Professional Athletes: Are They Paid?

Professional athletes are some of the most famous people in our country, and on top of that, they get payed a lot too. From NBA superstars like Lebron James to NFL superstars like Peyton Manning, they are idolized by many. People pay lots of money to watch them and spend lots of their time watching them as well. The question is -- are they paid and idolized too much? The answer is no, they are not. They are important to American culture, they worked extremely hard to get where they are, and they are role models for today's youth. People live stressful lives, and sometimes they need a break from all of the work, and athletes provide that. Sports give people something to talk about, something fun to do. Many people in America like sports and enjoy watching them with their friends and family. Pro athletes are also part of a huge money making business. According to foxsports.com, all professional sports organizations combined bring in thousands of millions of dollars in revenue each year. It is a huge business in the United States that is also very important to our culture, and the athletes provide that. Another reason they aren’t paid or idolized too much is that these people …show more content…
According to usatoday.com they make an average of 2.5 million dollars a year. How could it be fair that Kobe Bryant makes more money on 2 shots than the average American does in a year? Well, that’s not how you should look at it. You can’t assume they all make that much. That is definitely the top tier of athletes. Many of them don't make nearly as much, so you can’t base it off of the ones you know, who make much more. You can’t judge how much they make by using people like Kobe Bryant as an example. Others argue that they will most likely go bankrupt years after leaving the game anyway. That may be true for some, but not all. They still worked hard to get there and deserve the money for them and their