Why are professional athletes so over paid?

Question

All they are is super, super, super, super great at playing a special sport, and sure, I agree, that they were all born with that special talent. But you see doctors, who help people live, and survive, who get paid less than half of what an athlete, who just plays a sport, for people to watch, and to win a trophy stating they are the best. I'm not saying I'm jelous, or whatever, I'm just saying that people who do better things, to help out people with serious needs, sort of deserve better. I know the world is not a perfect place, and that I will not always get what I want. But I just do not understand why they get paid sooo much!

Being a doctor is a whole lot harder than playing a sport.

Answer 1

It has to do with marketing and advertisement. Companies can endorse their products through professional sports. They give so much money to the sports teams/leauges so they have this money to pay their players.

If people enjoyed watching Doctors do their thing, then advertisers would market their advertisements towards that instead of sports.

Answer 2

I'm studying to be a Neurosurgeon and when they first get started they get paid about $200,000 (a year) and when you start in sports (depending on your team and sport, I guess) is only $27,556 in the US. So, I would get paid a lot more for a year, but I can't do that until I have had around 15 years of studying...
I've played A LOT of sports before and I know that being any kind of doctor whether it is in a small office or a big hospital doing checkups or doing surgery, is harder than sports.

Answer 3

I don not think they should be paid so much, but they are. the reason they are paid so much is similar to why it costs more to buy brand names. Hollywood, puts a price on atheletes heads. The more publicity they get the more they are worth. They also play a manipulation game, where they know they are valuable so they deman a certain payment or they won't play. Most pro atheletes have no respect for anything other than money. Yes, doctors could do the same thing, but there are more of them in supply, and when they decide to go on strike people die, you cannot be a doctor and not care about people. Also doctors are usually not full of themselves.

Answer 4

I understand where you come from, however they are a source of entertainment. What is the difference between me going to a game and you gong to a concert. There is none financially we both pay for a ticket, food, and maybe merchandise which pays the performers. If you ask this question you should include all pieces of the entertainment industry. Yes some players are overpaid but until we stop buying tickets, watching games on T.V., buying the merchandise this will never change.

Answer 5

If 50,000 people purchased tickets to come see a doctor perform a surgery they would make the same $$ the athletes make.

I'm a police officer and I feel my job is very important, but people don't pay to come see me do my job. If there was seating set up all over my town, and people paid big $$ to sit and watch me patrol I would expect to get paid a lot more.

Answer 6

It varies from team to team and player to player and is usually spelled out in the players contract. I've heard of some that get paid weekly - usually the guys that aren't making top dollar - and some that get paid on a monthly basis.

Answer 7

Me either. I don't understand this...I love sports but I think it's too much money for playing games. One of the many things in life that I just don't get.

Answer 8

because the owners r idiots that r trying to buy a championship.

Answer 9

they risk there lifes thats why u just get underpaid