I hear so many people saying that being a professional athlete is easy..

[mcuzzy]

usually directed at AFL players due to it being the Aussie sport. they say 'all they have to do is go to training, play games and keep fit'

They dedicate themselves to the sport and are good enough to make it at an elite level, if they can make a living from playing the sport then they have to be bloody good, dedicate their life to what they enjoy, good on them. Injuries, always under the public eye, body under enormous stress due to constantly pushing their body to its limit. Meanwhile they entertain everybody, that's why so many people go to watch them. I usualy just ask 'well why aren't you a professional athlete if it's so easy?'

I've personally seen a friend of mine make it professionally in soccer after living and breathing soccer since he could barely walk. This guy was seriously dedicated, it always amazed me and even professional club officials were impressed. he lasted a couple of years and he then had to drop down to a lower league because he wasn't good enough to make the grade, meaning most hope of making a living out of the sport was gone.

Quite frankly I think if you can make it to the top level at all you are a freak of an athlete and deserve the money for the effort.

Does anybody truly believe that it would be easy and they don't deserve the money they get?

 

[the_interloper]

They deserve their money for sure, but at the same time everyone else would do it if they had their talent and work ethic, so I have not a great deal of pity for those who don't make it. If you get delisted by an AFL club, you can go to any local league and get probably $1000 a game plus a job possibly, so it's not like they've got nothing to fall back on.

 

[Superstar swan]

I think it's a hard system.. Kids get told how goo they are from an early age , scouts looking at them .they put all their energy into being an afl player. Things like school go on the back burner . The lucky ones make afl and are more than likely going to get delisted .. If they get injured and can't play footy locally they have nothing to fall back on ... I think the afl should bring in a compulsory policy where draftees have to study at Uni or tafe for their first few years at a club.. If they get delisted after a year or 2 , they still have study at Uni or tafe .. If they have a successful career they have the money they earnt in afl and still have some sort of qualification..... I know in American sports they generally play till a later age so there is no real rush to get drafted but i think they have the right system where u have to go to college to be eligible for the pros

 

[Lensen]

lots of people work exceptionally hard in jobs where there is absolutely zero enjoyment but its something they need to do

do they "deserve" $100k a year just because they work hard?

 

[Superstar swan]

I know it's speculative but it's worth a thought that if players went to Uni before afl or tafe for a trade or whatever , they would be finished by 21 -22. That's 4-5 extra years of senior football, which would lead to less dud picks being drafted because teams can watch players play in the seniors for a number of years and see how good they are and if they can string 3 to 4 good seasons of footy instead of 1 or 2.. Also because players are being drafted with mature bodies they may be less seceptible to injuries in the future , with out the rigors of afl training

 

[RAPPA]

I believe non-sporting professionals do an arduous job and are not properly remunerated. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, managers etc have stresses, deadlines and demands every day which they must adhere to; they have their own scrutiny to deal with; they cop critcism from different sectors of the public; and they all did a significant amount of study and put in a massive amount of dedication to get to where they are. I'm sorry, but professional sportsmen, despite their rigorous training regime, can afford to live luxury lives, go on their fancy end of year trips, relax on weekends etc which non-sporting professionals don't have the luxury of doing.

 

[Killer eagle]

I'm sorry, but professional sportsmen, despite their rigorous training regime, can afford to live luxury lives, go on their fancy end of year trips, relax on weekends etc which non-sporting professionals don't have the luxury of doing.

Relax on weekends?

They work on weekends.

 

[Zagg]

well why aren't you a professional athlete if it's so easy?

I wouldn't argue that it's easy, but you do have to be really naturally talented to make a career out of being a professional sportsperson.

It's probably less than 1% of the population who could ever get to that level, however much work they put in.

That's not to demean how hard athletes train. However there are lots of people who work just as hard in everyday jobs, and don't get paid for doing something they love because they weren't born with that natural talent.

 

[Dammit]

Yuck thread. They don't deserve any sympathy at all. They know what they're getting into before they sign up - and almost all of us would give our left aggot to be in their shoes.

 

[mcuzzy]

Yuck thread. They don't deserve any sympathy at all. They know what they're getting into before they sign up - and almost all of us would give our left aggot to be in their shoes.

i definitely would, but then i think back and realise i really should've just dug deep and tried harder, put in the extra effort and practised ball skills more.

I believe non-sporting professionals do an arduous job and are not properly remunerated. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, managers etc have stresses, deadlines and demands every day which they must adhere to; they have their own scrutiny to deal with; they cop critcism from different sectors of the public; and they all did a significant amount of study and put in a massive amount of dedication to get to where they are. I'm sorry, but professional sportsmen, despite their rigorous training regime, can afford to live luxury lives, go on their fancy end of year trips, relax on weekends etc which non-sporting professionals don't have the luxury of doing.

they're completely different fields of work, of course the pay is going to be different.

athletes have also dedicated their years to become good at what they do, top % of the population where tens of thousands gather round to watch them run and kick a ball through posts.

