Should Athletes Be Paid?

The United States is referred to as “The land of the free and the home of the brave” in The Star Spangled Banner. Without our armed forces to fight in battle, we would not have the freedoms to do anything that we do now, including playing sports. Many athletic players receive more money than most soldiers do. Many agree that athletes should, but I beg to differ. I think a man with a helmet defending his country should make more money than a man with a helmet defending a football. Football players make more money than soldiers do, they get thousands of dollars every game, hit, touchdown, or kick-off of each season. The Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, Matt Ryan, gets paid $11,500,000 just as a base salary, while the highest ranking Officer, O-10*, gets paid $20220.07 each year after serving for a little less than 38 years. This means that the average athletic player receives about $11,479,779.93 more than the highest ranking officer in the army does. How could this possibly be fair to soldiers? Armed forces, that fight to protect our country, are getting
Football, baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, volleyball, tennis, basketball, and many other sports have players that have died trying to play something the chose to play and do things they wanted to do. Soldiers go into war, or battle, to help protect you and your family. Without soldiers, how would we feel safe enough to play sports? How would we feel safe enough to go out and watch a game while cheering our loved ones on? Sports are a fun activity for everyone to enjoy and play, so why do professional ball players get paid so much when U.S. soldiers are risking their lives to protect this land? Many say sport players are important and should earn loads of cash, but I do not agree. Athletes should get paid enough money for them to be able to retire and raise a family, but not as much as the people protecting them, not to mention all of our homes and