Are Athletes Overpaid? Argumentative Essay

Are Athletes Overpaid? Argumentative Essay

Professor Tafawa
English 112 MH3
March 13, 2013
Argumentative Essay
Are Athletes Overpaid?
Intro As a fan of many sports is always a little disheartening when you see big superstar players making millions of dollars every year while the typical fan can barely afford to see more than a couple games live every year. Many people become angry due to this fact and often chastise players because they make so much money yet we still sit there, either in front of a TV or live at the game, and enjoy watching the professionals participate in the sports that they are best at. People in general love sports and although athletes have some of the best salaries in the world their pay is something that is justifiable based on their careers.
Con Athletes are some of the best-paid entertainers on Earth but it is difficult to enjoy as a fan due to the high costs of tickets and team merchandise. Ticket and merchandising cost for teams have been going up every year and it’s an added burden to the typical fan. Average ticket prices for the NFL, MLB and NHL all rose 5% to 10% this year [2008], according to Jon Greenberg, executive editor of Team Marketing Report, which tracks ticket prices. (Mihoces, USA Today). But the thing about sports is that it will always be popular especially in America where in 2007 fans shelled out a record $32.06 billion on tickets, parking, concessions, premium seats and on-site merchandise sales in 2007, a 4.8% increase from the year before, says David Broughton, research director at Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal (Mihoces, USA Today).
Pro Athletes are very highly paid due to the fact that there is a large demand of viewers that like to follow their sport. Let’s face it; do you think that an athlete would be making millions of dollars if he weren’t doing something that people enjoyed? The fact of the matter is that professional athletes are making a lot of money because people are willing to pay the high costs of tickets and...

Similar Essays