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We need to stop paying professional athletes so much money...

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mike_e
Posts: 2419 - Karma: 3,066
Discuss.
Jul 17 2013 8:25PM
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LoathesRaisins
Posts: 3612 - Karma: 4,735
You don't pay to watch a doctor perform surgery do you? If you don't want athletes to be paid so much, quit watching them.
Jul 17 2013 8:27PM
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rockersteez
Posts: 593 - Karma: 1,199
I don't pay them anything.
Jul 17 2013 8:28PM
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timmi
Posts: 12874 - Karma: 3,460
Are we doing your home work for you?

Anyway, their wages are ridiculously high, but that's because they impact a huge audience, and because their skills are in an extremely high demand.

If you're the best doctor in the world, and hospitals are bidding on trying to have you on their staff, then yeah, you're gunna get a healthy paycheck,

That being said, it's not exactly the most modest work. I would doubt most athletes would say that their work is more important than a fire fighters or something along those lines, but they have a set of skills that are rare and desirable, so it becomes simple supply and demand. They are in high demand and short supply, therefore they get a big chunk of money.
Jul 17 2013 8:32PM
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Bogs
Posts: 4296 - Karma: 1,361
why?
Jul 17 2013 8:34PM
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t_rob
Posts: 6433 - Karma: 11,458
It's the fans fault. If the team couldn't afford to pay players, these contracts wouldn't exist. The teams can afford these contracts so they exist. If people didn't like sports or the teams, this wouldn't happen.
Jul 17 2013 8:42PM
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50in07
Posts: 3070 - Karma: 1,471
It's all about supply and demand. Incredibly high demand, incredibly low supply. I have no problem with it. No matter what your occupation, if you're as elite as most professional athletes, you're going to get paid.
Jul 17 2013 8:50PM
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shane.t
Posts: 729 - Karma: 364
If you're a pro athlete you're going to have a good time
Jul 17 2013 9:14PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
such a dumb thing to say.

the athletes generate the interest and thus tickets are sold, jerseys bought, and tv streams watched. who is going to get the money if not the people generating it?

its a really simple idea...
Jul 17 2013 9:19PM
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Dingo69
Posts: 1330 - Karma: -171
No we dont. Professional athletes are underpaid if anything
Jul 17 2013 9:23PM
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Bogs
Posts: 4296 - Karma: 1,361
I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people out there who would love to play sports for a living. In fact, I can't think of many professions with a higher supply than sports. There's a reason it's so difficult to become a pro athlete...
Jul 17 2013 9:26PM
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Dingo69
Posts: 1330 - Karma: -171
Gooby pls
Jul 17 2013 9:31PM
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Backyard.Skier
Posts: 5397 - Karma: 1,497
how many people can do what they do?

get paid
Jul 17 2013 9:36PM
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Petey.
Posts: 5736 - Karma: 4,885
lol
Jul 17 2013 9:44PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
I'm not sure if this thread is a joke or not, but most athletes make peanuts, regardless of the sport, sure there's some people that are making a lot more than others, but that's the case with every job.

A quick google brings up "Aaron Rodgers"(I presume this is the A-Rod I'm always hearing about on american tv etc) as being the highest paid(salary) athlete with $43M a year, not a lot if you actually think about it.

And lets not forget skiers, they're even worse off than most athletes I reckon

Click for larger image
Jul 17 2013 9:51PM
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50in07
Posts: 3070 - Karma: 1,471
Very few people with elite talent though. I'd love to play in the NBA but I don't think anyone would pay to watch me play.
Jul 17 2013 9:52PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
Never mind, was reading through the list and discovered Alex Rodriguez, realized the name rung a bell and figured out that HE was a-rod
Jul 17 2013 9:53PM
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oil.
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 1,254
nah, a-rod is alex rodriguez, third baseman for the new york yankees, who used to be worth something, but recently hasn't produced so has caused a lot of controversy over his contract worth and whether hes worth the money the yankees are paying him.
aaron rodgers is a quarterback for the green bay packers. the nfl is different than the mlb because the nfl has salary caps, where as the mlb does not
Jul 17 2013 9:54PM
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Brule.
Posts: 3920 - Karma: 6,206
Let's break this down.

