don’t just naturally become the best, they make sacrifices and work to get to where they are. You also have to keep in mind the intensity and the risk that the pro athletes put their bodies in. Their careers aren’t as long as teachers’ or firefighters’. Not to make it seem like being a firefighter or a teacher is a walk in the park but athletes work their whole lives to only play professionally for a couple of years. The revenue that comes from the game is always going to be there and if it isn’t going to the athletes, then it is going to the team owners and I would rather the athletes who make the game interesting be filthy rich than the owner who gets to sit back and watch.

Do you think that professional athletes are overpaid?