A 2013 article on huffpost.com (updated in 2017) titled “Visualizing the Yearly Salary of Professional Athletes, NBA Players Average $5+ Million a Year,” reveals the average athlete in the National Basketball Association earns roughly $5.15 million a year. When it comes to the big shot of American football, Tom Brady’s net worth, according to thestreet.com, is something like $180 million.

There’s no denying professional sports require extensive amounts of devotion and personal fortitude from players, but this is not a justification for the fact someone whose career is essentially playing a game earns more than workers living paycheck-to-paycheck actually contributing in a meaningful way to society.

Sports are a major facet of the lives of many people in the U.S. They’re exciting to watch, and competition is thrilling. But a significantly greater facet of the lives of every single individual in our country is the labor keeping every feature of our lives operating. Not a single person could live without this labor, but sports are, really, simply entertainment. There is no justification for this injustice against those who work their entire lives almost completely toward the benefit of others, often unable to pursue their deepest passions.

Hopefully this injustice can be brought to light and seen as what it is: a shameful sham.

Jacob Morin, Lewiston

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