Les athlètes gagnent-ils trop d'argent?

Professional athletes are super-heroes. They stand above everybody: they are stronger, faster more resistant and more talented than all of us. And, because we love to watch their fantastic exploits, they are also more famous and richer than all of us. We look up to them as role models. They make us dream.

Some people think no one deserves the enormous salaries that baseball, basketball, football and hockey stars get. Paying such huge sums of money means that your tickets for the game are more expensive. Clubs pass the cost on to the fans. Those who believe that athletes are overpaid also argue that no individual, even if they are talented, should earn so much when other people are starving. Their opinion is that it would be better to use the money to do something against poverty and hardship in the world. 'Society's priorities are wrong' they argue. 'Athletes salaries should not be higher than those of a country's leader'.

Other people disagree with this viewpoint. They say that athletes deserve every penny they make. 'It takes longer to train an athlete than to train people in other jobs', they say'. Athletes make many sacrifices for the work they do.' And they say, ' they risk being injured, and they must be away from their home for long periods'. It's true that their careers don't usually last as long time as other people's. They can only earn big salaries for a very short time and many of them retire at the age of thirty. 'If athletes don't get the money, it'll only go into club owner's pocket', some people add. They think that athletes are not getting more money than they should. 'They earn no more than rock or movie stars', they say. It's too much or not? This is a matter to be discussed.