...Professional Athletes Overpaid? Have you ever considered how much money does an average person need to be able to have food three times a day, have a house, be able to send their children to school to get an education and even have a car? Realistically, all of this plus a little more can be done with an income of between $45,000 and $55,000 easily. For some reason, it was decided by us, people who labor is harder than the most, like janitors, factory workers, and even factory workers, should be paid less than someone that sits on a desk all day or someone that gets paid to play a game for living. Athletes today are the highest paid people in the world, with the exclusion of Donald Trump and Bill Gates. If you think about it, it is absurd to believe that someone is really worth millions of dollars and all they do is play a sport. Millions of people would do this for free if they had the chance. For that reason, I believe professional athletes are overpaid for many reasons. In USA Today Magazine, under section Your Life it says, “Although many professional athletes apparently still feel underpaid, just two percent of the public agrees, according to a survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide. In fact, the vast majority of Americans think athletes are overpaid.”(USA Today) This is ridiculous to hear for these athletes already making millions of dollars which is way more than they deserve. Also, in this article it states that professional athletes get paid what our...
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...In our discussion we will cover why athletes are considered role models and if they should be. Also we will discuss the debate of why many athletes make millions of dollars before even playing a game and if they are actually being overpaid. Throughout the paper we will explain how pop culture effects why these players get paid what they do by ratings and popularity of the sport. We research why teams take risks on players risking millions of dollars when that money could go back to the fans. In looking at major sports in America in referencing professional athletes as role models . Yes, we know how much money they make and what type of endorsement deals they get; what types of clothing they wear in to the locker rooms before/after the games and to press conferences; if they have of the field incident it is known to the public via media outlets; These athletes are looked up to for the skills possess during the sporting event. These people are great athletes again they are not recognized for what they do off the field of play. Most of Americans all ages that compete in sports copy some type body movement; buy a piece of equipment; develop a swagger that is influenced by professional athletes through which is seen during the time the time competition. These athletes are not recognized for time they spend doing volunteer work, unless it is publicized through television marketing; being great husbands or fathers. Athletes are judged for what they do on the fields not how the smart...
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...| Debate Paper | Are professional athletes overpaid compared to other leading occupations? | Joe Harris | XBCOM/275 | 5/19/2014 | Introduction A. Are professional athletes overpaid? B. Professional athletes are not overpaid Body A. Comparison of athletes salaries to that of other major professions B. Professional athletes are making too much money (Opposing Argument) C. Reason #1 D. Reason #2 E. Reason #3 Conclusion A. Conclusion B. Restated Argument C. Lead-out Everyone loves to watch sports, well almost everyone. I know that I do, but it seems to me that fans debate on who the best teams and players are, in any of the multiple major sports associations, year in and year out but the one question that has never been answered is, are these athletes being overpaid? Now for the sake of this particular debate I have chosen to compare athletes in all of the major sports compensation to that of someone who is considered to hold a more prestigious role in society. Professional athlete’s compensation does not just stem from the money that they receive via contract from their leagues, but also from the endorsement deals that are signed with other companies. Keeping that in mind, here is a list of the top 5 highest paid professional athletes: 1. Tiger Woods (Golf) with an annual salary of $78.1 million, in which $65 million comes from endorsement deals and $13.1 million from his respective employer the P.G...
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...When addressing the value of entertainment, there is without a doubt, that we as a society value entertainment highly. But there is no reason that these athletes, who are here to merely entertain us, get paid higher wages than those that save our lives and teach us such as medical doctors and teachers. Professional athletes do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals. It is my claim that professional baseball players are paid more than they are worth. Economics is the key to understanding why these athletes earn such tremendous salaries; still, it fails to explain why they actually do deserve it. Giving athlete’s high wages doesn’t only distort them, but also bring downfall to clubs and the country’s economy. The growth and the development of a sport may be reflected from the wages of the athletes and that is all it does. In conclusion, Team owners pay more to keep athletes on the team to be on a winning streak, but whether the drive to win is justifiable remains in doubt. The economic system involving sports, corporate America, and the media is an interdependent one. Athletes make huge sums of money paid to them by owners who make even larger sums of money. Agents, free agency, and other phenomena keep athlete salaries rising. So, too, does increased ticket sales to games, increased TV viewership, enormous media contracts, TV advertising, and corporate sponsorship and endorsement deals. The economic rewards...
