Professional Athlete's Salaries - Capitalism On Steroids

on whether or not professional athletes make too much money. I will try to provide some in depth perspective and information on professional sports salary averages and let you be the judge for yourself. If my opinion on professional athlete's incomes is not clear from the title, I will make it clear in my summary. As for now, just sit back and enjoy the read.

I was born and raised in the southern states, and have visited more impoverished communities than I would care to mention. America has countless millions of people living at or below the poverty level. On top of that, we have millions more who are just getting by. Our school systems are a mess, and the children in them are not much better off. We want to protect our children, but vast numbers of our citizens support those who would give corporate greed even more room to breed and spawn. Our national coffers are empty. As citizens, we are targets of the police for funding of the local economy, using any little infraction as a means to further deplete people who already have too little. When 75% of Americans make 32,000 a year or less, multi million dollar a year contracts for athletes may be a bit over board.

looks to be approximately 4 million a year across the board. Some of the number that I used for my calculations were based on 2005 and averages, so the figure may be slightly higher today. Gone are the days when men played a game with passion for the thrill of the competition. There were stars who laid it all on the line and through their love and made the games what they are today. The Babe Ruths, Jackie Robinsons, Arnold Palmers, and so many more. Men who played different sports, but who all carried that same uncompromising respect for themselves and those who they competed with. Their legacies are timeless, even though their salaries were dismal. The money meant almost nothing to them, because they were being given the opportunity to do what they loved and make a living doing it. There weren't any spoiled brats destroying their respective sports reputation. Each man was a symbol of a group, and the group held each other accountable. That's a place where America is really missing out in our current society. Accountability is counted in dollars.

Through our love of characters like the Babe and company, the business of professional sports is booming. The average professional sports team was valued at around 527.5 million dollars in 2010 according to my calculations. That average is based on the W. R. Hambrecht sports market and valuation report for 2011. The numbers I used cover the major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL). Now, let's move on to single individuals. The most successful individual athlete in history is Tiger Woods, with his endorsements and tournament career earnings recently topping the 1 billion dollar mark. Wow, one BILLION dollars. Can you imagine making that much money for hitting a golf ball.That figure is as close to absurd as I have ever heard. On the hardwood, Kobe Bryant made 53 million last year alone. I am a fan of basketball, but don't you think that 53 million might be too much for playing basketball? Not only does the vast majority of the money get wasted, making this one the most profitable jobs in America is driving our society's morals in a concerning direction. 9th graders can jump through the roof, but they can't count to ten. Houston, we have a problem......

I feel that pro athletes in most sports are way over paid. There are far too many people in the nation without a decent place to sleep for anyone to waste that kind of wealth. What sense does it make for basketball players to make more than they can spend in a lifetime and people who save lives live paycheck to paycheck? If I had it my way, there would be a limit on each years salary. Anything over 5 million (give or take a few million) a year goes into a collective escrow account for those who need help. The people who want to work and return to society but are unable to succeed for what ever reason. There are so many people in need. It gets under my skin to see the 1% live lavishly when there's a child in America who will be homeless tonight. It is disturbing to me. As a nation, we have the money, the people, and the work to rebuild our society. Instead, we allow and support the 1% and big businesses as they manipulate our tax system and economy out of our children's futures. I think we should take a stand as a group, and take back our rights and communities one dollar at a time. Thank you for reading my hub.