What goes around comes around. I know that sentence usually has a different meaning, but it's applicable for money as well.

It's highly confusing why humans pay more for entertainment than for more.. "essential" things.

Nonetheless, my only guess is the elasticity of the service provided being non-essential causes the price to go where it does both regarding service cost and labour. This happens with more unnecessary tangible things too, like gold, which aren't necessary yet price is highly dependent upon the flavour of the day, or in this case, decade.

Because this sounds like a moral question, I'll say no. However, regarding athletes, the team management, who write their checks, seem to think otherwise.

No, but your taxes pay for their stadiums. The players getting paid less and that extra money going into funding is obviously unreasonable.

Panem et circenses.

Yup, that's true. Ask the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and the city of Glendale + taxpayers about that.

That was genius. Also, very true. :foodndrink:

Or we could actually not build things that we can't afford.

No, I don't think they do, but I think the problem is even worse with actors. At least athletes have to maintain a diet and workout hard, actors just show up, and play make-believe (basically).

Depends on the definition of "afford". If you mean cash is king and nothing else is acceptable, well, that won't work for the high 90% of people, particularly for expensive things like cars, tuition, and houses.

I'm busting my ass to get an education, and those loafers get paid tens of millions of dollars to throw/kick some balls.

Societal values and priorities are effed up.

compensation for all the drugs and abuse they put through their bodies... still too much.

I mean things that could actually be paid off without raising taxes. (impossible I know)

I kinda agree with this but I do think they get paid to much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NFL_season#Labor_dispute So yes, it's impossible.

On one hand they get paid a ridiculous amount for a few hours work at the top levels, especially the superstars.

On the other hand, being a professional athlete is a massive gamble. You've probably let your real job emplyabily skills and experience go and you're always one injury - one bad break, one bad landing, one tackle - away from a career killing injury and possible pauperhood.

Funny how athletes make more money than presidents.

No. Listen. No.

Do you know how much Baseball players make? Hundreds of millions of dollars a year, no hyperbole at all either.

Do you know how much 99.9999999999999999999999999999% of the population of the entire world will make compared to that? Not even half a million dollars in a lifetime.




Because the $50,000,000 they earned last year just won't cut it to see them through the rest of their life.

In the US, that would be circumvented by issuing bonds and placing one's self in a bottomless pit of debt, which ends up much worse later on than raising taxes, thanks to interest accumulation.

Unfortunately this problem goes into teams as well who, in several North American leagues (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA), team owners and the management that represent them were more than willing to spend themselves well in the red knowing full well they'd be bailed out by taxpayers.. of those teams where profit was of no concern. Indeed it does get worse when athletes wind up on "taxpayer" payroll.

in the days of the roman empire their only reward was that they'd get to live another day... i think that's more fair than how much current day athletes get paid

Excruciatingly overpaid. I don't support professional sports in any way, shape, or form. I don't watch them and I don't buy tickets for them. The reason they get paid such a ridiculous amount is because people are stupidly spending ridiculous amounts of money on their merchandise, on game seats, and giving many hours watching it live. If you think they get paid too much, but still spend ridiculous amounts of money on game seats and merchandise then you are being a bit hypocritical, because you are the reason they are getting paid those ridiculous amounts.


That was their career choice. If they didn't get a good education, are incapable of getting a good job doing anything else, and were frivilous with their money -- They deserve to have a hard time

So you'd have sports in which people can easily die every single day? That's... visionary.

Because we aren't already in debt

It's [censored], they don't deserve that kind of money just for playing a game. Then again, the corporations who sponsor them get even more for doing LESS, so the exploitation extends far beyond just the players.

For the elite few, thats true, but what about the hundreds of professional athletes that earn a fraction of that?

It's still enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life. (But not GLAMOROUS, oh no)

Plus I'm sure the league would still give them pension or injury compensation if they can't work anymore.

What about jobs that don't involve career-ending injuries, but DEATH? Like an astronaut or deep-sea diver.