Do you think professional athletes & entertainers are overpaid?
435757
Yes. Of course the millions that are paid to these athletes is mind boggling. And what have the been the results of all that? Recklessness, drug abuse, poor and underachievement and many other unacceptable behaviors.
330460
Some people may argue that all professional athletes are paid too much.  However, based on what the other major sports' players are making, the short answer is 'no, not really.'\n\nDepending on how you base judgment of salaries, hockey players are quite reasonable.  They endure the most physical abuse of any athlete (perhaps comparable to football players - 82 games compared to 16...sometimes four times a week), and their skill is magnificent.\n\nHowever, the sport draws the least amount of money of all four major American sports, and the cause of the lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season was escalating player salaries - the owners simply could not keep up with the raises and market values of some of the greatest skill men in the game.  \n\nSo, in terms of skill - no.  But in terms of their market - yes.  Teams had to shut down for a year to make up for finishing year after year in the red, and as a result, the players had to accept a 24% salary rollback and a salary cap was installed.
835034
I completely agree. It is sad that players often forget that it is those very same fans that pay his salary. Even worse he says he is sorry and it isnt representative of him or the Falcon organization. Is he serious? This isnt his first instance of bad behavior so I wonder exactly what is representative of who he really is? Time to grow up and act like a professional if he expects to get paid like one. For an instance i thought Jim Mora Sr. was wrong and out of line about Vick but now....maybe there is something in what he said!!!
897280
They maybe greedy but not overpaid. If you view it as a business like the owner, if you pay player x this amount, player y sez why can't i be payed the same? Domino effect. The owners then pass it on to the fans who pay to see their teams. Capatilism, supply and demand. If no fans show, then no money etc. How much does the best tiddle wink player make? If you heard that your friend was making more money than you doing the same job would you want the same pay? Its what the market can bare. Granted the pro make money most of us would like to make so it seems alot but i'd rather be the guy who pays them, would'nt you? Does anyone complain that Gates and Buffet make the money they do? They have more, they just don't flaunt it like the pros do.\n\nThe pro athelete only looks ridiculous when they ask for pension plans etc when us dolts obtain our own pension or 401. Dumbest request by pros is when they ask for part of the gate receipts....where do they think the owners are getting their money in the first place to pay them? If they want the gate receipts then let them have it but they must also pay for maintenance and the employees who work there and pay the loan to the local government.
629484
i agree with you, smoke and star29. those players are getting payed millions, but they should be able to say whats on their minds without getting fined for it. its only their opinion and even though i dont think they should get paid as much as they do, i still think they should be able to voice their opinions without getting in trouble for it. i know the nba has rules and stuff about this, but they should be able to voice their opinion shouldn't they?
845035
i think they get paid way too much. i do the exact same stuff just for fun and i'm not a multi millionaire. getting paid millions of dollars to hit a ball with a stick basically...
794047
Some people just really like balls, so they are nactually not watching the people at all. It sure makes no sense for us to work our balls off trying to make a living then go pay a ton to watch a bunch of people do exactly what you are asking about and get paid more for in one year of playing than we may make in a lifetime.\n\nOnce we are all hooked on Yahoo Answers, they will charge as well.
1051771
I think it's absolute nonsense. They should be paid a normal wage like everyone else. Isn't it good enough that they get to do what they love for a living?
888069
Geeze... respect .... Hmmmmm?\nNo, you can't respect any professional sports team when you see the salaries they make.  I enjoy watching but respect is a whole nother thing\n:-)
79328
Well at least it makes you uncapitalistic. Follow this line of logic. Wherever you have a need (in this case entertainment) you have people willing to spend money. So you hire people to support this need (athletes) and pay them a percentage. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. It's only fair that these athletes take their percentage.\nI think you are way over generalizing athletes. While there are certainly selfish immature players. There are also classy, generous, respectable athletes as well, It's just that the more immature players tend to stay in the public eye do to their hijinks.\nNow the olympics are a complete abomination. They secure television contracts, charge unGodly prices for seats, yet they don't even pay the participants that make the olympics a reality. How is that fair? \nIt's not wrong to be rich. To make the money you earned. It's wrong to be an child and a thug. But these two things aren't really even related.
1015092
Hollywood stars, making $20 million a movie or $10 million per TV-season, qualify for many people's overpaid list. But for every one of those actors and actresses, there are a thousand waiting tables and taking bit movie parts or regional theater roles awaiting a big break that never comes.\n\n"A lot of people are overpaid because there are certain things consumers just don't want screwed up," said Bill Coleman, senior vice president of compensation for Salary.com. "You wouldn't want to board a plane flown by a second-rate pilot or hire a cheap wedding photographer to record an event you hope happens once in your lifetime.\n\n"With pro athletes, one owner is willing to pay big money for a star player and then all the other players want to keep up with the Joneses," Coleman said. "The art with CEO pay is making sure your CEO is above the median -- and you see where that goes."\n\nWhat follows is a list of the 10 most overpaid jobs in the U.S., in reverse order, drafted with input from compensation experts:\n\n10) Wedding photographers\nPhotographers typically charge $2,000 to $5,000 to shoot a wedding, for what amounts to a one-day assignment plus processing time. Some get $15,000 or more. Yet many mope through the job, bumping guests in their way without apology, with the attitude: "I'm just doing this for the money until Time or National Geographic calls."\n\nThey must cover equipment and film-development costs. Still, many in major metropolitan areas who shoot two weddings each weekend in the May-to-October marrying season pull in $100,000 for six months' work.\n\nYet let's face it; much of their work is mediocre. Have you ever really been wowed flipping the pages of a wedding album handed you by recent newlyweds? Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon they're not, but some charge fees as if they're in the same league.\n\n9) Pilots for major airlines\nCaptains with 12 years of experience earn up to $265 an hour at Delta, United, American and Northwest, which translates to $250,000 a year and more for a job that technology is making almost fully automated.\n\nBy comparison, senior pilots at low-fare carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue make about 40 percent less. That helps explain why their employers are profitable while several of the majors are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
355223
Players need to forget about the money and play for the game and for the fans. And owners need to stop looking at pro sports as a for-profit business. Then all will be right in sports.
4876
Players are paid what the market offers.  Team owners generally overpay players in fear that the player may sign elsewhere.  I don't have a problem with a football player getting $2 million.  The average career of a football player is 4.5 seasons.  If that player is injured, and cannot work, then I can justify their salary.  As long as we the Suckers, keep buying tickets, jerseys, memorabilia and the like, then pro players will be overpaid.
95551
I think it is suppose to be about the best of the best.  Since they get paid alot of money to play a game, chances are they are the best at what they do.  That doesn't mean that there aren't amatuers out there that might deserve to be there but were overlooked due to status.
402104
absolutely not!  If a job so demanding as pro sports are these days, there would be no possible way I had another job, therefore there is no way I could support myself.  But, if you were to say I had endorsement deals, got free meals w/ the team, free travel and all of that other stuff, I would do it.  But for totally FREE, no chance in hell!
604428
The main wrestlers, ie the superstars, get paid a lot more than those smaller, low key wrestlers.  The ones that you see once a month or so who usually lose the matches, they get paid okay, but not nearly as much as the likes of Cena, Undertaker, HHH, etc.  I think they have okay talent, but unless there is a certain something extra as far as looks or personality, the powers that be don't elevate them to superstar status.
1074507
Hell NO! It's sad that we have people on the streets and we pay actors 1 million dollars or more to work for less than 3 months! Our society is f*cked up! Doctors, Firefighters, and Teachers should be paid salaries like celebrities. They are the true hero's.