Why do athletes get paid more than soldiers in the military?

Answer 1

They get paid more because our society places value on things that entertain and we tend to take the important things for granted. Our country has serious priority issues. With failing health care, crime rates, and war going on you'd think we would be putting our money to work for something good but no we would rather pay people who are already making millions more money to entertain our ever shrinking brains... I think our soldiers should get more money. Heck when was the last time you seen a football player take a bullet for our freedom or a basketball player sleep in the sand ... knowing he was protecting his family thousands of miles away... the answer is Never! I wish things where different but I really dont see a change in site. Very sad situation our country is in these days.

Answer 2

As true as that might be, its not plausible. Look at the source the income is generated. Military is paid by the government, a source the is in debt so high, it may never be fixed. Athletes are paid by the team they play for that can generate more funds by increasing ticket prices. The government can't limit the amount that an athlete earns because that would be moving toward communism. Although imagine Kobe making $35,000 a year and getting a 4% raise for winning the championship...

Answer 3

Because soldiers are military jobs. No governement person makes what athletes make. Athletes are paid from billionaire owners. Soldiers are paid from the government.

Answer 4

Most people who dream of athletic careers don't even come close to becoming professional athletes. It's that competitive a field - it's the same with actors and musicians.

If it bothers you, don't watch the sport on TV, boycott the Olympics and don't buy a hat of your favorite baseball team. Sometimes it may not seem fair, but if people are willing to risk putting their energy into entering a career they will most likely fail at, there ought to be a good enough incentive to do so.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people eligible for military service is enormous. Perhaps if the military consisted of a few thousand carefully selected people, paying them as well as athletes would be justified.

Answer 5

Troops are paid for by Government collected Tax Dollars, the Athletes are paid by by Basketball Franchises and companies that let Athletes endorse their products.

Troops are not allowed to do product endorsements while in the Military.

Answer 6

Athletes get paid more because their checks come from a civilian entity who are making money from them. In the military you are pretty much get paid according to the national budget, and pretty much military pay is on the bottom of the list.

Answer 7

It's a free market thing. Athletes draw lots of viewers to the NBA, NFL or whatever other league it is. This means that Budweiser will pay ESPN millions of dollars to advertise. ESPN will pay the NBA millions of dollars to broadcast the games, and the NBA, wanting the best players so they can make their money, will pay Shaq $40 million dollars. Soldiers, while doing an admirable deed, don't make anyone so much money, so they get paid $40,000 a year.

Answer 8

Well the question bears no merit in the real world, sports stars get paid well for their performance and all the advertising they do, they are also in far smaller numbers in ration to Military Forces.

Also traditionally all Governments pay their armed forces a merge wage but this is massaged by the extras such as free food, clothing, cheap accommodation etc, that they enjoy.

Answer 9

Cause our society values entertainment above all else. Not saying soldiers should be making millions but at least a living wage. As to the poster who said soldiers make $40,000 a year maybe if they are officers or have been in a while but during my time I never made anything near that.

Answer 10

Cause athletes know they can get big money for such a lil amount of work so they keep pushing and pushing for more money till the get what they got to date.