Athletes also get to register for classes before everyone else so that they can plan their schedules around their games and practices. While all of that is wonderful for them, what about the students who are working full-time jobs on top of going to school full-time in order to pay for their education on their own? Where is their early registration time?
Moving on from college sports, here are some statistics about NBA and NHL players’ salaries compared with other financially top ranking jobs: Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers makes $10 million a year as his base salary as an NHL hockey player today in 2015. Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers makes a whopping $25 million a year. Let’s compare these numbers to our doctors who cure and save the lives of hundreds of people every year. The top three best paying medical professional occupations are orthopedic surgeons who, on average, make $464,500 a year, cardiologists making $447,143 a year, and gastroenterologists making $441,421 a year. These medical professionals are making nowhere near what these professional athletes are making and they’re involved in lifesaving procedures every single day.
You constantly see athletes all over the media driving around in outrageously expensive vehicles, living in the largest mansions in the United States, and traveling around on personal jets or crazy expensive yachts.
I’m not saying that athletes aren’t deserving of spots in college, financial aid, or money to play sports for a living; what I am saying, however, is the amount of an advantage they get is ridiculous. Athletes do things that the average person can’t, but that doesn’t mean they deserve $10 million to shoot a puck into a net. We need to think about who our true heroes are here: doctors, military soldiers, firemen, police officers, and the list goes on. Let’s stop putting athletes on a pedestal higher than their accomplishments and start giving extraordinary people of other areas the recognition they deserve.
