Athlete's Wages - The Price WE Pay For World-Class Sport

In 2014, Michael Jordan became the first billionaire athlete with his combined assets reaching an estimated $1.9 billion. Since then, athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher have all joined the billionaire club as a reward for their decades of hard work and sacrifice to become some of the greatest sportsmen of all time. However, no matter what year you choose, the world always seems to be in some sort of economic crisis and every day people lose their livelihoods so that people further up the food chain can live a little more lavishly. Professional athletes are treated like gods whilst the mortals within the general public continue their daily struggle to make ends meet. The worst part? The deeper you dig, the more outrageous this illusion becomes.

Let's start with some infamous salaries from this year alone (before endorsements and sponsorship):  

NBA: Average Salary - $7 million 

         Highest Paid - Stephen Curry ($43 million per year) 

NFL: Average Salary - $860,000

         Highest Paid - Patrick Mohames ($45 million per year) 

F1: Average Salary - $9.2 million 

      Highest Paid - Lewis Hamilton ($40 million per year) 

Football: Average Salary - $3 million 

              Highest Paid - Lionel Messi ($90 million per year) 

Now, have these people worked hard for this money? Of course yes. Do they deserve it? Maybe. Have they had enough? Absolutely not! 

Athletes and their agents are constantly on the hunt for wage increases and bonuses for the most microscopic successes. However, when their salaries are then compared to others, the absurdity really starts to build: 

President of the USA: Average Salary - $400,000 per year (even if you're an idiot)

Prime Minister of UK: Average Salary - £161,401 per year (even if you **** it up)

Police Officer (UK): Average Salary - £40,000 per year 

NHS Nurse: Average Salary - £33,000 

Teacher (Primary): Average Salary - £35,000

Now, I'm not saying athletes don't undergo any types of stress or worry. After all, these people still have families and people to provide for. But I think we can all agree, the jobs listed above carry a little more weight in terms of making the world go round and they must perform their roles and responsibilities whilst earning a fraction of what most athletes earn in a week. However, with the sports industry worth an estimated $500 billion and with no end in growth in sight, athletes wages will continue to flurish and force the world further into a downward economic spiral. 

The answer to this is obviously to reduce athlete wages. However, in this day and age, that reality is just too far fetched and as the sports industry continues to grow and salaries continue to soar, kids will not grow up dreaming of sinking game-winning shots in Madison Square Garden or scoring in a World Cup Final, but instead will dream about the colour of their Bentley or the location of their 3rd holiday home. This is the reality that faces the modern sporting world and is something that must be corrected in order for sanity to prevail.