Do Professional Athletes Really "Deserve" Every Penny They Make?

Today in America a great debate exists whether or not those in seemingly unimportant professions such as professional athletes "deserve" their high salaries. There is no question that many athletes make a fortune and do it in a short period of time.

According to sportsinteraction.com, online sports betting site, and as reported on the Huffington Post, the average salary of professional athletes is far from average. For example, the average NBA salary is $5.15 million over 4.8 years totaling $24.7 million. The average for MLB athletes is $3.2 million over 5.6 years totaling $17.9 million, followed by NHL, NFL, and MLS salraries respectively.

The economic diamond-water paradox analyzes that while diamonds, or something that cannot sustain life, can be held in such high regard, water, or a necessity can be purchased cheaply. Following this model, many argue that professional athletes contribute little to society and therefore should make less than teachers, policemen, or physicians.

Professional athletes make high salaries because people with their skills are scarce. The supply and demand for people in various occupations determines the salaries in question—not the “importance” of the job to society.  Why then, do athletes make so much, is it fair and do they deserve it?

There are a handful of players in professional sports we refer to as super stars. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Alex Rodriguez just to name a few . In other words, there are some that excel over and above their peers. In most cases, these individuals make more than the average player and their salary is usually in proportion to what they contribute to the team or organization- not just in athletic ability, but monetary draw as well. Many team owners get huge returns on these players through the ticket and merchandise sales they generate.  This is not the norm. Most players are not worth their salaries and do not deserve what they make.

Some definitions to consider: The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have guaranteed contracts. This means, players are paid what they sign for regardless of performance or missed games due to injury. In the National Football League, there are no guaranteed contracts but the signing bonuses or an initial payment for signing a contract with the team are guaranteed. In this way, NFL players can make hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars before playing a single down. In professional sports, a salary cap is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Several sports leagues have implemented salary caps, both as a method of keeping overall costs down, and to ensure parity between teams so wealthy teams cannot entrench dominance by signing many more top players than their rivals. In the NFL, if a player is released for any reason, they do not have to pay that player the remainder of that contract. However, that money still counts against that team.

There is an epidemic that exists among many people both inside and outside of sports that high payed professional athletes have a sense of entitlement. In a recent ESPN Perspectives radio program, host Prim Siripipat, interviewed a number of people in the sports industry on the entitlement of athletes. Dr. Greg Dale, a sports psychologist at Duke University, argues that this sense of entitlement starts at a young age as athletes become popular because of their talents on the field. Dale says that this encourages their since of entitlement because greater talent equals greater tolerance. In other words, misconduct or bad grades are more likely to be overlooked if someone is popular due to their talents on the field.

This is most prevalent in collegiate sports. For many division I schools, major football, and basketball programs are the biggest money generator for each institution. Because this is the case, colleges want nothing to get in the way of this steady stream of revenue. In a recent CNN investigation, entrance exam  scores for football and basketball players from 37 public universities across the country were petitioned. 21 of the schools cooperated. Some that did not, said they would submit the records "after" football season had ended. The results proved that 10% of the athletes read at or near a 3rd grade level. One of the universities that received scrutiny was the University of North Carolina. UNC academic counselor Mary Willingham went through test scores over an 8 year period from 2004-2012. She found that 25% of athletes did not have the skills to take classes at a community college, let alone a university. She found that 8% read below a 4th grade level and 60% were between a 4th and 8th grade level. CNN also looked into the data Willingham discovered and found that many players at UNC were enrolled in classes that required little or no work. In the 1960's my father was in a class at Weber College in Ogden, Utah. The school had a great basketball team that year and ESPN was there to do a story on them. When the cameras came in the classroom where a couple of the star athletes were, before the cameras rolled, a textbook and pencil had to be placed on the desk to create the illusion that they had been there and been used before. It is hard to justify that so many individuals who obtain such little education can make so much money.

Some athletes do great things with the money they make and are mature enough to handle the fame that comes with being in the lime light. Many athletes become millionaires over night. For the average person, there are different phases to life. There are the learning years, the sacrificing years, the years where your wealth matures in your 30's or 40's as you build your nest egg, and then finally, there is  retirement. Professional sports are the complete opposite. Billy Corben, director of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "Broke",  examines the reason so many professional athletes quickly lose their fortunes as well. Corben's film calls it the sudden wealth effect and says sports is the ultimate meritocracy. Many players come from poverty, are young, and have little or no accountability. For some, they aren't even quite sure what to do with their first paycheck as they have never had to manage a bank account of their own. This is the first time for some they are introduced to taxes. This fascinating documentary highlights many other reasons why players go broke. Players think that because they have made so much money, they are invincible. But in many cases the old adage, more money=more problems is the norm. Some see wealthy star teammates living large and want to do the same even though they make far less. For these, keeping up with the Jonses' is a real temptation. For others, opportunities to make more money are enticing to them but end up making bad decisions and have investments go bad. Often times, players become every one's best friend. Family and friends come out of the wood works asking for money or for them to invest in various things. Corben also highlighted many athletes who have gone through expensive divorces or owe extensive child support bills each month; things that do not go away after retirement.  Then, there are those who simply live beyond their means and do not plan for the future. According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article,  78% of NFL players file for bankruptcy or are in financial distress by the time they have been out of the game for 2 years. 60% of NBA players go broke by the time they have been removed from the game for 5 years. In the modern era, there have been 60 former athletes file for bankruptcy. Now what do they do? Who is going to hire them? What schooling or skills do they have? How has the money they have made been beneficial?

