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Do you think professional athletes in popular sports deserve their pay?

Do professional ball players deserve their salaries?

  • yes

    Votes: 13 44.8%

  • no

    Votes: 15 51.7%

  • There's another kind of football?

    Votes: 1 3.4%
  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .
mac

mac

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DO you believe that the top earning Football and Baseball (and even that silly other Football) players deserve the multi-million dollar salaries they get?
 
Professional sports is a form of entertainment. As such it is a business and if they generate revenue through their abilities, name and popularity they should be compensated accordingly.
 
My answer is "no," because I honestly don't think they as people deserve pay that is that astronomical (in most cases).

However, I would vehemently oppose any measure restricting someone's right to pay those athletes whatever private money they wanted to in exchange for selling seats at events where these athletes compete.

In other words, my personal opinion about the "deservingness" should have no bearing on someone else's right to do whatever s/he wants with his/her money.
 
Generally, they deserve to earn whatever the market will bear. They entertain a lot of people, and create a huge amount of value for their employers. However, some of their salaries are due to union monopolies and government subsidies, rather than supply and demand. So I'd say that they'd deserve a very large salary, but somewhat less than they make now.

"Deserve" is kind of a moralistic way to phrase it though. A more accurate way to phrase it is that I think they *should* earn large salaries that are somewhat lower than their current salaries, given the current realities of the professional sports industry.
 
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If the economy's so bad where's the money coming from? If the market supports the salaries you can't begrudge them. The minimum MLB salary is $480,000 per year. The surgeon who performed open heart surgery on me said he made about $5,000 per operation. Does a baseball player deserve more than a heart surgeon? In my opinion, no. However, it's what the market bears.
 
any time we think that they don't, we should stop buying tickets.

however, i will add this to my statement : a good chunk of the money that sports teams bring in comes from taxpayers and cable providers. i'd like to at least have the option to give up all sports channels from my cable package for a significant discount. i have watched ESPN for about an hour during the thirteen years i've been an involuntary customer. i'd like to trade it for HBO.
 
In general, no I don't, but in reality, they are worth whatever someone will pay them. If someone is stupid enough to pay them those salaries, then I see no reason why they shouldn't get those salaries. Just like the idiots in Hollywood don't deserve what they get paid, but someone wants to hand them a check, who am I to complain?
 
They don't sit around playing computer all week and go play on Sunday. It's not like their job is easy, most people can't do it (physicals aside).
 
Helix said:
any time we think that they don't, we should stop buying tickets.

however, i will add this to my statement : a good chunk of the money that sports teams bring in comes from taxpayers and cable providers. i'd like to at least have the option to give up all sports channels from my cable package for a significant discount. i have watched ESPN for about an hour during the thirteen years i've been an involuntary customer. i'd like to trade it for HBO.
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That be true.
ESPN is the most expensive cable channel that you're forced to buy, if you want cable.

I'd say, at least with sports, these guys are moderately to heavily subsidized and are generally not worth what they are paid.
Although I'm biased, sports are boring to me.
 
Helix said:
any time we think that they don't, we should stop buying tickets.

however, i will add this to my statement : a good chunk of the money that sports teams bring in comes from taxpayers and cable providers. i'd like to at least have the option to give up all sports channels from my cable package for a significant discount. i have watched ESPN for about an hour during the thirteen years i've been an involuntary customer. i'd like to trade it for HBO.
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It's never going to happen. Comcast owns NBC and is one of Obama's largest campaign contributors. You will never be allowed to pay only for the channels you watch. The industry is too powerful.
 
jerry7 said:
It's never going to happen. Comcast owns NBC and is one of Obama's largest campaign contributors. You will never be allowed to pay only for the channels you watch. The industry is too powerful.
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I'd say that's not entirely true.
Internet tv services are going to be cable's undoing in the future.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
I'd say that's not entirely true.
Internet tv services are going to be cable's undoing in the future.
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Personally, I don't watch broadcast or cable TV hardly at all. Every single show I want to watch, I download and watch it when it's convenient to me, without commercials. I've been doing it that way for years and never plan on doing it any other way.
 
