Are Professional Athletes Overpaid? Essay

The ethos appeal is present in the Michael Jordan, LT and Polamalu commercials the most. In the Everything’s an argument textbook, it says, “We tend to accept arguments from those we trust, and we trust them in good part because of their reputations. Three main elements – trustworthiness/credibility, authority, and unselfish or clear motive – add up to ethos” (45). Of course, Nike wouldn’t use any one that had some trouble or were untrustworthy to represent their company. They know better than to include Sammy Sosa and Ray Rice to be representatives; however, someone like Michael Jordan is a great choice because of the influence he has had on many people. Michael Jordan is a role model to many; whereas, Sammy Sosa should not be one because of the illegal actions during his baseball career. He was “unaware” of the fact that he had used a corked bat during a game. Even though all his bats were tested and came back clean, Slammin’ Sammy had jeopardized much of his success from the past. Nike keeps a strong ethos by partnering themselves with famous athletes that everyone has at least heard of. Famous athletes increase their credibility because of the belief that if those athletes use their products then the product must be superior to its competitors. It proves that Nike is a high quality brand. By using famous athletes in their commercials, Nike shows that their products are not just

In thirteen years of golf, Tiger Woods has made over a billion dollars making him the highest paid athlete ever. He has been the highest paid athlete now for five years in a row. We all know that many people in the world watch him play every weekend and admire him, but is the amount of entertainment he provides really worth 128 million dollars a year? Tiger is only one of many professional athletes who are extremely overpaid. “People forget that sports is entertainment,” says Leonard Armato, a sports agent. Although professional athletes provide entertainment for millions of viewers around the world, they are overpaid because the millions of dollars that they make could be distributed more evenly throughout society and go to things of a

One may think that the athlete itself is actually paid with what the athlete is rewarded within the end. The academic counseling and tutoring directly affects a student athletes’ grades, with better grades come better job opportunities, if the athlete does not go professional. If the athlete does decide to pursue a professional career, they will also receive free professional coaching, strength and fitness training, and support from athletic trainers and physical therapists” while training for a pro-day or combine. This again proves that athletes do not deserve more pay.

In this website article written by “The Doctor Chris Mueller”, a featured columnist from Bleacher Report, he explores both sides when it comes to the question “Are athletes overpaid?” and talks about the

People use the term professional athlete very loosely. When making an argument that professional athletes are overpaid, people must keep in mind that this includes all types of athletes. Not every professional athlete makes money like Kobe Bryant and Floyd Mayweather. Some professional athletes are hardworking individuals like any athlete, and they hardly make a living for being so talented. At least, compared to other highly talented pro athletes. It is unreasonable for some athletes to sign a contract for over thirty million dollars. However, society must think about how much income that player, in particular, generates for their team. That specific athlete, whom everyone is familiar with, will bring fans to watch the games and witness that professional perform. Additionally, there is a likely chance that those people will convince others to spend money on those player’s merchandise. In the end, professional athletes being overpaid will always be debated amongst society. All I ask, in particular, is that people visualize the broader perspective, and that not all professional athletes are millionaires. There are still many professional athletes who work at the same constant pace as any other athlete, yet still struggle to pay the

more than sell the product. The athlete actually becomes a ‘human brand’ in his or her own right.”

In today 's mainstream media the spotlight is constantly on celebrities and glorifying the life of professional athletes. The question of athletes being overpaid and not really working arises more and more. What makes their nontraditional occupation wurth a multi million dollar contract? Some say nothing-- they are grossly overpaid, but the simple truth is that the road to get to the pros entails dedication, overcoming adversity, diet, training, image and consistency. The idea that athletes are overpaid is completely false because of the preparation and work that goes into becoming elite.

