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What Factors Affect Professional Athlete Salaries?

Mary McMahon
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Updated: Mar 03, 2024
Views: 22,769
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Professional athlete salaries can depend on a number of factors, including sport, performance, and name recognition. The popular perception of professional athletes is often that they are overpaid, but in fact extremely high salaries are reserved for a relatively small group. Most make much more modest salaries and because their careers are short, they may have limited time to plan for retirement after they are forced to stop working due to injuries and other issues. Compilations of the highest paid athletes can be found in sports magazines and online, for those interested in the going rates in their regions.

One contributing factor is the sport itself. In the United States, for example, basketball tends to be extremely popular, and star performers in this field can make substantial salaries, by contrast with soccer, which is less popular. In other regions, sports like soccer or cricket might be more popular, and thus entitle talented athletes to higher wages for their work. Different sports have their own conventions about whether people should be paid per game or on an annual contract, which can also make a difference in professional athlete salaries.

Performance-based pay can be seen with some professional athlete salaries. This is common in golf, where athletes tend to be compensated on the basis of how well they do. Likewise, jockeys are sometimes paid a percentage of the purse in their races, as an incentive to win or place. Performance can also have an impact on whether a contract is renewed or an athlete is wooed by a rival team that might offer more money.

Name recognition can be an important factor as well. Athletes who are well known may qualify for endorsements and appearances, which boost their overall earnings. Even if these aren’t directly part of their salaries, they do boost take-home pay, and create leverage for negotiating professional athlete salaries. Someone can argue that simply appearing with the team increases public interest and sells tickets, making a high salary worth it to retain an athlete with the name recognition and popularity to attract fans.

Another consideration is that athletic careers tend to be relatively short, depending on the sport. For aggressive sports like football, people may only be able to compete on the professional level for a few years. Each athletic appearance also creates considerable risk, as an injury could take an athlete out of competition for life. People may demand high professional athlete salaries to ensure that they are able to put money aside to prepare for retirement, so they can care for themselves and their families after injuries and other adverse events.

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Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a Practical Adult Insights researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Discussion Comments
By MrsPramm — On May 02, 2014

@bythewell - If people are pouring that much money into sports merchandise and advertising, I'd rather it went to the players than to the corporation who basically just buys a team and then sits back and rakes in the cash. At least the players are doing all the work.

By bythewell — On May 01, 2014

@pastanaga - Honestly, I think the solution is to provide them with decent health coverage rather than making them shoulder that risk. They always use the health costs as an excuse, but I don't see many athletes driving a cheap car to the stadium either, or cutting back on the champagne.

They do a difficult job and I think they should be paid well for it, but it really makes me angry that the top players get paid more per year than an average person makes in their lifetime.

By pastanaga — On May 01, 2014

I had never really thought about professional athlete salaries before, except to imagine they were all overpaid. And then I listened to a podcast where they interviewed people about a debate over football salaries.

Since football teams are so large compared with other kinds of sports, the average player will often get lower salaries unless they are a big name. They were still getting half a million dollars per year though, so I wasn't exactly crying for them, until one of them explained that the average time for a player to stay on the field was somewhere around three years. And they have no automatic health insurance, so if they break their neck in the first six months, they basically get put out to pasture without any safety net for them and their family. So I guess it doesn't exactly seem wrong for them to get paid a fair amount for that risk.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

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