Alex Rodriguez recently signed a ten-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees, while the median salary for a typical public school teacher in the United States is $50,835. Leonardo DiCaprio earned a cool $59 million for starring in Inception, while the median salary for a typical fire fighter in the United States is $42,136. Is this not an absolute and complete and utter travesty of what we prioritize in our society? How can you possibly justify such a substantial disparity in compensation for entertainment to hard-working occupations that function as the backbone of our society? Well, I’m about to. I love the salaries of athletes and movie stars, and I think they’re warranted. This might sound a wee bit odd coming from a person who is usually a fan of the little guy, but I have three reasons for my position.
First, it’s a numbers game. When talks arise about how wrong something is with a society that rewards a Floyd Mayweather, Jr. with $85 million in one year for two boxing matches, while the average police officer makes $50,406, notice how the number of each is conveniently left out. Recent estimates show that there are roughly 800,000 police officers in the United States—800,000! Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one person. And how many professional boxers are currently raking in millions of dollars? Maybe a handful. If you throw in just a few of the professions perpetually designated as selfless, essential to society, and underpaid (nurses, teachers, fire fighters), you’re talking about millions of people. An NBA team has 15 players on the roster. An NFL team has 53 players. And sports such as professional golfing or fighting are individual sports where only the premier participants are collecting astronomical amounts of money.
The second point is the reason for the first: these people are special. They are not like you and me. Again, there are millions of teachers and police officers. Almost anybody can become one if they stay clean and go through the requisite education and training. How many people can hop on the Broncos and throw touchdowns like Peyton Manning? How many people can jump into the director’s chair and create classic blockbuster movies like James Cameron? Almost no one. These people are extremely rare. I simply see the market at work. It’s classic supply and demand. When one comes along who can do something so extraordinary that he is a once in a generation type figure, the sky should be the limit on his compensation.
Lastly, these athletes and movie stars are our royalty. We follow them, talk about them, and idolize them. They pave the way for dreamers. They show us anything is possible. And the compensation is inextricably tied to the allure. Would the same fascination surround Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie if their combined yearly income was $95,000? Not a chance. Would the Mike Tyson era have been as intriguing if he was making $15,000 per knockout? Absolutely not. We love the enormous payouts. They create excitement and allow for a daydreaming escape out of the doldrums of our everyday lives and into their fantasy worlds. America needs that. It is America. And what’s the alternative? Capping income to celebrities and athletes? What, no red carpet glamour? No Beverly Hills mansions? No multi-million dollar divorce settlements to read about? No pictures of fabulous parties? What kind of world is that? Boring!! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a dreary world where all we worship are communist despots, work in factories, and get our equal ration for survival—in the rain. I know that’s a tad dramatic, but where would the fun in America be without stars and celebrities? When I hear Kobe Bryant signed a $136 million contract with the Lakers, I love it!