scschroc@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

How great would it be to make a living playing a game that you love? No work or an actual job that you love, but a game. How about making millions of dollars each year to play that game?

Professional athletes make on average $5 million per year. The average salary for our country’s military personnel: $50,000.

There is something wrong with that staggering difference. Military members sacrifice their lives and their families to protect this country, and not to mention give these athletes the chance to even play their sports.

I understand that reaching the professional level is unbelievably hard and takes time and dedication. Special and unique skill sets deserve more money. However, the chance to even have a shot at playing a sport for money is a privilege that is protected by the men and women of our armed forces and an athlete’s skills would be useless without that protection.

The world of sports often compares its competition to war. The NFL is a “combat zone,” and “we are going to war against that team,” when in reality we have fellow Americans fighting for survival in a real combat zone.

Athletes are grotesquely overpaid, while our military personnel remains painfully underpaid. Deployed soldiers in Afghanistan could earn as little as $3,000 per month, compared to an athlete’s $500,000. Catching a ball and scoring points is worth that much more than dodging bullets and uprooting families?

Growing up in a military environment has allowed me to see first-hand the damage a military lifestyle can create. While I understand that in many cases no amount of monetary compensation can fix losses and hardship, I remain shocked that, as a nation, we are willing to give athletes – people who simply entertain the public – that much money over our military-people, who actually protect the public.

The unfortunate truth is that athletes make way more money and that probably won’t change. However, athletes should have to earn that paycheck. For example, Jamarcus Russell is a former number one NFL draft pick. He signed a contract that would guarantee him $31 million before even stepping on the field ($31 million to essentially do nothing, which is basically what Russell did after proving to be a bust).

While I’m not sure how this problem could be fixed, people need to realize that the problem exists.

I do, however, know that most military members don’t protect our country for the money. It is a privilege and an honor to be called upon to serve this nation. That being established, they shouldn’t have to struggle through life financially.

As a friend of mine told me, “I think a man with a helmet defending his country should make more money than a man with a helmet defending a football.”

Thanks to past and present military members at home and overseas for all you do. Happy Veterans’ Day.