Aspiring athletes get to be superstars because they have some type of rare talent. Someone who tosses a ball shouldntearn 700 times as much as someone who saves lives. For much of the decade, the US Womens National Team and the U.S. Soccer Federation have clashed over equal pay. The players long battle with U.S. Soccer, which is not only their employer but also the sports national governing body, had thrust them to the forefront of a broader fight for equality in womens sports and drawn the support of fellow athletes, celebrities, politicians and presidential candidates. Colleges reap billions from these student athletes sacrifices and success but, in the same breath, block them from earning a single dollar. However, its not the athletes fault that their wages are so high. Wouldn't it be great to make nearly $111 million a year simply to play a game? Top athletes can do things that mere mortals can't. Most have paid a heavy personal cost to get there. World's top-ranked female tennis player Simona Halep's off-court earnings came in at $1.5m last year, dwarfed by Roger Federer, currently men's number two, who pocketed $58m. How are professional athletes not overpaid? : The 100 debates that govern your life, written in a way that tells both sides of every story. But, while the level of pay varies from sport to sport, a look at five popular American sports shows a common reality: female athletes consistently make less than men. Sixty percent of those polled said that salaries should be paid to all athletes, and 38% said salaries should only be paid to athletes playing sports that bring in revenue. (HISTORIC) See how different sides see the same key events in ongoing conflicts. Considering other scholarships and aid are widely available and not all college athletes require financial aid, the NCAA scholarships are generous. The American League and now the National League both use designated hitters. Please try again later. In 2018, the average annual salary for an M.L.B. Midfielder Lindsey Horan celebrates with forward, Megan Rapinoe after scoring a goal during the 2019 Women's World Cup on June 20, 2019. Others will mimic as they try to keep up but eventually will fall short in trying to outbid Auburn University, Florida State, the University of Southern California or the University of Texas in the college player arms race. [33], The reality is that the vast majority of college athletes will never play professionally. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [42], The NCAA was scheduled to vote on new NIL rules in Jan. 2021, but it then postponed the vote, citing external factors. [10] Days before the scheduled vote Makan Delrahim, JD, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice under the Trump administration, questioned the proposed rules compliance with antitrust laws. [13] [14] [41], Gabe Feldman, JD, Professor of Sports Law, Director of the Sports Law Program and Associate Provost for NCAA compliance at Tulane University, noted that the last time the NCAA was at the Supreme Court was in 1984 (NCAA vs. the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma). If adopted, the rule would only apply to Division I schools and would be temporary until the NCAA or Congress acts. And athletes should as far as possible have the opportunities other students enjoy. [49], Governor of California Gavin Newsom, stated, Collegiate student athletes put everything on the line their physical health, future career prospects and years of their lives to compete. For instance, during each season of any professional sport, there are away games that keep players from their families. Additionally, while most teenagers or college-age students spend their free time studying, working or hanging out, student athletes aiming to qualify for the pros spend all of their free time training. As of 2014, a Sergeant of U.S Military who had two years of experience made $26,172. The starkest gap remains at the very top. Professional athletesare making too much money in a society where salaries and wages are traditionally based on the value of one's work. In U.S. In today's society, one should be paid according to. Sure, their net salaries may be higher than ours, but they are still lower than we tend to think and much lower than what is published. Football and basketball players cannot play professionally immediately after high school. While compensation for women has improved over the past decade, the gap still extends to even the world's highest-paid players. 3. [23]. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/learning/what-should-be-done-about-the-gender-pay-gap-in-sports.html. The odds are even lower for womens basketball at 0.6%. But those arguments fail when . According to the NCAA, the organization provides more than $3.6 billion in athletic scholarships annually to more than 180,000 student-athletes. Divided equitably, each student would receive about $20,000 per year. Professional athletes sacrifice important aspects of their lives, especially their health and family. Compare those wages withthe national average salary fora firefighter: about $45,000 a year. What Should Be Done About the Gender Pay Gap in Sports? Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate. For the first time, the average salary reached six figures. ), the National Football League (N.F.L. The top WNBA salarywas $117,500 last season, compared with $37.4 million in the NBA. 1, 2021), Colin Dwyer, California Governor Signs Bill Allowing College Athletes to Profit from Endorsements, npr.org, Sep. 30, 2019, Rudy Hill and Jonatha D. Wohlwend, Florida Law Will Allow College Athletes to Profit from Name, Image, and Likeness Starting Summer 2021, June, 25, 2020, Ben Pickman, Colorado Governor Signs Bills Allowing NCAA Athletes to Profit Off Name, Likeness, si.com, Mar. The average American woman earns 81% of what an average American man earns, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But its important to remember that those athletes are an essential part of enormously profitable companies. So let's take a look at the reasons why professional female athletes don't deserve equal pay. But one of the biggest moves was the WNBAs 2020 community bargaining agreement. They make their teammates better, thereby improving the whole team (thinkTom Brady Kevin Durant, and, of course,Michael Jordan, etc.). Over the span of 34 years, the four major tennis tournaments decided to pay their mens and womens winners equally. They reap billions of dollars every year from TV deals and merchandise and ticket sales. Being put through the kind. We'll have to wait and see what. The top ten highest-paid women in 2019 were all tennis players when a decade ago the top-ten list included NASCAR, ice skating and golf. ], ProCon.org, "Paying College Athletes Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Paying College Athletes Top 3 Pros and Cons. What kids learn from successful ballplayers like him is that Its okay for me to use illegal substances, because in the long run, it will pay off by earning me an enormous contract.. Which of these groups do you think played a role in pushing U.S. Soccer to equalize pay? This change in purpose has a negative impact on athletes ambition to play. Source: MLS 2013; 2020; NWSL 2013, 2020 Every year since the Womens National Basketball Associations inaugural season in 1997, the highest-paid womens basketball player has earned less than the lowest-paid National Basketball Association player. Feb. 25, 2022 This week, the United States Soccer Federation pledged to equalize pay for its men's and women's national teams as part of a settlement that included a $24 million payment to a group. 3 Reasons Why Professional Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid So Much . Lower salaries wouldnt necessarily lead to lower ticket and hot dog prices for fans who go to the games. Women used to rank more prominently among the top-earning athletes, butover the past 25 years, media companies have spent billions on TV deals for live sports content. Theres an important role for college sports in higher education, and that role needs to be placed in the proper perspective as part of the educational mission, not apart from it. [37]. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. ", ProCon.org. Mike Trout, a centerfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, gets $35.8 million a year. Rules," nytimes.com, June 30, 2021, Becky Sullivan, "UNC Becomes the First School to Organize Group Endorsement Deals for Its Players," npr.org, July 21, 2021, Josh Moody, "Lack of Clear-Cut NCAA Rules Creates Confusion about NIL," insidehighered.com, Jan. 4, 2022, John I. Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick, "College Sports Are a Treasure. [28]. This week, the United States Soccer Federation pledged to equalize pay for its mens and womens national teams as part of a settlement that included a $24 million payment to a group of players for the womens team who had sued the organization for gender discrimination. The National Basketball Association (N.B.A. Professional sports revenues are rapidly increasing because of the seemingly insatiable appetites for unique TV programs. Only a tiny fraction actually make it to the big time. And, as John I. Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick, President and Athletics Director of Notre Dame University argue, We have been vocal in our conviction that student-athletes should be allowed to profit from their celebrity for one simple reason: Other students are allowed to. Bloomberg News recently touted soccer as the future of sports in America, and soccer fandom has clearly grown within the United States. Furthermore, police officers, firefighters, and doctors save lives while risking their own for a fraction of what sports stars make. We are told female athletes are paid less than men because they generate less money. Under the terms of the agreement, the women a group of several dozen current and former players that includes some of the worlds most popular and decorated athletes will share $24 million in payments from U.S. Soccer. Women can't compete on the world stage The Aussie Sevens women's team swept the World Series tournament, making them hot favourites for gold at Rio 2016. It is true that on average, female athletes are paid far less than male athletes. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Given athletes large salaries, more youngsters want to become professional athletes but for the big money, not for the love of the game. Whether professional players receive salaries or individual prize money from competitions, male athletes in basketball, golf, soccer, baseball and tennis make anywhere from 15% to nearly 100% more than female athletes. Sports betting is now legal in the majority of US states. 1, 2021), Dan Murphy and Adam Rittenberg, NCAA Delays Vote to Change College Athlete Compensation Rules, espn.com, Jan. 11, 2021, Sarah Polus, NCAA Tables Name, Image and Likeness Vote after DOJ Warns of Potential Antitrust Violations, thehill.com, Jan. 12, 2021, Adam Liptak, Supreme Court to Rule on N.C.A.A. The most marketable tennis players made four times as much from endorsements and appearance fees as they did from prize money over the last year. This trend holds a significant effect on players salaries: It helps some athletes get oversized contracts (what doPatrick Mahomes teammates think about his $503M contract?) After all, athletes earn more money than teachers, first responders, and members of the military. They also have the celebrity effect, which draws more paying fans in. The ruling changed the broadcast regulations for college football. Most players have no real amateur sport option and those who would rather not go to college have no other established feeder system to make it to a professional team. In team sports, its more difficult to stand out, says Scott Minto, the head of the MBA sports program at San Diego State University. April 12 is now known as Equal Pay Day the day when on average women have. Team owners and the three big leagues rake in billions of dollars a year. You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page For more support materials,visit our Help Center. Take, What The Hell Are They Thinking? The U.S. womens soccer teams games havegenerated more revenuethan the mens team over the past three years, according to a review by theWall Street Journal. 