Why are athletes worth millions of dollars? Are they really worth all this money, when in reality, all they do is play a sport? These are some of the questions that have been articulated throughout my research on the topic. Being a college athlete, and aspiring to be a professional, I would love to say that professional athletes are worth these extreme amounts of money. What interests me the most is how these athletes obtain this money, but also spend it. Are they using this money to push others to better things, or are they simply being selfish with their income? This is something that really pushes my research. How are certain athletes using their income to further the underprivileged? This is one of the things I am most interested in. It is an incredible thing to have an amazing talent, but athletes that really stand out are the ones that use their talents to bless other individuals. This hits home to me being that I am of the Christian faith, and I always want to make a positive impact on others around me. 

There are many sources that outline this issue. For example, Tim Keown, a senior writer for ESPN Magazine, completely backs up the argument that states athletes should receive a high income. In his article, Keown says, "The players, being the reason people pay for such things, should get paid well." Keown says that fans pay for memorabilia simply because the athletes are so great. Therefore, the athletes deserve the pay. 

Within this article, Tim Keown argues for the athlete. He says that while watching Paul Pierce, a NBA player, practice, he understands why athletes are paid the extreme salary. He states that what the audience doesn't see is the hard work and time that all athletes put into their sport of interest. This information will strongly support my claim as to why athletes deserve every dollar they earn. 

Furthermore, this information is not coming from an unreliable source. Tim Keown has been writing for ESPN for over ten years. He also co-wrote "Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back" by Josh Hamilton. Tim Keown is a renowned author with many awards. Therefore, Keown is a very reliable source for this research. 

Another source that will help my argument is Chris Mueller's, "Two Sides to Every Coin: Are Professional Athletes Overpaid?" Chris Mueller, a featured columnist for The Bleacher Report, starts his article by quoting Johnny Bench, a retired Major League Baseball player, who said, "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. Me, I play one-hundred and ninety games, and I'm overpaid!" This is the beginning of Mueller's "argument." He is simply giving reasons for athletes pay being so high. This article is full of facts and statistics and plays well as an informative piece.  

Some major values this source holds are quotes and statistics from many former and current athletes. This article is full of this information. For example, the article quotes Johnny Bench, a Major League Baseball player. Although this could serve as biased material, Bench serves as a great source of information. 

The author of this article is Chris Mueller. Mueller is a well-known author for The Bleacher Report. Mueller has been writing for over 8 years about many sports. He is one of the senior writers for The Bleacher Report. Along with Mueller's status, his quoted sources are well known and professionals on the specific topic. 

Greene, Epstein and Wolff's, "The Power of Ten (Cover Story)," is a wonderful source for my argument. Within this article, there are many stories of different athletes giving back to many different communities. These short examples explain how each athlete uses his or her talents, time, and money to affect the surrounding community. For example, this article highlights Clayton Kershaw, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kershaw has built an orphanage in Zambia. This is one of the few examples shown within the article. This article demonstrates the way some athletes are selfless when it comes to their donations. 

This article brings about many positives and few negatives pertaining to my argument. For example, the article lists ten athletes and how they each use their money to support a greater cause than themselves. However, one may say that these are only a handful of athletes. This may bring weakness to my argument. 

The authors of, "The Power of Ten (Cover Story), David Epstein, Dan Greene, and Alexander Wolff are all senior writers for Sports Illustrated. This magazine has covered the sports world and different aspects of it since August of 1964. These authors have over 30 years collectively writing about sports. These authors are not only experienced, but very skilled at their work. 

The question "Why Are Professional Athletes Paid Millions of Dollars?" is a question that can be argued in many ways. One may state that athletes work extremely hard for their income. However, the argument to that statement may be that athletes, although very talented, do not deserve the income they receive. The sources I am using all state both sides. However, they also argue as to why the athletes deserve and receive their pay. The sources give viable reasons and examples for their arguments. In the beginning of my research, I was going to argue that athletes do not deserve the money they receive. However, among finding my sources, my mind was changed due to the way that some athletes use their money for more than just themselves. Therefore my argument will be that athletes do, in fact, deserve every dollar that they earn. 
