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Why Do Athletes Get Paid To Play

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Paid to Play The four requirements to become a firefighter or a police officer at the age of 21 is to have a clean record, a driver’s license, a high school diploma, and 9 weeks of successful training. The skill of all great professional athletes is unmatched and training usually starts at youth. Athletes take numerous risks just for the sake of our entertainment, and this is routinely overlooked as a result of the amount of money that they are making. Therefore, people who do not watch a great deal of sports are distracted by the $30 million that Kobe Bryant is making, or the $75 million that Floyd Mayweather is paid, and they forget what athletes have done for others. These athletes are forced to train exceptionally hard to be the best at …show more content…

They are shamed for not contributing to the community like fire fighters or police officers do which is completely wrong. Professional athletes are well known for visiting schools, camps and teaming up with their league to make a difference. The National Football league or “NFL” has had a huge part in youth programs such as “Play60” which encourages kids to be active for at least 60 minutes a day to reduce obesity, recognizing the work for our military service, and providing awareness for Breast Cancer. On October 25th, the American Cancer Society and the NFL are teaming up to launch its first nationwide, breast cancer event called “ A Crucial Catch Day” which will allow underserved communities to have free or low cost screenings as well as education on the cancer. They also take time out of their day to participate in programs or visit schools. The impact an athlete can have on a child for just 10 minutes can be huge. Whether it involves providing motivation at a school assembly, donating for an important cause or help run an organized youth camp, athletes do a lot for us to, and it should not go …show more content…

They have helped draw attraction to the city of the team, helped bring in new viewers, and they help increase the value of that team which could be good for the city. Eight hours after LeBron James announced that he would join the Cleveland Cavaliers, season tickets were sold out, the value of the team doubled to more than a billion dollars and they went from having 2 national televised games last year to 29 (Forbes). This is the result a professional athlete who is not even a part of the front office. The Cavaliers went from a team that nobody would even think about playing for to an attraction for many free agents just to play with LeBron James. Furthermore, Athletes do a lot for the reputation of their city also. Oklahoma City was one of the worst places to live in 2010 and was at one time recorded as the unhealthiest place to live (daily finance). However, most people are going to recognize this city because of Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Chicago is a dangerous place to live, that should not be new to anybody. But residents manage to look past that because they have Derrick Rose, the youngest MVP in NBA history and Jonathan Toews who is one of the best players in the NHL. The two things that are important to a sports franchise is money and exposure. Professional athletes can provide that, some at an extremely higher level than others. So when you

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