In the last NBA off-season, players such as Mike Conley have signed some of the biggest contracts in NBA history. There are hundreds of millions of people who are homeless but millions of dollars are being given to these athletes for putting a ball into a basket. Basketball players should be given a large amount of money as they are the best in the world at what they do. But making eight figures in a single season? Nine figure contracts? That is outrageous.
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley currently has the biggest contract in the NBA, (which is actually) the biggest contract in NBA history: $153 million dollars over 5 years. Conley is not even a top-five player at his position. Overall he is ranked 36th in the league in points per game at 19.2 a game and 18th in assist at 6.2 a game. It is reminiscent of rapper Jay Z’s lyrics “Would you rather be underpaid or overrated?”
Under the new NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Golden State Warriors star point guard, Stephen Curry, could reportedly earn over $200 million over a span of five years. Just outrageous.
The CBA is an agreement between the league and the players with a list of rules about salary cap, tax arrangement, free agency, anti-drug agreement, NBA Developmental League, rookie salary scales and minimum annual salary scales.
According to therichest.com, former President Barack Obama earned $400,000 annually while in office. With other bonuses like an expense account, a travel account and an entertainment budget, that totals up to approximately $670,000 annually. Not bad at all. But compared to NBA players, that number is dwarfed.
Four hundred forty-four NBA players are going to make more than $670,000 this season alone. The highest earner in 2016-2017 is Cleveland Cavaliers superstar small forward LeBron James, he will make just under $31 million this season.
According to the buisnessinsider.com, doctors make anywhere from $204,000 to $443,000 annually, depending what type of doctor they are. This isn’t a bad amount by any means. But these people help change and save lives. Someone may need a life saving operation, and a whole family could be depending on that doctor to help save a life. That being said, being an NBA player is not easy either. Not just anyone can make it. But what is really more important? Saving a life? Or putting a ball in hoop? Health before wealth.
So ask yourself, should athletes really have nine figure contracts? Should they really be making eight figures in a single season? Should people who impact people’s lives and help save lives make more money? Or are athletes just really overpaid?
To respond to your question, it is not fair that they can be making that much money when there are other people who are homeless and have two children whom they cannot feed without government support. However, we should not be allowed to limit the amount of money athletes generate or take that money only in an attempt to redistribute it to help others. How do you propose we obtain that money legally? Most of it is generated from the revenue of advertising and ticket sales. The stadiums in which different sports hold their events attracts large crowds and benefits the tourism industries of various locations greatly. To limit the money high popularity athletes make would only give that money to the shareholders of the clubs. Also, the government has no right to take that money. Yes, it is a shame that that money isn’t being used to help people, but our law and by extension our society values individual choices and success. The fact that people are able to succeed is not looked at as something negative. There is not anything we can do which would not infringe those values.