4. (The Perspective Book), suffer from progressive degenerative disease. More significant, though, is that players put their bodies in danger daily. [27], About 25% of Division I athletes reported food poverty in the past year and almost 14% reported being homeless in the past year. Whether professional players receive salaries or individual prize money from competitions, male athletes in basketball, golf, soccer, baseball and tennis make anywhere from 15% to nearly 100% more than female athletes. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Students develop wide-ranging leadership skills and learn to conduct the marketing and administrative tasks of sport organizations and business operations. All rights reserved. Feldman explained, That was a shape-shifting decision that in many ways fundamentally changed economics of college football and college football television. The NCAA is seemingly the final authority to decide whether college athletes should be paid to play college sports. In contrast, the likelihood of an NCAA athlete earning a college degree is significantly greater; graduation success rates are 86% in Division I, 71% in Division II and 87% in Division III. [34]. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the top two college football positionsthe quarterback and wide receiverwere worth $2.4 million and $1.3 million per year respectively, while starting mens basketball players in the Power Five schools were worth between $800,000 and $1.2 million per year. The Bottom Line: While it seems like theres no way to stop such inflated salaries of professional athletes, the repercussions could cause long-term damage to professional sports. College athletes are allowed to compete in the Olympic Games and be financially compensated, such as Joseph Schooling, a University of Texas swimmer, who earned a $740,000 bonus for winning Singapores first gold medal ever at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games for the 100m butterfly. The gender pay gap is still a big problem. Tennis is one of the few sports where the United States women, on average, make more than men. A handful of big sports. The truth is, some professional athletes make huge salaries because millions of people are happy to pay money to see those players make the amazing catches and breathtaking plays we love to watch. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Physical injury can leave professional athletes handicapped or disabled for the rest of their lives; NFL players who experiencemultiple concussionscansuffer from progressive degenerative diseasethat causes dementia and depression. What message do you think U.S. Soccer is sending with this agreement, which Mr. Das writes is a tacit admission that compensation for the mens and womens teams had been unequal for years? No Division II or III schools revenue exceeded expenses. How much do you think the comparative revenue of mens and womens teams matters in determining pay? That equaled the prize money for a single winning mens team a decade earlier. Bill gates paid 114.16 every second and athletes get paid 20 million per season, they both work hard for their money. Other Division I schools had an almost $23 million collective difference between revenue and expenses. Both are undoubted NBA legends, but which of the two has been a bigger winner? The existence of world tournaments and professional leagues highlight the reason why female athletes should be paid less than their male counterparts. Their top-ranked masters is offered online and on campus, and its flexible curriculum allows students to take a general track or choose from specializations in sport marketing or collegiate athletic administration. But paying athletes would distort the economics of college sports in a way that would hurt the broader community of student-athletes, universities, fans and alumni. Explain your answer(s). Is it all about defense or does winning have more to do with offense? Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry was on track to make more than $40 million in salary alone during the 201920 season. Teaching is one of the most economically important occupations because our future economy relies on the education of its youth, yet teachers are paid astronomically less than the average professional athlete is. U.S. Soccer appears to have gotten the message, and the two sides will pursue mediation after the World Cup to resolve the gender-discrimination lawsuit instead of going to a courtroom. The gender pay gap spans almost every industry, and sports is no different. Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to The New York TImes Upfrontmagazine. That adds up to about $400,000 a year. Further confusing the issue, the NCAA does not have a consistent or fair definition of amateurism and allows some significant forms of financial compensation. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. In strength, speed and endurance, how do basketball players fare against other sports' athletes? And this stark disparity has hardly budged for more than a decade: the pay gap between men and women has sat at 80%-83% since 2004. 2018: Twenty-eight USWNT players joined a wage-discrimiation class-action suit against U.S. Soccer. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? However, in 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Fair Play Act that allows college athletes to hire agents, sign endorsement deals, and be paid for the use of their likeness. Do you think professional athletes are overpaid? Last spring the Sports and Society Initiative (SSI) at the Ohio State University (OSU) held a popular panel discussion on pay-to-play in college sports.

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