Persuasive Speaking Outline about "Should Professional Athletes Get Paid Less?"

Should Professional Athletes Get Paid Less?

Intro:

Wouldn't it be great to make nearly $100 million a year simply to play a game? Tiger Woods, along with many other professional athletes thinks so. But do these athletes really deserve all that money?

In my mind, absolutely not, Professional athletes are making too much money in a society where salaries and wages are traditionally based on the value of one's work. In today's society, one should be paid according to the job’s economic importance and their value to society. These games are supposed to be played for fun, not for millions of dollars. 

Body:

I. 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.

In fact, each basket Kobe Bryant scores earns him equivalent to the average classroom teacher’s yearly salary. However, some may argue that while teachers only provide service to a single classroom, superstar athletes are entertaining fans all around the world, enticing people with a feeling of relaxation.

II. Furthermore, police officers, firefighters, and doctors save lives while risking their own for a fraction of what sports stars make. People in the military leave their families at home to defend and protect the country knowing they may never return. It's truly a pity that none of these true heroes are given the same recognition by society as athletes such as Michael Jordan are given.

III. Making it into the pros isn't an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of time and hours of hard work every day to earn a job in professional sports. These athletes sometimes go through life threatening injuries for the love of the game. Considering this, one might think that these athletes do it for the love of the game not for the money. According to Gerald Sim, "The odds are higher for someone to become a brain surgeon than a NBA player, so isn't it more logical that the professional athlete get paid more than a brain surgeon?"  According to Chris Butterfield, it is the fan's fault these athletes make the money they do. They are the ones who pay 50 dollars for a ticket, 100 dollars for a jacket and 20 dollars for a hat ("Professional AthletesÉ"). If the public didn't help by buying these items, the money to pay these athletes the huge amounts wouldn't be there. In turn, their salaries would decrease. 

Concluding statement:

These athletes are making too much money in a society that traditionally bases salaries on the value of ones work. These athletes do not know what real work is or how hard it is to make a dollar. Although their job is difficult, they do not play a role in our economy like their salaries indicate. Therefore, they should receive less money.