Professional skiers like Tom Wallisch, Torin Yater-Wallace, Rory Bushfield, Roz G, Kaya Turski, Devin Logan, etc., are making enough money to have the basic needs (i.e. food, water, a place to live) and they get free stuff from their sponsors (i.e. skis, boots, maybe bindings, clothes, outerwear, other apparel I don't feel like listing because this is taking me too long to type).

Also, they save some money for the future in order to survive with life's basic necessities in the future after retiring from being a professional skier, but everyone will remember them as legends like Travis Heed, Brogan, etc.
Jul 17 2013 10:08PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
i had a watermelon seed in my poop today. strange, because last time i had watermelon was about 10 days ago.

wtf was that seed doing inside me for 10 days......
Jul 17 2013 10:11PM
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YoungChristmas
Posts: 1066 - Karma: 2,110
go to the doctor, you probably have a watermelon plant growing in your stomach.
Jul 17 2013 10:17PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
$43 mill a year and you are in the public spotlight your entire life, have no privacy, and solely rely on your physique to make you money. Or you can be a private hedge fund manager, and only have to worry about public image to other investors.


Athletes are fine.
Jul 17 2013 10:21PM
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Hoeseph
Posts: 190 - Karma: 112
We talked about this in my economics class. Most professional athletes are actually underpaid relative to the value they create. I still think the amount of money they make is ridiculous though.
Jul 17 2013 10:25PM
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Bogs
Posts: 4296 - Karma: 1,361
It's all relative. If nba level players didn't exist and the level you play at was considered the best in the world, people would pay to watch you play. The reason pro athletes have to get to the elite levels they do is because if they didn't guys like you and me would be the ones making all that money.
Jul 17 2013 11:00PM
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FigNewton
Posts: 2459 - Karma: 5,783
It's because that's what america cares about.
Jul 17 2013 11:03PM
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Titus69
Posts: 9329 - Karma: 17,816
who is this 'We'? there sponsors pay them for advertising the company
Jul 17 2013 11:07PM
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Emma_Watson
Posts: 4491 - Karma: 6,796
CEO'S and Executives are making multiples of what athletes are pulling in. During the 2008 mortgage crisis investment bankers and derivative investors from JP Morgan, Lehman brothers, Barclays etc. were making tens of millions on their bonus's while they watched their firms, and the economy, collapse. Supported by the salary of athletes too; capitalism is a bit fucky.
Jul 17 2013 11:16PM
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SamtheEagle
Posts: 1658 - Karma: 713
its sad that in most states the highest paid public official is a sports coach at a state school
Jul 18 2013 1:15AM
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t_rob
Posts: 6433 - Karma: 11,458
Haha. This shit again? Those sports teams bring more money and attract more put those universities in the spotlight more than anything else. Those coaches wouldn't get paid those amounts if they couldn't bring in more than they take.
Jul 18 2013 1:19AM
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SamtheEagle
Posts: 1658 - Karma: 713
maybe thats a larger statement about society and its values
Jul 18 2013 1:26AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
Athletes are paid just fine. It's just entertainment. I don't see you making a thread about movie stars being overpaid. We make them what they are. We crave the entertainment. We watch ESPN highlights 24 hours a day to see them in action and hear recent news. ESPN is just the male counterpart to TMZ for women. If Honey Boo Boo and her mother are making millions, the top professional athletes certainly deserve it.
Jul 18 2013 1:31AM
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Heart
Posts: 6156 - Karma: 3,462
I never thought about it this way before, but that is so true. Males get too invested in athletes, females get too invested in celebrities
Jul 18 2013 1:37AM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
not true.
Jul 18 2013 8:25AM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
and this topic is impossible to discuss with this "capitalism, fuck yeah" attitude around these parts.

its not a discussion whether or not they create as much money for their employers (or more) than they get. it is not about them being talented and disciplined enough to reach this status.

it is about the question whether a society can be a good society if there is such a huge gap in income. not everyone who is dedicated becomes rich. not every lazy fatass ends up on the street. some tough jobs are severly underpaid, whereas other, easier ones yield solid incomes. the rules of supply and demand are simply monetary, whereas a society should strive to meet other criteria, beyond simply utility calculation in dollars.

i am not saying that i think communism is good or that it should work. but i think that a good synthesis of capitalism and communism has to be the next step.