mac said:
DO you believe that the top earning Football and Baseball (and even that silly other Football) players deserve the multi-million dollar salaries they get?
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To be honest, I don't really understand the appeal of sports in general, so it seems slightly ridiculous to me to pay some dude lottery money just because he can throw a ball better than most men. Having said that, sports are a form of entertainment that many, many people like, and star athletes put butts in seats, just like Brad and Angelina do. They're walking cash cows, and they get paid accordingly. Makes sense to me.
 
mac said:
DO you believe that the top earning Football and Baseball (and even that silly other Football) players deserve the multi-million dollar salaries they get?
Click to expand...

In the case of football players (REAL football - LOL), their bodies take a real beating, their careers are rather short, they can end up with serious head injuries, and it is actually quite a dangerous sport, so in a way I would say yes. Of course, the AMOUNT of money they get IS a bit ridiculous, but if the players don't get the money then the owners will. All the money comes from the fans, so I have to go with yes.
 
If the market bears it, then yes they deserve it, as a result of the paying public being willing to participate in, and support the process.

If it were dependent on people like myself, they would never be able to make big bucks, but apparently there are many people who are eager to go to the coliseum.;)
 
ChrisL said:
In the case of football players (REAL football - LOL), their bodies take a real beating, their careers are rather short, they can end up with serious head injuries, and it is actually quite a dangerous sport, so in a way I would say yes. Of course, the AMOUNT of money they get IS a bit ridiculous, but if the players don't get the money then the owners will. All the money comes from the fans, so I have to go with yes.
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I agree with the general sentiment of this post, but wanted to point out that if getting hurt were a consistently applied benchmark for employment compensation, coal miners and front line members of the military would be making some serious bank, and that obviously isn't the case.
 
Aderleth said:
I agree with the general sentiment of this post, but wanted to point out that if getting hurt were a consistently applied benchmark for employment compensation, coal miners and front line members of the military would be making some serious bank, and that obviously isn't the case.
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Unfortunately, you're right. All of those people should be making good money too, but they don't have fans that will pay top dollar to see them do their jobs.
 
ChrisL said:
In the case of football players (REAL football - LOL), their bodies take a real beating, their careers are rather short, they can end up with serious head injuries, and it is actually quite a dangerous sport, so in a way I would say yes. Of course, the AMOUNT of money they get IS a bit ridiculous, but if the players don't get the money then the owners will. All the money comes from the fans, so I have to go with yes.
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Pro football contracts are also not guaranteed and can be negated if the player is injured. MLB is completely guaranteed. If you sign a hundred million dollar deal and blow you shoulder out the next day you still get paid.
 
lizzie said:
If the market bears it, then yes they deserve it, as a result of the paying public being willing to participate in, and support the process.

If it were dependent on people like myself, they would never be able to make big bucks, but apparently there are many people who are eager to go to the coliseum.;)
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The problem with professional sports is that the tax payer ends up supporting them in one way or another, whether or not they like sports.
 
jerry7 said:
Pro football contracts are also not guaranteed and can be negated if the player is injured. MLB is completely guaranteed. If you sign a hundred million dollar deal and blow you shoulder out the next day you still get paid.
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Interesting! I wasn't aware of that.
 
lizzie said:
If the market bears it, then yes they deserve it, as a result of the paying public being willing to participate in, and support the process.

If it were dependent on people like myself, they would never be able to make big bucks, but apparently there are many people who are eager to go to the coliseum.;)
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Seeing how I live in New England, I am perfectly content to watch the game on television because it gets way too COLD. LOL!
 
ChrisL said:
Unfortunately, you're right. All of those people should be making good money too, but they don't have fans that will pay top dollar to see them do their jobs.
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Even if there was, there are so many people involved that would have to be given a share that almost any amount of money would dillute.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
The problem with professional sports is that the tax payer ends up supporting them in one way or another, whether or not they like sports.
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our local city council approached the NFL owner - unsolicited - to offer taxpayer dollars to help with stadium refurbishing
sometimes it is too easy to spend other people's money
 
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