Too Much Money in Sports
- Submitted by: skatermonk44
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- Category: English: Creative Writing
- Date Submitted: 12/10/2010 09:05 AM
- Pages: 5
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Too Much Money in Sports
Within this current economy, money is always a topic of interest. It’s hard to avoid a newspaper headline or 10 O’Clock news segment that doesn’t discuss the economy and what the government is doing to fix it. Unemployment rates are at an all time high, and people are forced to spend less and less with each passing day. However, some people don’t have to worry at all about the state of the economy. While actors, musicians, and big business CEOs all rake in tons of cash each year, I feel as though athletes are the worst culprits. To put it simply, they make money, lots and lots of money, to play a game.
It’s common knowledge that major athletes are paid millions of dollars each year to represent their respective teams in an attempt to win their league’s championship. However, the amount these players are basically charging for their services is astronomical. For example, Alex Rodriguez plays third base for the New York Yankees. He has been selected to play in the MLB All-Star game twelve times, has won three MVP awards, and has compiled an all-time batting average of .305 (1). Any baseball fan, regardless of their like or dislike for Mr. Rodriguez, would have to agree that these are excellent stats. It is easy to see that Alex Rodriguez deserves to be paid well for his services. However, there is a huge difference between what he rationally deserves and what he actually is paid. In 2009, Rodriguez had a base salary of $33,000,000 (1). He also had 444 at-bats. This means that for every time Alex went to the plate to hit, he made a little more than $74,320. Including the fact that he also played defense at third base most innings, this is still ridiculous. In contrast, the average firefighter in the United States makes $40,000 a year (2). Think about that. Rodriguez makes almost twice as much in one at bat than the average firefighter does in one year. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d have to say that the firefighter definitely...
Within this current economy, money is always a topic of interest. It’s hard to avoid a newspaper headline or 10 O’Clock news segment that doesn’t discuss the economy and what the government is doing to fix it. Unemployment rates are at an all time high, and people are forced to spend less and less with each passing day. However, some people don’t have to worry at all about the state of the economy. While actors, musicians, and big business CEOs all rake in tons of cash each year, I feel as though athletes are the worst culprits. To put it simply, they make money, lots and lots of money, to play a game.
It’s common knowledge that major athletes are paid millions of dollars each year to represent their respective teams in an attempt to win their league’s championship. However, the amount these players are basically charging for their services is astronomical. For example, Alex Rodriguez plays third base for the New York Yankees. He has been selected to play in the MLB All-Star game twelve times, has won three MVP awards, and has compiled an all-time batting average of .305 (1). Any baseball fan, regardless of their like or dislike for Mr. Rodriguez, would have to agree that these are excellent stats. It is easy to see that Alex Rodriguez deserves to be paid well for his services. However, there is a huge difference between what he rationally deserves and what he actually is paid. In 2009, Rodriguez had a base salary of $33,000,000 (1). He also had 444 at-bats. This means that for every time Alex went to the plate to hit, he made a little more than $74,320. Including the fact that he also played defense at third base most innings, this is still ridiculous. In contrast, the average firefighter in the United States makes $40,000 a year (2). Think about that. Rodriguez makes almost twice as much in one at bat than the average firefighter does in one year. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d have to say that the firefighter definitely...