The use of specific athletes in marketing campaigns really began to show promise when athletes like Jordan began wearing their own brands of shoes. The idea to consumers or fans of the NBA that they could wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, and somehow play like him was an easy sell by Nike. Today it is now common for marketable athletes in almost all sports to wear their own style of shoes, spikes, or skates. An interesting point to make is that through Nike Michael Jordan eventually launched his own clothing line called Jumpman23 that makes everything from socks and underwear to winter coats. Even though Jordan has been retired since 1999 the Jumpman23 company has continued to release a new shoe every single year that are simply called “Jordan 24”, an increasing corresponding number to the number of years the shoes have been produced. The new Jordan shoes still retails at over $150 a pair even though Mike hasn’t stepped on the court in 11 years! After retirement and becoming the CEO of the Jumpman brand Michael Jordan has been able to court other famous athletes from a variety of sports to wear his brand. A few examples of the athletes include Derek Jeter (baseball), Dwayne Wade (basketball), Jason Taylor (football), and April Holmes (track and field). The wide range of athletes in all different sports who now market a brand for arguably the greatest athlete of all time truly shows the money, power, and influence an athlete can experience

In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding

I grew up watching professional sports. I always wanted to grow up to be just like them and secretly, still do. However, growing up, I was never really aware of the ridiculous amounts of money that the athletes earned and in the past few years I have been hearing many people complaining about how much the athletes make. According to my survey, 30 percent of people surveyed believe that athletes are overpaid. Honestly, I expected it to be more than that since I hear so much about the salaries of the athletes. I, myself, have always believed that professional athletes are not overpaid so I wanted to do research and be able to have more reasoning behind my opinion. I also would like to makes it so that

Nike has also grown its brand through celebrity endorsements. It spends a great deal of money sponsoring athletes, but it pays for itself tenfold. By endorsing influential celebrities and elite athletes, Nike is aligning itself with greatness while also empowering the consumer. As stated before, Nike customers aspire to be like the athletes they see in the commercials. They hope that by wearing Nike products they can achieve the same level of athleticism as their favorite athlete. You can even take it a step further and say the association between Nike and its prestigious athletes makes

Sponsorships include the support of an event, activity, person, organization or product by another organization that may interchange money, services or goods in return for the relationship that the sponsorship delivers. Sponsors select events that interest their target market to increase their brand status and knowledge. A process of shaping brand identity, sponsorship can develop company image, increase company profile and produce awareness of company principles and ideas. As sports sponsorships economic value grows, a lot of brands are looking for ways to associate their fans in new and inventive ways. “Over the past couple of years, brands have started a new trend in athlete sponsorship and activation: fictional endorsers” (sporttechie.com, 2013). In fictional endorsements, characters are created to create brand awareness and marketing through the reputation of an athlete. An example would be, State Farm Insurance’s sponsorship of Chris Paul and it’s fictional promotion on Paul’s twin “Cliff Paul”. Stotlar states, that a “win-win-win situation can provide market value and higher profits for corporations, and increase operating revenues for sport organizations and events” (pg. 10, 2013).

The passages present a discussion about arguments concerning whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. This is an important debate since professional sports represents a multi-billion-dollar-per-year industry. The two positions argue whether or not professional athletes should be paid the large yearly salaries they are paid. Both viewpoints have valid claims warranting consideration. For example, evidence suggests that people with far more important jobs are paid much less than professional athletes; in contrast, opposing evidence suggests that since professional athletes generally have short careers and must train very hard to build and maintain their skills, the higher salary is justified. While both sides of the issue have valid points, the viewpoint that professional athletes are not overpaid is the best-supported position, the position supported by the preponderance of the evidence cited in the passages. The strongest and best reasons supporting this position are that professional athletes must endure grueling and intensive training, they generally have short careers that often end in injury, and the amount that they are thought to be paid is often inflated. Accordingly, these reasons and opposing viewpoints will be discussed next.

The current pay of professional athletes in the United States has been the target of social media and the public due to the hefty amount athletes make. This paper will look at the reasons behind professional athletes’ salaries to find out if it is justified or they are plainly overpaid. As mentioned in previous writing, the question of “are professional athletes overpaid” is highly controversial because of the perceived disproportionate in pay among workers that actually serve humanity. This research paper will provide important facts and data based on different studies conducted by experts to show the truth which will show the two sides of the coin instead of a biased look of famous athletes.

In recent years, with the growing popularity of sports, athletes salaries have escalated like that of a superb stock equity. Athletes are taking full advantage of their position, causing the average man to wonder how high will they go. Some feel that athletes are greedy people who have lost care for the true meaning of their salary, the love of the game.