Did they earn it?

I found a topic on debate.org that directly answers my question from different perspectives.  My question is, do professional athletes get paid too much money.  I got feedback from people who think professional athletes get paid too much and some people that said they don't get paid enough.  Both sides offer many reasons as to why they think they get paid too much or not enough.  Just from these reasons, I’m leaning more to the side that argues that they don’t get paid too much, but the right amount.  One specific argument stuck out to me.  Here it is.

www.theatlantic.com

“No -- here's some real support for this argument.

They are entertainers. Much like movie stars or any other celebrity that brings in multimillion dollar salaries, they are paid to entertain. Yet you don't see movie stars or singers being harassed that their salaries are too high for what they do. Athletes also receive their payment from the industry; sports fans pay upwards of $400 per ticket. Among ticket sales, merchandise, advertisements, etc. The professional sports industry brings in billions of dollars a year. And this money is obviously going to go towards the people who brought it in -- the athletes. It goes not only towards the athletes, but to the sports departments and other staff as well. And guess what? Capping that pay, isn't going to make your police officers, doctors, etc. Get paid any more than they do now. It goes to the people who earned it. Sorry. Taking away athletes' salaries won't fix your own. Simple as that. They don't get to pick their salaries, just as any other average person doesn't. The money is generated through the industry. The talent required to participate in professional sports is also rare and therefore in high demand. It takes a lot of effort and hard work for professional athletes to get where they are in their careers (and not all of them are pushed there by their parents -- horrible excuse). And lastly, pro athletes participate in difficult, competitive, and sometimes aggressive sports which can cause them to receive severe injuries. And unlike any average person, their injuries will cause them to lose their job, without question. They face risking their job every single time they work. Professional athletes get paid just what they deserve financially. Do some research.”     (No name was given to who wrote this.)

However, as good as this passage may be, there are more people that argue that professional athletes do get paid too much.   

                                                             www.employmentspot.com
                                       

www.businessofsoccer.com

*Notice the second picture with athlete salary is bare minimum

“That money can go for better uses

Just look at it like this. WOULD YOU RATHER eat or WOULD YOU RATHER look at someone run to first base? With that kid of money we can help the homeless, cancer, our country's economy, we can make more jobs for people that need it. Instead of just looking at someone toss a ball just for fun. I'm not saying they shouldn't get paid, but not millions of dollars. There are Way more important things but some of you wouldn't understand. I'd like to see you, go into the army and die and face the fact that you didn't even make half of what professional athletes make. I'd like to watch you run around BARE FEET because you can't afford clothing or STARVE because you can't buy food. I'd like to see you for from cancer because you couldn't afford treatments.”  (again no name was given)

Both these people make good arguments and I agree with both of them.   However, like I said earlier, I agree with the side that argues that athletes don’t get overpaid.  Here’s why.  The people that are saying athletes get too much is simply because they are upset at the fact that they don’t make that much.  They feel like they have worked a lot harder in school and are much smarter and feel that athletes should get paid no more than them.  In the second example, the person says that the money could go to a better cause.  What this person fails to realize, is that athletes give a lot of money to charity. So, the money does go back to the community as well.  I once said that athletes do get overpaid, but I take that back now.  If I was a professional athlete, I would be saying that I need more money for everything I had to go through.  All the hard training and risk of not even making it to the pro’s.