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...Overpaid Baseball Players When addressing the value of entertainment, there is without a doubt, that we as a society value entertainment highly. But there is no reason that these athletes, who are here to merely entertain us, get paid higher wages than those that save our lives and teach us such as medical doctors and teachers. Professional athletes do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals. It is my claim that professional baseball players are paid more than they are worth. Economics is the key to understanding why these athletes earn such tremendous salaries; still, it fails to explain why they actually do deserve it. Giving athlete’s high wages doesn’t only distort them, but also bring downfall to clubs and the country’s economy. The growth and the development of a sport may be reflected from the wages of the athletes and that is all it does. In conclusion, Team owners pay more to keep athletes on the team to be on a winning streak, but whether the drive to win is justifiable remains in doubt. The economic system involving sports, corporate America, and the media is an interdependent one. Athletes make huge sums of money paid to them by owners who make even larger sums of money. Agents, free agency, and other phenomena keep athlete salaries rising. So, too, does increased ticket sales to games, increased TV viewership, enormous media contracts, TV advertising, and corporate sponsorship and endorsement...
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...In a society where jobs are scarce, people are cutting back, and families are losing their homes, athletes are signing huge contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. If you were a teenager who just got his first part-time job you would think making minimum wage ($13) was a fortune. I mean, working part time could bring in a paycheck upwards of $200! Now imagine you’re Lebron James. Your first paycheck from your first job got you almost 13 million for three years. Now, $13 an hour doesn’t sound too great in comparison to athlete’s salaries. LeBron’s salary is just one example of the absurdity surrounding athlete’s paychecks. In 2009, the average salary for basketball player was around 6 million. An average baseball player made around 3 million, a hockey player, around 2 million and football players made an around 1 million. The reason athletes are paid so much is because of the fans that “sponsor” them. These are ordinary Americans who idolize their favorite athletes and are willing to pay hundreds to see them play. Not only this, but the popularity fans bring to athletes gets those athletes advertising jobs and other ways of making money outside of their sport. The middle class is getting paid less...
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...1. Title of Speech: “Athletes Salaries’. Are They Justified?” 2. Speaker Role/Audience: Student/An Athletic Board 3. Specific Purpose of Speech: To convince my audience that athletes’ salaries are not justified. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Brief Introduction and History of Topic: $90 million, $80 million. That adds up to a lot of money. Imagine how many mouths you could feed or how many kids could go to college with that money. Unfortunately, $90 million is the contract Nike gave Lebron James before he even touched an NBA basketball. $80 million was his contract extension in 2006 (USA Today). During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the biggest news in pro sports was Babe Ruth's contract, which paid him $75,000 per year, more than the President of the United States. (Show me the money!) According to the Seattle Times, when confronted about making more than the president, Ruth famously replied “Why Not? I had a better year than him.” Now even the lowest paid pro athletes earn almost as much as the President, who makes $400,000 a year. Later, in 1964, the Saint Louis Cardinals and the New York Jets got in a bidding war over Alabama quarterback, Joe Namath. The Jets came out on top, showing Namath a pretty decent deal. According to Harvey Frommer, sports author, Namath was “signed to a four-year contract at $25,000 per season, plus a $200,000 bonus. Scouting jobs...
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...The Deal With Student Athletes Almost every student coming out of high school would like to further their education at a college or university. Unfortunately, many students cannot afford the cost of attending college. This leaves students with few options, either abandon their hopes and join the workforce with no college education. The other option is to take on loans resulting in massive student debt after graduation. Another option, which I will be focusing on, is to receive a scholarship to compete in college sports. There is a catch if one decides to take this route, athletes are not allowed to make or accept any compensation whilst attending the university. This has led to players controversially getting kicked off teams and losing their scholarships. This issue has people torn as to whether the students should be paid or not. Journalists use similar rhetorical strategies to try to convince their readers despite having opposing views of the same topic. One person...
