PLN 2

Are too many professional athletes being overpaid?

High profile professional athletes are being overpaid by their belonging professional league. Professional athletes are getting paid more than the average firefighter, teacher, and police officer. Not only that, but these athletes have more than one source of income. A majority of their money comes from endorsements, which means they shouldn’t be paid as much from their leagues. The average salary for MLB players tops $3 million dollars without endorsements; with endorsements professional athletes can earn as much as $20-30 million in a single year. High profile athletes should be paid less from their league because that money can go to better use other than to entertainers. There are people who serve our community for a living which deserve more money considering they make little on average especially teachers, firefighters, and police officers who are rookies. People who are serving their community for a living only have one source of income unlike these high paid athletes. Most professional leagues have salary caps which limits how much money the team can have to spend on their players, but the MLB, Major League Baseball, has no salary cap which means that all their players can be paid any amount their owners seem fit. On average, professional baseball and basketball players are being more than other professional athletes. Basketball players are being paid more on average because they require fewer players on one team which leaves all players on the team to be paid more than other professional sports such as football.