The NFL and NBA recognize that this epidemic exists in their sports too. They now have many programs such as rookie symposiums. The NBA even passed a rule that requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of high school before they can sign a contract.

Recently there has been much discussion about players, particularly from the NFL who have made bad decisions and their actions have been heavily scrutinized. The other side of the coin is the backlash of how the leagues have reacted with their lack of discipline of these players. In many cases, the league has not reacted until threatened by sponsors or other private groups or individuals. Dr Dale's idea from the beginning of this essay that some athletes can receive special treatment or have their wrong doings overlooked because of their talents and fame could certainly come into play here. Take Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens running back who on February 15th was arrested for simple assault for example. It has come to light that the Ravens knew about the situation for months and tried to protect him and didn't want to enforce the rules. A timeline of the events following Rice's arrest has been compiled. The ravens coach and front office immediately came to his defense and tried to sugar coat the severity of his actions and reiterated that Rice would remain the team's running back . John Harbaugh said "The two people obviously have a couple issues that they have to work through, and they're both committed to doing that. That was the main takeaway for me from the conversation. They understand their own issues. They're getting a lot of counseling and those kinds of things, so I think that's really positive. That was the main takeaway." The Ravens' owner promised that the running back would "definitely be back." Then Rice was indicted on third degree aggravated assault charges. A charge that can carry a maximum of 5 years in prison. He then turned down a plea deal that would have spared the running back jail time in exchange for completing probation and undergoing anger management. Instead, he pleaded not guilty and applied for a program for first-time offenders that could clear him of charges in as little as six months. The program would require Rice to stay out of trouble and attend regular counseling. Prosecutors allowed Rice to be admitted into the program, a program that ESPN Outside the Lines reports that was granted to less than one percent of all domestic violence cases in New Jersey between 2010-2013 and is usually reserved for those that commit crimes that do not include violence. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell then suspended Rice for 2 games. The Ravens held a press conference only after further review of more evidence that had come to light. Due to overwhelming pressure put on them, the NFL came out with a new and harsher domestic abuse policy and Rice's punishment was increased. Rice was eventually released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. I acknowledge that everyone deserves due process but the evidence clearly shows that the Ravens tried to protect their investment and keep him on the field. Would a lesser-known player have received the same treatment?

It has not just been Ray Rice. Other NFL players have also been in trouble off the field with domestic violence issues lately. These names include Greg Hardy, Jonathan Dwyre, and  Ray McDonald. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges. Hardy and Peterson were placed on what is called the Exempt/ Commissioners Permission List.   This is list not often used by the NFL and is not always viewed as a disciplinary measure. Although after being placed on this list, you cannot attend any team activities, it does not count against your contract (years) for the time you spend on it. Oh, and did I mention you still get paid while on this list? Jonathan Dwyre was parked on another list that was created to allow a player to remain on a team and still be paid while they are recovering from an illness. There was another incident that flew under the radar. New York Jets' practice squad wide receiver Quincy Enunwa  was recently accused of domestic violence and was released by the team. Of all the players on this list, only 2 were suspended. So, to argue that the average individuals can fly under the radar when they do something wrong and a popular athletes gets raked over the coals just isn't the case.

We all tend to overpay for things from time to time. Many times, circumstances or timing helps us rationalize what we should pay for something. Did you ever think you would spend $1.50 on a bottle of water at the gas station?  Does that water afford us anything that regular tap water could? We are willing to spend the money so bottled water continues to be sold at a premium price. The value of professional sports organizations have sky rocketed. In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers organization sold for an astounding $2.15 Billion Dollars. In turn,  player's salaries have also become so inflated to the point that every player thinks they deserve that big contract. Some players get that contract and then underwhelmingly preform. After winning the Super Bowl, quarterback Joe Flacco signed a $120 million contract to reward him. He has underperformed ever since. This example is a drop in the bucket of players who have cashed in and then not held up their end of the bargain. Where else in life can you get away with that? If I badly underperform at my job, I will not still be compensated and if my underperformance is serious enough, I could lose my job.

For these reasons, professional athletes are not worth the money that they make, even by comparison within their own profession.