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...money for other necessities. You did not save enough money in high school and your family does not have money to give you. You are a college athlete. Athletic boosters tempt the athletes with illegal benefits because most do not have money for their own use. The NCAA makes millions of dollars off a college athlete’s performance. The NCAA is a not-for-profit agency that does not operate like one. If college athletes received a yearly stipend from the NCAA, then they might not be lured to take illegal benefits and would have spending money to enjoy the college life experience and pay for needed college items, such as a computer or supplies. For those reasons, college athletes should be paid by the NCAA for the services they provide to their schools. Critics against student athletes being paid believe in the benefits of the athletic scholarship. However, past athletes received improper benefits, financial and otherwise. Reggie Bush accepted improper benefits when he played football for University of Sothern California. According to the article, “Paying College Athletes,” “…current NFL star Reggie Bush-had violated its amateurism rules when his family moved into an expensive home owned by a local businessman with whom Bush and his family had had business dealings related to Bush’s football career” (Paying College Athletes par. 7). Reggie Bush and his family collected an excess of $290,000 from sports agent Lloyd Lake. Lake sued Bush and his family to be repaid...
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...It wasn’t long ago that I was a young boy cheering on the Lakers from my home in SoCal. I watched in awe as one of the great dynasties in NBA history dismantled one opponent after the next. Kobe Bryant was a young superstar being called the next Jordan and Shaq was making his defenders look like Sunday brunch. Those were the days when I was a diehard fan, watching countless games, idolizing the skilled athletes, and wishing to be in their shoes someday. In recent years, however, I’ve lost all interest in the NBA and the disgrace of a league that it’s become. So, how did this all happen? How did I go from being the biggest basketball fan I know to a despiser of the league and everything it represents? Let’s go back to the days when I was first followed basketball. I was in elementary school and some of my friends were Lakers fans. I watched a few games with them and really got into the action. I loved everything about the Lakers, from their players, to their history, to the color of their jerseys. I followed the team religiously as they won multiple championships. I couldn’t believe the team that played just an hour from where I lived was experiencing such tremendous success. They’d just won their third straight title and I couldn’t have been happier. The year they signed Payton and Malone was when my love for the game reached its peak. Watching five future hall of famers on the same team was incredible. Of course, the Lakers lost to the Pistons in the finals that year, and...
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...Why professional athletes deserve what they are being paid Professional Athletes Salaries I have developed a love for baseball and have done a lot of research to understand and to defend my position on the topic of their salaries. I have engaged in surveys with sports fans and non sports fans. I have had extensive conversations with people that I consider experts on the subject of sports and salaries, in addition to an enormous amount of web surfing. I am not here to change your mind and get you to believe only me, but to entice you to make a new decision based on new information. I completely understand the position that individuals take on the enormous salaries that professional athletes make. However, I ask a few minutes of your time to “walk a mile in their shoes” (Kirby/Goodpaster, 2007) from my perspective and that of many others. I would like to talk with you what is takes to become a major leaguer, the logic behind their enormous salaries and where that money is generated and about the personal dedication and contribution to society that these players provide on a daily basis. Let’s discover the whole story and see where this leads us. Let me ask you a couple of questions to ponder first as you listen to my story. If your child had a natural ability whether it was sports, numbers, or debating would you do all that you could do to inspire and encourage a pursuit in that career field or put a cap on potential earnings? As a professional Sports player...
