Why does basket ball players get paid millions to bounce a ball & nurses get paid much less for saving lives

Question

Why does basket ball players get paid millions to bounce a ball & nurses get paid much less for saving lives

Answer 1

Im totally on your side, but it's all about entertainment..Thats what this world has come to.

Answer 2

It's not about whats more important.  It's about $$$.  Everything is about $

Answer 3

There are actually only a few basketball players who get paid millions. There are about 450 players in the NBA, with an average salary of about $5 million per year. These people are the best in the world at what they do. There are perhaps thousands of other professional basketball players in the "minor leagues" (CBA, ABA, UBA, EBA, NBADL, NPBL, PBL, UBL, USBL, WBA, WNBA, maybe more?). Pay is MUCH less here, from an average $90000 per year in the CBA, $24000 or less in the NBADL, and even less in some other leagues.

In contrast, there are about 3 million nurses in the US. They do wonderful things, but supply & demand dictates their pay. Sorry.

Answer 4

supply and demand.

you have a very limited amount of professional level basketball players.

The jobs that they do bring in billions of dollars a year for what around 300 people worldwide do. They are the very best at what they do. An nba player is 1 in a million in the US.



In the US there are over 3 million nurses and all 3 million can be the very best. But even if they were that would make a nurse a 1 in a hundred individual. Being the best in any field makes you worth more money but there is a maximum worth to any job and as a Nurse that's going to be a $200,000 a year or so. Most will make around $50,000.

If you aren't happy with those facts of life there are many countries around the world that would gladly take a new nurse. You won't make any more but those evil greedy rich people will only be in the government.  They won't play ball for a living.

Answer 5

because basketball players  sale millions of tickets and jerseys and tennis shoes and caps and other sports paraphernalia.

Answer 6

Because people will pay big money to see players bounce a ball. Since ticket prices are high and people are willing to pay them, athletes can get a big salary. If, for example, demand for basketball dropped like a rock and no one went to games for a year or two, then their salaries would also drop. If people are suddenly willing to pay $500 a seat then their salaries will rise.

Answer 7

It's one of the injustices of capitalism, unfortunately.  

In general, large sports franchises make OODLES of money selling tickets, merchandise, etc., and therefore have more money to throw at the basketball players.  Hospitals and the government don't have that much money to throw around, plus, there are hundreds of thousands of nurses in the country, but there's only handfuls of multi-million dollar sports stars.  

Basketball players, among other sports stars, are also idolized by a huge majority of the public.  Idolization = Players with Big Egos = I Want More Money of Else I Will Leave This Team and Make Millions For Someone Else

I mean, it's not just sports stars.  Think of TV hosts or movie stars.  I mean, they entertain us, they are IDOLIZED by many, so, since they're so "special", they get paid more.

It's just the way this society is.  It's really quite sad.

Answer 8

Because of us...think of all the money that goes into sports...merchandise, tv, ticket sales....so many people love watching sports (including me) and don't realize how much money we put into it which gives them the ability to pay them that much.  Nobody pays $200 a ticket for box seats to watch a nurse put some stitches on a person, they pay that money to get box seats to see lebron james posterize tim duncan....

PS:  I'm not saying it's a good thing....I think teachers and nurses/doctors should get paid more