Wealth and Power in Sports

In this paper we will discuss the wealth of athletes and power in sports. A closer look into the correlation between the increases in athletes’ salaries and the higher cost to attend sports events and purchase sports memorabilia. In this paper we will provide a brief history to the current state of wealth and power in sports, both the positives and negatives of the influence sports and their athletes have on fans and communities, and further recommendations about participating responsibly.

Many individuals join sports for many reasons. Some individuals join their favorite sport of choice because they are very good at it and want to become better. Other individuals join their favorite sport because they want to challenge other individuals in the sport. However, there are many factors that do change some individuals and their favorite sport of choice, like the money, fame, fancy cars, clothing, and the lifestyle that many of today’s pro athletes experience now. Sports have been around for a very long time and have changed so much because of the athletes’ skills, making sports more competitive. In order to match the competitiveness of the sports, athletes’ salaries have increased to unimaginable costs. The good thing about athletes and their salaries is that they are able to live well, but unfortunately money can sometimes change people. Money can sometimes change athletes into bad role models and children around the world look up to these role models and in turn, want to be like them. Money also allows athletes to buy expensive items like cars, houses, property, clothes, and other materialistic things and the bad thing about this is that some athletes let these items define who they are, and they forget where they came from.

Athletes’ salaries and their high pay raises seem to finally have reached their peak, and athletes are currently living within a golden age of opportunity and fortune (Mattson, 2013). Many of today’s athletes have become celebrities...