Why Athletes Earn More Than Top Doctors Research (Essay Sample)

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English 102
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Why Athletes Earn More than Doctors
The debate on whether it is just for sports celebrities to earn more money than professionals from other fields is archaic yet will continue lingering in the mind of people for generations to come. A majority of people find it totally unfair for athletes to be paid super salaries compared to top surgeons who are responsible for people’s health. What this group has not come to terms with is why salaries for athletes do not depend on an individual’s contributions to the society or the responsibility they hold. The athletes’ super salaries are a reflection of the high level of public support that the sports industry and the successful athletes attract. That invalidates the notion of fairness in the comparison of the salaries of people from these two divides. The reality, however, is that the constant media attention they get turns them into celebrities attracting the high salaries compared to doctors. Even though many seemingly find the athletes’ super salaries unjust compared to those of physicians, the wages are reasonable.
First and foremost, the famous athletes are so because of their hard work. It is evident that it takes much effort for an athlete to reach the referent levels where they can get the huge salary packs. An athlete has to work hard and in pain to become good at athletes; it takes persistence and hard work (Watson 27). They sometimes risk their lives and health to claim their achievements. An excellent example is that of L. Amstrong, one of the renowned cyclists in the history of the world. He struggled with cancer, the most challenging difficulty in his life while he was very young for the disease. He was only 20 when he found out about his condition, but that did not deter him from pursuing his dreams. After his victory in France, he sought to defend the disease by saying it was the best thing that ever happened to him. That emanated from his belief in himself the reason for which he did not give up. It is not, therefore, outrageous to shower such a person with a good salary and for him to command the love of individuals from all works of life. The money that such athletes get is more justified than the huge earning of the movie actors or even doctors. In short, the point is that the high salaries of athletes are hard-earned and it is not easy money.
Let us face it, famous athletes deserve the high salaries because we all need them. Entertainment through athletes plays a crucial role in our lives especially after a day-long work that exhausts us; we need to relax and watch how our favorite athletes have performed on TV. Sometimes, we need to eliminate stress, tension, and depression and just leave it behind and there is no medication for that, the remedy is only in sports of which athletics is one, as explained by Watson (27). For example, when one comes from a job or is on holiday it is very challenging to stay at home the whole day without watching TV. Doing so would be disastrous as the boredom that would result from loneliness and idleness in this situation would be very destructive and stressful for an individual. That makes me believe that the famous athletes and entertainers are part of our lives and we need them. Just like doctors care for our health, mind, and souls, the athletes have higher salaries because we need them. Furthermore, research has established that people would spend the same amounts of money in entertainment in the absence of athletes. That speaks large volumes of how much human beings value entertainment.
The advocates for athletes hold that they are unique in their field. That is to say that not everyone can become a successful athlete unlike being a doctor. Everyone who undergoes training can become a successful physician. The also athletes can withstand attention of millions of viewers as a result of the brilliance of their performance. Demand for any product, unless it is abnormal, follows a given law, that is, the then the demand is low when the supply is high and vice versa. The number of athletes is low so why should they undervalue themselves? That is against the rule of capitalism. The number of people with the real talent is really few, and the money is the motivation that people need to be successful (Watson 27). The claim by the opponents of the position as mentioned above that this is injustice does not hold water because the high achievers in other fields are not unique. The people who hold a different school of thoughts about athletes compare the income of a few gifted scholars with mediocre athletes and conclude from their viewpoint that the situation is appalling. They do not stop to think about what it takes to be a successful athlete. The complaints will surge when the complainants take athletics and sports in general as a serious and an important profession too.
The last reason why athletes get paid well than doctors is that they do not only excel in a sporting but also entertain a large number of people t...