In the contemporary world, many people continue to argue whether or not professional NBA players are overpaid. The NBA speaks the money language fluently nowadays! A huge salary, enormous wages, and astronomical figures but the question that arises is whether NBA players really deserve their high salaries. NBA player's wages are reaching astronomical numbers that make every one wonder why receive that amount of money. The main question is not weather NBA players should be paid, but should they make money than the careers that has the more priority like doctors, engineers, or teacher? It is my claim that NBA players are over[aid because they do not offer society an essential function that enhances existence on earth in comparison to other professions such as lawyers, medical doctors, and teachers. The society does not see the value in entertainment enough to warrant such astronomical salaries such as those of NBA players.
Based on research, the annual average salary for NBA players is $5.5 million (Wallin 22). When you think of the most important jobs in the U.S., what comes to mind? Many people would list teachers, doctors, military, and firefighters among others. Out the above-mentioned professions, doctors earn more compared to the four, but compared to NBA players, their salary is still minuscule. The U.S. president earns a salary of $400,000, and he runs a whole country, while NBA players get more than five times that amount. Many people such as doctors deserve better salaries as professional NBA players. Pediatrics doctors earn an average salary of $156,000 annually while they save lives every day and even help mothers to deliver and care for their babies. Yet they cannot get anything close to that earned by a NBA player in a year. If anyone is aware of a NBA player who can perform a surgery to inform me to prove me wrong, but I am of the idea that the millions of dollars earned by NBA players should be directed to something more constructive like doctors and teachers. NBA players only offer entertainment, which is not essential for the functioning or productivity of the society.
Some people believe that NBA players should get higher salaries as they get because of their high risk of injuries (Durkee 1). Injuries suffered from elementary school to professional games can result in constant pain that last through life. Yes, it is evident that other careers also prone to injuries and nations recognize injury prone jobs and make efforts to compensate workers for assuming risks. In some way, I think that NBA players deserve they pay they get because they do entertain, and some participate in many games that expose them to more injuries. As long as fans willingly pay two hundred dollars for replica jersey, two thousand for courtside ticket to watch NBA match, and six dollars a beer, the club owners will comfortably pass the money to their players (Turner). Other supporters also argue that NBA players are living their dreams just like doctors and teachers. They claim that participating in games is a talent that not anybody else can play because it requires many years of practice and endurance. The ability to score a three pointer from the center of the court in basketball is a mark of talent. Players who have been in the game for considerable amount of time must have a talent. Moreover, as the case with other occupations, the principle that ‘talent is compensate holds true.
Undoubtedly, NBA players have constructed a behavior because of the high salaries they receive, which requires immediate attention before the future generation would only try to emulate lifestyles of NBA players. Violent in professional basketball sports have negative effect on the America’s youth (Turner). The average salary of a NBA player is $5.5million and the number is increasing annually with the rising prices of all tickets and goods for these games. Many of professional NBA players live on lamp sum salaries, which they receive regularly. Some of these players spend extravagantly making them plunge into poverty before the next payment. Many of these players support their immediate and extended families. Even though most of them have managers, they rarely invest in fixed annuities and tax-free bonds. Many young people view NBA players as role models and the huge salaries may tempt students not to study after high school and just major in sport careers. This could produce negative impacts on the economy in the long-term because of lack of work force to work in other professions. The club owners should donate the excess salaries earned by NBA players to schools and medical services as a means of promoting wellbeing of the society.
Salary cap on professional athletes has been a growing problem since the beginning of the year two thousand and eleven. Even the U.S. president Barack Obama failed to address the issue claiming that he has many other things to focus on than a sports league (USATODAY). Many people believe that market forces can have an effect on salary limits. The salary cap could make it possible for players to receive money directly from teams through direct salary. Opponents argue that this will leave the club with more revenue. However, in response to this, teams must put some of the money to health care and educational system. Some argue that if teams are made equal, fans may lose interest in teams because there will be no or fewer superstar teams (USATODAY). Nevertheless, this would make games more interesting because of the ensuing equality. Some people may not like the idea of salary cap on athletes, but a salary cap would benefit education systems, medical field, make leagues more exiting, and players would only receive money from direct salary. Introducing salary caps on athletes would ensure that other essential fields such as education receive the benefits of sports. Additionally, leagues would be more competitive because small teams can afford good players because of the salary cap.
In conclusion, the best way forward is to set the scale correctly in order to balance what NBA players earn and how team owners should use their money to expand their businesses. Teams should set average requirement for all players to play with great sportsmanship, keep out of trouble with law, and receive penalties for breaking these rules. The extra money that clubs receive should go towards supporting education and healthcare. These NBA players are making much money in a society that traditionally determines compensation based on the value of work performed by an individual. These players only entertain their fans and they do not know how hard it is to make a dollar. Although their job requires talent, they contribute less to the economy compared to the salary they get. These are some of the reasons why NBA players should be paid less.
Works Cited:
Durkee, Nathan. "High Salaries Well Deserved by Athletes." El Molino High School.[online] Web: http://www.sonic.net/elmolino/paper/dec1898/salaries.shtml, December 6, 2000.
"USATODAY.com - Pros, Cons of a Salary Cap." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. 01 Sept. 2004. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2004-09-01-pros-cons-salary-cap_x.htm>.
Wallin. Ph.D., Pauline. "Professional Athletes Behaving Badly." Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011. Sept.-Oct. 2003. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://drwallin.com/newsletter/pw-03-10.shtml>.
"Professional Athletes' Salaries September 1999." Turners Homepage. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.turnerhome.org/jat/echo/salary.html>.