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...Dear Lukas Raschilla, In your article, “Athletes are artists, not role models”, you claim that you are bewildered that anyone would view professional athletes as role models. By saying that sports figures are "not" and "shouldn't be expected" to be role models in their actions on and off the playing field is in my opinion giving a free pass for bad behavior. As the saying goes...to those who much has been given, much is expected. You claim, "athletes do not choose to be role models", but I feel anyone who holds a position of notoriety and popularity with the public should shoulder that admiration with dignity. As we know, merely by association in any career, be it sports, education, health care, government, and even religion, does not guarantee that the individuals will be positive role models. Instead, moral obligations need to be nurtured and, when necessary, consequences clearly enforced in incidents of conduct not befitting the role that person represents. It is unrealistic to think there will not be transgressions in the athletic arena as they are all human, but even this can serve as a valuable lesson to young fans. Charles Barkley is correct when he says in the Nike commercial that "parents should be the most important role model for kids" and no one expects a sports figure to replace that position, but it also takes a village to raise good citizens. Everyone that occupies attention in a child's life should realize that their actions will be seen and will affect the...
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...Writing to Convince Argumentative and Persuasive Essays Sometimes we write to defend an opinion, to argue against somebody’s point of view, or to convince readers why and how we think a certain problem should be settled. The argument we develop should be a logical, properly thought-out presentation of ideas that makes a claim about an issue and supports that claim with evidence. Within this general frame, our argument consists of four basic components: (1) an issue, (2) a claim, (3) support, and (4) a recognition and refutation of the opposing view. A. The Issue. An argument is concerned with an issue – a case (like war, smoking, cloning, etc.) on which people hold opposite or different opinions. To build a convincing argument about an issue, it is essential that we be aware of the audience we are addressing: • Agreeing audience: When you write to people who already agree with your claim, the focus is usually to urge them to take a specific action and build emotional ties with them. • Neutral audience: In writing to a neutral audience, try to emphasize the importance of the issue and offer explanations that clear up your readers’ questions or misunderstandings about, or lack of interest in it. • Disagreeing audience: The most challenging audience combines people whose viewpoints contrast with yours; they may be hostile to your claim and have strong feelings about the issue. In writing to a disagreeing audience, your goal is to convince readers to consider...
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...Shareholders Watchdog, Inc. 777 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 December 7, 2011 RE: Is CEO Compensation Fair? Dear employee, Accompanying this letter is our completed report that discusses the issue of the fairness of current CEO compensation. Although there are two sides of this argument, recent legislation and regulations for reform tend to support those who believe it is unfair. We have evaluated the current standards of CEO compensation and examined why both sides think they should prevail. There are some advantages that strongly support CEO’s huge salaries, including the following: * Provides incentives and motivates the CEO to obtain or surpass corporate objectives * Retains key-value leaders for the long-term, resulting in consistent corporate success * Creates a strong CEO confidence for him/her to reinvest in the corporation (bonds) Our overall research indicates that CEO compensation does not reflect actual performance in most cases. Many CEO’s are grossly over compensated (including stock options, bonuses, hedge funds, and other benefits). The “Golden Parachute” guarantee adds insult to injury. Based on our research, conducted from the UNLV Library periodicals database and online sources, we recommend the following: * Require corporations to adhere to sections 951, 953, 955 and 956 of the Dodd-Frank Bill * Maintain a collective (“Esprit de corps”) work force environment for all employees * Consult third party professional...
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...HBSP Product Number TCG239 THE CRIMSON PRESS CURRICULUM CENTER THE CRIMSON GROUP, INC. Boulder Public Schools Edward Caton, a teacher in a midsize elementary school in Boulder, Colorado, hoped someday to rise through the administrative ranks to serve as a principal of his own school, but he felt that to do so, he should understand more about the position to which he aspired. This was especially important to him in terms of the control he might have over the budget, which he knew was central to real power in many organizations. In an effort to learn more about the operations of the Boulder Public Schools, he set up some informational interviews with the principals of an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. Before making those rounds, he visited the headquarters of the Boulder School Committee to obtain background information for his interviews. BACKGROUND Mr. Caton learned that the Department of Implementation (DI) was central to the school system. It’s manager reported directly to the Superintendent of Schools. The DI was responsible for making school enrollment projections each December for the coming fiscal year (which ran from July to June). These projections were important since annual staffing needs for each school were determined by a rather complex formula that used the DI's projections as the starting point. Moreover, since personnel formed the bulk of the budget, these projections effectively determined a school's budget. Each school...
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