Whether Military Should Be Paid More than Professional Athletes
Whether Military Should Be Paid More than Professional Athletes. The issue of whether military should be paid more than the professional athletes in our country is still controversial as both have an important role to play for our country. However, the huge gap in the compensation between the two is alarming and something needs to be done to ensure that military men and women are paid well for commitment to defend our country. According to Schrock (1), most military personnel make approximately $50,000 every year as compared to a professional athlete who makes approximately $5 million every year. Therefore, this paper will focus on the pros and cons if the military is paid more than professional athletes.
To start with, the staggering difference in pay between the two professions is unfair and the federal government should ensure this is not the case. Schrock (1) notes that military personnel risk their lives and those of their families to protect our country borders and oversees. These ensures even the professional athletes have a chance to participate in their sports’ of choice even in their own country. The sacrifice of the military personnel should be therefore well compensated to ensure that they are motivated and have enough for their families (Laver & Jeffrey, 28). A reasonable pay for them will ensure the erase the popular narrative and the unrealistic believes in our children today that professional athletes are more special. They will also start respect this profession as they respect and adore the NFL and the NBA players.
Whether Military Should Be Paid More than Professional Athletes
Secondly, I understand that to reach the level of a professional athlete is a pure act of dedication and hard work. However, what we should all understand is that to most athletes, participating in these sports is purely entertainment and a hobby to most of these stat athletes. On their other hand, the military personnel have special and very unique talents and spend a lot of time training to perfect them. The athletes chance to play is a privilege given by the men and women in uniform as the athletes talents will be useless without all the protection given by them (Watkins, 1). Thus, this is a reason enough to show that the military personnel should be paid more.
Further, we cannot compare the world of sports and that of war. For instance, the NFL players play against their fellow players. On the other hand, the military personnel have to fight and survive in the dangerous war zones within the country and oversee to protect all Americans. It is so painful that these armed forces are underpaid while these athletes are overpaid. According to Watkins (1), a soldier who has been deployed in war zone like Afghanistan is paid $3000 every month as compared to an athlete who is paid a whole $500,000 every month. A military environment is risky and some damages are irreplaceable. PTST is common in soldiers who have returned back into the country. People see no wrong in overpaying these athletes just to entertain them while they cannot pay the same amount to armed forces who dedicate their lives to protect our country (Schwartz, 16).
In conclusion, this situation is not about to change as people do not even believe that this problem even exist. Professional athletes do important work just as the military personnel. However, I think it is the high time we start paying more to people who actually wear their helmets to protect this country as much as we pay to defend a ‘football’. It is truly an honor to serve this country there these armed forces should not suffer financially.
Works Cited
Laver, Harry S., and Jeffrey J. Matthews. The Art of Command : Military Leadership From George Washington to Colin Powell. Vol. Second edition, The University Press of Kentucky, 2017, pp. 28-46
Schrock, Stan. “Veterans overshadowed: Athletes’ high pay unfair.” The Criterion, http://thecrite.com/home/2012/11/11/veterans-overshadowed-athletes-high-pay-unfair/. Accessed 4 October 2018.
Schwartz, Michael, et al. Achieving Ethical Excellence. Vol. First edition, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2014, pp. 12-18
Watkins, Izzy. “Military VS Professional Athletes.” Bvwnews, https://bvwnews.com/opinion/2016/11/16/military-vs-professional-athletes/. Accessed 4 October, 2018.