Jul 18 2013 8:33AM
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Bombogenesis
Posts: 1984 - Karma: 4,006
http://www.watchcartoononline.com/rugrats-season-2-episode-12-aunt-miriam
Jul 18 2013 8:41AM
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GayWolf420
Posts: 37390 - Karma: 120,126
NHL players need to get paid more if anything. Highest paid player gets like 8.7 deal with endorsements and bonuses whereas A-Rod or whoever can swing a fucking bat a few times a night and make 15 mil +.
Jul 18 2013 8:53AM
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Static
Posts: 8553 - Karma: 4,089
subsidies
Jul 18 2013 10:46AM
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2_fadez
Posts: 7780 - Karma: 4,183
Remember that baseball players play 162 games a year. The longest break they get is an All Star break of 3-4 days, and during the season the longest break is 1 day off. They travel all across the U.S. for weeks at a time.
This is from March-October that these guys are away from their family and home. I'm not saying that they deserve millions and millions of dollars, but their job is pretty fucking demanding.
Jul 18 2013 11:08AM
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Tinga
Posts: 11349 - Karma: 2,333
well when you look at a lot of professional athletes they are pretty much ruining their bodies for a pay check. look at all the injuries in the contact sports. so for those 10 years (if you're lucky) that your body can take it you need to milk those paychecks because after that you're pretty much useless. unless you can score some promotional shit or you have other skills.
Jul 18 2013 11:09AM
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.frenchy
Posts: 18221 - Karma: 12,323
I really used to like A-Rod too... Now he's a fucking prick. Yesterday he was telling people he'd be with the yankees next week... Before the team even released the statement.
Jul 18 2013 11:12AM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
A small percentage of pro athletes are making the mega bucks. If a cornerback plays 5 years and makes 5 million dollars with no endorsements or super fame to set them up for life after that, they need to make that money last like 50 more years and they probably are a physical wreck at that point as well.

It's good pay, but it is by no means ridiculous unless you are a superstar. And in that case you earn in accordance with your demand.
Jul 18 2013 11:22AM
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
if we're going to use time and energy fighting against a group making too much, make it bankers etc. theyre the worst people on earth and get paid out the ASS
Jul 18 2013 11:22AM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
Ya, but even though some methods are unethical they arguably find ways to earn their money. Generally speaking, and I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here.

I would use Congress as an example to make that point. They work...let's say flexible hours, live an extremely privileged lifestyle, and are ultimately in control of their own salaries. Furthermore, the service they provide is completely intangible and can really only be evaluated by public opinion. So even if they do poorly, they still make a paycheck that the people they poorly served pay for and can continue to fail or succeed at will.
Jul 18 2013 11:31AM
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
ha, yeah that's true. if you wanna be pissed about people not earning their check... pay attention to congress
Jul 18 2013 11:58AM
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Sno.
Posts: 12155 - Karma: 6,152
LOL
Jul 18 2013 12:02PM
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EricCartman
Posts: 268 - Karma: 410
DERP DERP DERP DERP DERRRRP
Jul 18 2013 12:05PM
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t_rob
Posts: 6433 - Karma: 11,458
I would say to make any changes on the level you're talking about, you need to close the economy and not allow anyone to leave. That's not going to work.
Jul 18 2013 12:13PM
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SamColby
Posts: 644 - Karma: 2,006
the amount of money pro athletes (NFL, MLB etc) make fucking disgusts me.... they aren't bettering our society, they are playing a fucking stupid ass sport for the entertainment of an ignorant population
Jul 18 2013 12:27PM
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GayWolf420
Posts: 37390 - Karma: 120,126
Verlanders 202 mil contract is still fucking retarded in my opinion.
Jul 18 2013 12:52PM
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DubV134
Posts: 1541 - Karma: 690
I bet you suck at sports
Jul 18 2013 12:52PM
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
Click for larger image
Jul 18 2013 1:51PM
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