Are professional sport stars paid too much?
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Introduction
Are professional sport stars paid too much? So are professional sports stars paid too much? This question crops up a lot in every day conversation. Sports stars become great role models for our children and are people we look up to, almost god-like. In Florence outside Fiorentina's Artemo Franchi stadium stands a statue for former player Gabrielle Batistuta. More to the point do you agree with the ridiculous salaries these players are on? I don't as these stars are doing something that they enjoy and are getting paid huge amounts for it. They get paid more than our emergency services, which is unbelievable considering they save lives. Soccer players, American football players, hockey and baseball players all get paid huge amounts of money; some are in excess of �100,000 per week. During the summer two years ago Sol Campbell indicated he would be leaving Tottenham Hotspur on the Bosman Ruling and before signing for Arsenal, Italian giants Inter Milan offered him �100,000 per week tax free. In the National Football League (NFL) Alex Rodriguez of Texas Rangers is on $22 million each year and in Major League Baseball (MLB) Mammy Ramirez of the New York Yankees signed a contract recently worth $25.2 million a year for 8 years. However don't fool yourself that all footballers or baseball players get paid that much because most don't. ...read more.
Middle
The scarcity of highly talented players demands money competition to sign the best players. Sports stars also have short careers and their careers could be cut short at any time due to an injury like Norman Whiteside who damaged his leg in his mid-twenties and was unable to play again. A lot of sports stars make most of their money through sponsorship deals. Golfer, Tiger Woods, who is the richest figure in sport at 24, is set to become the first sports star to be a billionaire. He earns in just one endorsement of many, $100 million over 5 years from Reebok. Real Madrid star, David Beckham, stands to make �200 million from all his sponsorship deals with Nike, Vodaphone, Police sunglasses and Marks and Spencers. Tennis star Venus Williams is on $40 million over 5 years with Reebok. In America NFL star Barry Bonds who plays for the San Francisco 49ers has a national contract with Kentucky Fried Chicken. Also, many baseball players have glove deals. Sports stars, the select few get paid more than our emergency services. Doctors, nurses, teachers, policemen and firemen wouldn't make in a lifetime what some sports stars make in a week. Vinny Arkins, who plays for Portadown, a semi-professional club in Northern Ireland earns �1,000 per week, which is more than the average �25,000 per year a fireman is on. ...read more.
Conclusion
Over the years Fiorentina have had to sell prized assets such as Francesco Toldo, Gabrielle Batistuta and Rui Costa. Fiorentina only four years ago were playing Champions league football; this is a lesson of which all clubs should be aware. Some sports have woken up and have introduced ways of solving their financial problems. Last year there were five NFL teams who were on the verge of bankruptcy and a few teams in the National Basketball League (NBA) including Boston Celtics who were also nearly bankrupted. So both sports introduced a wage cap and since then both the sports are financially comfortable. In Cricket there is a strict wage structure, which ensures the long-term future of the sport, and every club makes a profit. Even in soccer there is no salary cap but some clubs such as Rotherham have a wage structure which ensures every year they make a profit. They do not pay a player more than �8,000 per week. A lot of clubs need to follow their example. Having looked in depth at both sides of the argument I still believe that sports stars are paid too much. I believe all sports should have a salary cap and the most players should be paid is �15,000 per week as salaries are spiralling out of control. Baseball, soccer and hockey should follow basketball and American Football's lead and put a cap on wages to ensure the future of their game, to secure it for future generations. ...read more.
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