Athlete Salaries

Those who moan and groan over the unfair huge salaries paid to professional athletes often show they not only have little understanding of professional sports, but that they also exhibit a complete lack of understanding of capitalism. First of all, professional sports are a multi-billion dollar business. It is not a civic form of pride, a loyal code of ethics or a group of people choosing to play sports because of some inherent "love" for the game. It is a business. As such, like any other privately owned commercial enterprise it is ruled by the dynamics of capitalism. Capitalism. You know, that economic system that revolves around the law of supply and demand, free enterprise and profit maximization? As such, the topic of players being over paid is a moot point because the market sets the salaries, not the owners and certainly not the players. In fact, if anyone is responsible for the lofty realms of professional athlete salaries, it is the fans themselves. The fans, you ask? Yes. The fans. Because fans pay for tickets, watch televised games, and buy promotional merchandise, they create an enormously profitable market for sporting events. This not only includes tickets and merchandising, but also the enormous profit opportunities opened up to owners in terms of television contracts and corporate sponsorship. People often complain athletes are paid too much in comparison to school t