Ever wondered if athletes make money with all the time they spend training, all the discouragement when loosing, and the sweat? Is it really worth it? In a word-YES! Today’s most well paid athletes have an income that ranges from $20 to $100 million with athletes from all kinds of sports with golf-Tiger Woods at the top, NBA all stars Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Shaquille O’Neal all in the $30 million range as of last year. The latest addition to the list is the Philippine boxing icon, Manny Pacquiao with $40 million earnings this year. The question is do athletes really deserve to get paid so much and who just pays them?
Not all athletes get paid so well but only those really good ones, the real celebrities get paid millions. Why? Simply put-they deserve it. Not only do they have so many fans but all those fans have such high standards and expectations of them. Let’s take for example the NBA all star-Kobe Bryant. During one of the Lakers games, when Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t play for a couple of games because of a sore toe and some other injuries, Bryant had to do more work on the court. In one of the NBA celebrity all star game against the Houston Rockets which was full of overtimes, Kobe played right through it despite all his minor injuries, sore knees and great pain he was facing, giving the Lakers victory. Now isn’t that worth a large salary? No wonder their team’s pay them so much to ensure they’re fully compensated and don’t think of accepting higher offers from other teams. Something interesting though is that female athletes actually get paid less than male-discrimination? It’s because of the amount of revenue male athletes can generate, they can endorse sportswear like authentic NBA jerseys, MMA gloves and Lakers apparel, something female players can’t.
How about professional boxers? Four round fighters gets paid approximately $500; six round fighters get approximately $750 and eight rounds fighters get $1,000-$1,500. As the boxer’s become more popular, they are able to negotiate their pay. Boxer’s income is usually a combination of PPV/Ticket sales and a guaranteed fee, obviously the winner gets a larger amount. Do they deserve it? Many doctors view boxing as an unacceptably dangerous sport. Even though very few boxers have died in the ring, the brain damage incurred can go undetected and eventually shorten the boxer’s lifespan. The very purpose of the sport-hitting one’s opponent repeatedly on the head and face is enough to understand the health and eventual life risks fighters put themselves through just for their fans! Even with safety measures like MMA gloves, many fighters still leave the ring with cuts, bruises, broken ribs and internal bleeding requiring stitching, dental work and sometimes resulting in disfigurement.
Clearly then, athletes do work for their income and take a lot of health risks to keep their fans happy and therefore deserve the amount of pay they get for their hard work. So do they deserve to be paid so much?