Recently, the highest contracts in sports history were signed for athletes. Juan Soto of the New York Mets signed a 15 year, $765 million contract. This made him the highest paid athlete of all time across all professional sports. But this huge bonus for Soto has led to an increase in prices of tickets and stadium food for spectators.
Why athletes deserve their salary
With the average annual salary of $92,000 for professional athletes, many people feel they get paid way too much. Most athletes sacrifice a lot of time and energy into the sport they are doing. In an interview with Brady Hammond, a student-athlete at Colonia High School, he stated “These guys work hard and push themselves everyday. There are billions of people on Earth, and they had the skill to get to the spot they’re in.” Their sports can keep them away from family and friends, which can have a big impact on their mental health. Many players and athletes travel a lot during the year, which keeps them away from home.
In addition to mental health, physical health is a big factor too. Many contact sport sports, or really any sport that takes a toll on the athletes body shortens their career. Other factors that go into these short careers are injuries such as brain damage and not enough money. Although these salaries may cause ticket prices to go up, the demand for tickets also goes up because people want to see these big-name players play.
Why athletes shouldn’t be paid so much
Although pro athletes sacrifice a lot for our entertainment, these big paychecks come with a lot more push on viewers to pay more for services. As of 2025, YES network, the streaming platform to watch the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, is $239.99 a year or $24.99 a month. Not only has TV prices gone up to watch sports, but tickets and food for stadium prices have as well.
These increases also threaten the future athletes that want a career in sports. With this increase in ticket price, fans might start to protest and not go to games. This might not guarantee athletes get all the money they sign on their contract. Brady Hammond stated in an interview “Some of the worst sports teams have similar ticket prices to championship winning teams. If these well performed teams have higher paid players, where is the money for the not well performed teams from these overpriced tickets.”
The last of many reasons is these contracts come with a big risk. In 2022, the Cleveland Browns got Quarterback Deshaun Watson in a trade with the Houston Texans. They then signed him to a 5 year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract. In the first season he was suspended for the first 11 games. In his second season he had a shoulder injury, causing him to miss the rest of the season after week 11. The next to seasons didn’t live up to the contract either, proving that these big contracts, come with big risk.
Salary inflation
Since 1995, athlete salaries have seen a significant inflation. This inflation had many causes, including media rights, commercials, and endorsement deals. In big sports like the NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS, the best players sign multi-million dollar deals that make the salaries from the 1990s look like a first job. Since 1995, the average NBA salary had grown from about $1 million, to over $10 million in 2024. Similarly, Soccer superstars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have made over $100 million through contracts and sponsorships. These contracts may relate to global inflation and athletes are now considered some of the highest paid people in the world.
