Professional Athletes Deserve the Increasingly High Salaries They Receive

Title: Professional Athletes Deserve the Increasingly High Salaries They Receive

Professional athletes earn considerable salaries and bonuses that amount to tens of millions of dollars. Athletes’ compensation has become a controversial topic because some people think that professional athletes deserve the high pay they get, while others believe that the pay is exorbitant (Pedro-Carañana, Broudy, & Klaehn, 2018). However, professional athletes deserve the increasingly high salaries they receive because they generate huge profits for their teams and sacrifice several things in life to pursue sports career.

            Professional players deserve the salaries they get because they contribute immensely towards the team’s business profitability. They are the team's face because they contribute to more wins, thereby attracting more viewers and boosting the brand image. Fans are willing to buy tickets even if they are sold twice the normal price to see an individual player like Mike Jordan and many other superstars (Humphreys & Johnson, 2019). Franchise players also improve the whole team because they elevate their teammates' performances. Professional sport is a money-making venture where teams engage the best players to win and generate revenue from selling tickets and other merchandise. As such, professional athletes should be given a considerable share of the money they generate for the team.

            Additionally, professional players' high salaries are rewards for the sacrifices they make to stay away from their families and put their bodies at health risks associated with injuries. Most superstars are usually disconnected from their family members once they join an international team because they must leave their home city if their team is based far away or in another country. For instance, Lionel Messi left Argentina, his home country, to join FC Barcelona in Spain at the age of 13 years (van Bakel & Salzbrenner, 2019). Professional players are also at a high risk of physical injuries such as knee, neck, hip, groin, and arm injuries, affecting their quality of life and sports career (Ekhtiari et al. 2019).  Unlike in other careers, players retire as early as in their forties due to injuries or other health issues. Therefore, professional players' high compensation is justified by the sacrifices they make and the health risks they dare.

            In conclusion, professional athletes deserve the high salaries and bonuses they receive because of their contribution to the team and the sacrifices they make in life to engage in sports. Superstar players are behind their teams' brand popularity and economic well-being (Humpreys & Johnson, 2020). They are sometimes separated from their families because they are forced to relocate from their hometown to other cities or countries to join their teams. Thus, professional athletes rightfully deserve every coin they receive, regardless of propaganda that they earn unnecessarily high pay.

References

Ekhtiari, S., Khan, M., Burrus, T., Madden, K., Gagnier, J., Rogowski, J. P., ... & Bedi, A.

(2019). Hip and groin injuries in professional basketball players: impact on playing career and quality of life after retirement. Sports Health, 11(3), 218-222.

Humphreys, B. R., & Johnson, C. (2020). The effect of superstars on game attendance: evidence

from the NBA. Journal of Sports Economics, 21(2), 152-175.

Pedro-Carañana, J., Broudy, D., & Klaehn, J. (2018). The Propaganda Model Today. University

of Westminster Press.

van Bakel, M., & Salzbrenner, S. (2019). Going abroad to play: Motivations, challenges, and

support of sports expatriates. Thunderbird International Business Review, 61(3), 505-517.