Poll of the Week: Athlete Salaries

Alex Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $275 million contract in 2008

Poll of the Week is a weekly (duh) feature appearing every Monday (or whenever we want). Please vote on the right sidebar, and back up your opinion in the comments. Feel free to email poll suggestions to ilrsmcblog@gmail.com.

A lot of writers and readers of this blog probably consider themselves "die-hard" sports fans. Many of us are people who will fight to the death to defend our favorite player, team, or sport, especially against the "non-fan." The "non-fan" is that guy who doesn't understand why I think hockey is the greatest sport on ice. He's the guy who doesn't understand why the Cubs are so beloved for losing or why the Yankees aren't able to win every year given an unlimited payroll.

Conversations with the "non-sports fan" always become tougher, though, when they bring up the amount of money that our favorite players make.

Why does this guy make 1 billion dollars (in a Dr. Evil voice) for shooting a three-pointer but firefighters and police officers make practically nothing?

Depending on who you are or what sport you follow, you may counter with the idea that these athletes bring in extraordinary amounts of revenue. Or maybe it all comes down to supply and demand.

Ashley Walker takes a good look at the issue of overpaying athletes, and what this says about American society as a whole.

Take a look at her argument:

Let’s put this in perspective. The average brain surgeon makes $450,000 a year. A social worker makes around $46,000. A teacher, even in Connecticut, the highest paying state, only makes an average of $63,000. So, a person who saves lives, a person who protects and serves struggling families, and a person who shapes and molds young minds make a mere fraction of what sports stars make.

[...]

Not only do these athletes get paid tens of millions of dollars to run, jump, and catch, they’re treated as demigods in the process. Their morals and decisions seem to be above reproach or judgment. How many athletes, regardless of their sport, have been involved in scandals (usually sexual in nature), only to be forgiven by both the judicial system and the public at large?

It's a simple question this week:

Are athletes overpaid?

Voting will last until Tuesday at Noon. As always, follow up with your comments below.

Last Week's Poll

Last week, we asked:

Which sports city is the most "miserable?"

An overwhelming 63% of the voters chose Buffalo to be the unfortunate "winner."

Phoenix finished in second with 18% of the vote, while Forbes' choice - Seattle - received a lone vote along with a mysterious "Other."

In the comments, SMCBlog reader "RedBird" voiced his opinion that Cleveland is the worse, while "Robbie Cohen" made the argument that Atlanta may soon play itself off the list entirely.

Care to disagree? Keep the disagree.

Until next time, happy voting!