Pro Athletes Arent Taking Your money, They're Earning It
I couldn’t imagine fighting for taking someone’s money away who earned it and giving it to someone else who simply didn’t. As you lay down on your couch at night and munch on a bag of chips there’s a good chance you are also screaming at your favorite sports team to get their act together on the television. Some cheer on their team and support them through thick and thin while some sit and complain about how they are “broke” while those guys have a lot of money. Well, I’m here to tell you, the people that you are paying to watch on television deserve every dime that comes their way. Why’s that? Well, there are many reasons actually.
The main reason athletes even get the money they do is because of me, you, and the rest of planet earth. I bet you that most people you know consume sports on a regular basis. Well, guess what, every time you go to a game and buy your ticket you’re supplying them with the money they earn. If you have a problem with it, then just don’t go. Unless you stop watching games and buying merchandise from your favorite team or athlete, stop complaining.
When a kid thinks to themself, “I want to be a professional athlete”, I would like to ask them what they think their chances are. 1 out of 100? 1000? Sorry kid but you ain’t gonna make it. About 853 players (0.00075%) make the pros each year out of an original population of nearly 1.1 million high school athletes’’ (League Side). As you can see, it’s fairly rare… actually, extremely rare to become a pro athlete. It’s like the chances of winning the mega lottery. So let me ask you, why should pro athletes be worth the same as the regular person when they’ve risked so much and sacrificed so much time and money to be where they are. They work their whole lives to get to where they are with an unbelievable fraction of a chance. I don’t know about you, but I say they’ve earned it.
Besides, if the players didn’t get the money that they play for then who would. Sorry to spoil your day but I ain’t gonna be you. Do you really think that top dogs who own the teams would allow the money to slip out of their hands? Absolutely not. The billionaires who own the teams would keep raking in the dough. Is that where you want your money to go.
So when you complain about the very few athletes who brag about their money and “throw it around like it’s nothing”, for the most part, you’re wrong. Almost every athlete gives their money to good causes like charities and non-profit organizations. On top of this, they give good shout-outs to these organizations as well generating more money for the charities. Next time you complain about the athletes having too much, I hope you consider how generous they are to others in need.
When you trip and fall down the steps, you probably think that it hurts really bad. Though I can’t say that you’re wrong, imagine being pancaked by two 400 pound men both moving at practically terminal velocity. Okay, I might be exaggerating but you get the point. According to the Association of Neurological Surgeons, a breathtaking “90% of boxers will suffer a concussion at some point in their careers” (Edwards-Bytom). A concussion in boxing is described as a “traumatic brain injury (TBI) that can lead to lasting complications” (Edwards-Bytom). Boxing is not the only sport that risks serious complications. From a study in 2017, “110 of 111 deceased NFL players were found to have some form of CTE.”(Reinberg). CTE is not a joke as it’s described as a “progressive and fatal brain disease” (Alzheimer’s Association). Professional athlete’s jobs are not smooth paths to millions of dollars. These athletes risk their lives every time they put their jerseys on.
Hopefully, after reading this you think twice about how much money you deserve and how much pro athletes deserve. Pro athletes earn their money more than others do, they work harder for their money than others do, and they deserve their money more than others do.