Nathan Lamonica DeAnnaJensen English 50 25 November 2008 The High Price of Athletes ` Ever since contracts began in professional sports the price of athletes has continued to rise. So why are athletes worth so much? And where does all the money come from? It is all about the revenue, a team’srevenue determines how much they can pay their players.Athletes deserve their pay because they aresome of the hardest working people and are the cornerstone of a business that makes billions of dollars.` ` Athletes are some of the highest people not only in the United States but possibly in the world. But it hasn’t always been that way. When contracts in professional sports first began athletes were barely making enough to pay for their meals. They were paid in the area of twenty dollars a week. Even though that was in the early 1900’s it still wasn’t much. And ever since the sports entertainment industry became popular around that time period salaries skyrocketed. For example, in the 1920’s legendary baseball player Babe Ruth earned more in one year than the president of the U.S. at the time. Since then athletes have been taking the money and running with it.` ` Athletes are paid so much because they are the focal point of these multi-billion dollar industries. Their success determines the success of the wholeteam’sfranchise, and if the team doesn’t have any success they’ll be no money for anyone to make. Although it may not seem like it, professional athletes are some of the hardest working people around, not only physically but mentally as well. They put their bodies through vigorous training and deserve every penny they earn. Although anathlete’sseason is only a couple of months out of the year, they don’t just start getting ready a couple of weeks before the start of the season. They train year round to keep their bodies in shape. They work six to seven days a week for up to fifteen hours a day. Vacations are rare; they don’t get much time off, and they are always...