Most people will likely see their favorite sports team more than their doctor. According to the New York Times, college football coaches make ten times more than the average college professor. Entertainers and athletes makeover double the most paid doctors. 

According to The Odyssey Online “Most people will never make the amount of money that the lowest-paid professional athletes are paid.” After reading this I began to wonder how much that was exactly. I did a little research and found that in 2012 the lowest-paid Bulls player made $850,000. As of 2018, a medical specialist earns an average of $329,000.

Although both athletes and doctors make more money in a year than the average person makes in five, the fact that someone who plays basketball makes millions of dollars more compared to someone who saves lives is upsetting. Not to say that what athletes do is easy and not to discredit them for the hard work and time they dedicate to their sport. But getting paid more than a medical professional for doing something

According to a survey done by the American Academy of Family Physicians, on average a doctor visits with 19 patients a day. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children states that a general surgery can last between 30 minutes to four hours and in special cases even longer. Not only do doctors and other medical specialists spend hours and even days on treating their patients, but they are also trying daily to keep patients alive and breathing for as long as possible.

Although athletes get paid millions of dollars, we also have to consider the fact that athletes have to pay for certain things out of pocket. That could include surgeries, physical therapy, and follow up exams which cost a lot of money. Athletes could also choose to go into extensive schooling which they may not get scholarships for.

Along with being paid for each game, athletes also make unreasonably large sums of money by promoting other products/brands and making their own including shoes, cosmetics, clothes and more. 

Johnny Bench, a former professional baseball catcher for the Cincinnati Reds also agreed that athletes including himself are paid way too much. “Jimmy Connors plays two tennis matches and winds up with $850,000, and Muhammad Ali fights one bout and winds up with five million bucks.” Bench said. “Me, I play one-hundred and ninety games, and I’m overpaid!”

Another interesting idea to cover on this subject that retains to the comparison of athletes and doctors is about schooling. Athletes are given full-ride scholarships so they don’t have to pay for school or take out a student loan. This means that while making an absurd amount of money they don’t have to spend any of it on paying off school. Students who go to medical school, on the other hand, spend years in school and more likely than not end up in debt due to student loans.

Both athletes and doctors work hard in their professions and dedicate countless hours to their work. However, the pay gap between the two is unreasonable and makes no logical sense. Doctors should be paid more due to the work they do and professional athletes should be paid less.