Owners Of Professional Sports Teams example essay topic

One does not have to be a genius to understand that professional sports are losing popularity and that players's alaries have become ridiculous, when comparing wages of regular citizens with unpretentious jobs. It seems absurd that the starting base salary of a Major League Baseball player is the same as what the president of the United States reportedly makes in a year. Rapidly increasing players's alaries is having a devastating impact in the industry of professional sports because teams are losing money, game attendances are down, and fans are losing respect for athletes and professional sports. With all the money thrown around in professional sports, it seems unbelievable for us to accept that owners of teams are losing money, but it is true. Players's alaries have increased so rapidly over the past five years that almost half the teams in the Major League of Baseball have reported losses for the 2001-2002 season.

Additionally, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League were unable to pay Mario Lemieux the remainder of his contract when he retired in 1996, so they decided to give him majority shares of the team. It is not surprising that owners of professional sports teams are having to declare bankruptcy as the only way to escape their financial burdens, such as the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Expos. All Players' contracts are negotiated in United States currency; therefore, Canadian teams have to forfeit more money because of the weakening Canadian Dollar. If these outrageous salaries keep inflating, professional sports in Canada will no longer exist because team owners will no longer be able to afford quality players and fans will not want to support a losing team The key factor to a successful sports team making money is to over crowd stadiums with as many people as possible, but the last few seasons, most pro sports leagues have been reporting that fan attendance is at an all time low. Major League Baseball reported 6.1% drop in fan attendance for the 2001-2002 season. With ticket prices rising every year, most people cannot afford to support his or her favorite sports team.

In order for an average family of four to attend a Washington Capitols hockey game, it will cost them around $272.50 US dollars; whereas, most families are not willing to give half a weeks net wages, in order to view a live game. In addition, outrageous concession prices have soared to help compensate for poor fan attendance and over inflated player's earnings. Fan base is the main source of revenue for professional sports teams and the main factor for the success or failure of any event. Owners had better recognize that loyal fans are fed up with the increasing costs of attending games; therefore, better start dropping prices in order to fill stadiums back up to capacities again and restore the interest back into fans. Another considerable effect from players enormous incomes is that fans are losing respect for professional sports and the athletes. Firstly, community property taxes are constantly increasing because of new gigantic complexes needed to house and support the growing demand of professional sports.

Fans are also sick of hearing how underpaid pro athletes are. How can athletes declare they are underpaid? Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers makes an astonishing $22 million a year. Mathew Barnaby of the New York Rangers, who scored no goals, no assists, and received 70 minutes in penalties, earned $1.35 million last year. Lastly, players are not performing with the same amount of passion from that of previous years.

If players want to win back the respect of the fans, they have to be prepared to compete everyday and show his loyalty to his team, instead of asking to be traded to teams with the most money. If fans were to have more influence managing their teams, you would see a severe improvement in their attitudes towards their team. In conclusion, when looking at all the facts, it is the fans that ultimately decide the future of professional sports and not the players. We have a choice to rebel against over inflated ticket prices, in which we can boycott attending games and start watching them televised. The coverage is spectacular and the price is right: free.

It is to bad that the cost of watching professional sports is greater than the enjoyment. If current trends continue, professional sports might lose what remains of its integrity and become another industry auctioned off to the highest bidder.