 

[legend166]

They deserve their money because the AFL generates a lot of money and they should be compensated for they.

They shouldn't complain, however, when certain things are expected of them compared to the plumber down the street. Society places sports people on a pedestal and allows them to earn a lot of money for something that in the grand scheme of things isn't super important. As such, I don't think it's too much to ask that they act like respectable human beings.

 

[mcuzzy]

lots of people work exceptionally hard in jobs where there is absolutely zero enjoyment but its something they need to do

do they "deserve" $100k a year just because they work hard?

Depends.

Does the job involve doing something almost nobody else can do? Does it involve multi million dollar sponsors? Is it televised? Do people tune in on radio to hear about this person doing their job? Do tens of thousands of people crowd around to see this person do their job?

 

[SuperCats9]

Being a professional athlete certainly is NOT EASY. You have to work hard, very hard to get to the top, that being the AFL in this case. Most players today would have been picked up by Stingrays or whatever at an early age and grew up with diets, using the gym, training hard etc so they have an advantage, but you have to have the determination, the grunt, the discipline etc, you have to be prepared to push your body to the extreme.

If it was easy, everyone would be a pro athlete, these guys deserve every coin they get.

 

[saintsrfreak]

The pressure on players is unbelievable, I know I couldn't cope with that

 

[Morris Major]

They're just employees. They have the ability to bring in big money for their companies, and they are adequately paid to do so.

I don't see the problem.

 

[Franc de Borges]

I played at the second highest level with players that were and still are at AFL level, and the effort required is ridiculous.

We all have jobs but we don't get ridiculed on sites like this whenever we make a minor mistake or have a bad day.

They deserve the money if they can find a way to get by, and it isn't always just on pure talent, far from it.

 

[lmach]

Relax on weekends?

They work on weekends.

Work weekdays, play weekends.

I wouldn't call a match 'work'.

 

[psychobrown]

mmm, what a great story

 

[Big_Luch]

being a footballer is still a very very good life. how much down time do they have though? how many contact hours with training, prep, match day and recovery do they do? is it 30,40,50hrs a week?

 

[BF Tiger]

While I agree they work hard I don't necessarily think they deserve to be better paid than, for example, a nurse, or a teacher, cop, fireman, doctor or garbage collector. I do understand they are elite and that is what brings in the dollars (and good luck to them), but they are not essential to a community like those other vocations.

If it was easy though, we'd all be doing it.

 

[The_Koach]

not 100% sure where I stand on the issue, but thought I'd add this one....

Cousin was friends with Zaharakis. As a 15 year old he missed out on a TAC squad... such was his devastation he got straight back into training, and gave up any sort of fast food etc (KFC, McDonlads etc...). I know that probably doesn't seem like much, but for a 15 year old to give up that would take a fair effort, especially once he gets older and the lure of girls, booze, drugs etc. likely took his friends fancy and he kept at it.

as i said, not even sure where my standpoint is, but i thought that was an interesting story

 

[SuperCats9]

being a footballer is still a very very good life. how much down time do they have though? how many contact hours with training, prep, match day and recovery do they do? is it 30,40,50hrs a week?

It's a life that many people dream of. Think about it, you get paid to play the sport you love, which is also your job. You have good mates, train everyday, muck around here and there, play all sorts of games, and then go out on the weekend in front of big crowds playing for an AFL club, who wouldn't want that?

If you ask pretty much every guy out there would they like to be playing AFL, they would say 'yes', but most of the time, they then say, "I wasn't good enough", or "I didn't have the drive and skill required".

On a side note, many people seem to think that making AFL is 80% based around natural talent or height. Being tall gives you a good advantage, but you have to be good and able to jump, kick, run, be fit etc. Like I've said, being a Pro athlete requires serious dedication and the main reason is work rate, If you push yourself and are VERY fit, you'll get there, then, the skill will come with training.

 

[Gibbke]

It's a moot debate. Does a kid deserve $100k for kicking a ball around? If the employers are spending roughly 20-25% (?) of their money on wages and that's what this equals, then noone has a leg to stand on when they say they can't have it, because most enterprise bargaining anywhere puts a figure up similar to this. Similarly for a baseballer on a $100m over ten year contract...it's staggering, but in context that's what they're worth to the company...

As for lifestyle, sure, there's the tough stuff and there's the perks...I think we're all jealous of the second one and baulk at the first...most of us have jobs without the dizzying highs and the terrible lows...mine's a plateau...I'm not sympathetic to Peter Everitt though, who complained how being a pro footballer wrecked his enjoyment of the game...must have been tough...

 

[radiojake]

I don't think anyone would think it was easy to be a professional athlete, but they are certainly lucky -

 

[SuperCats9]

not 100% sure where I stand on the issue, but thought I'd add this one....

Cousin was friends with Zaharakis. As a 15 year old he missed out on a TAC squad... such was his devastation he got straight back into training, and gave up any sort of fast food etc (KFC, McDonlads etc...). I know that probably doesn't seem like much, but for a 15 year old to give up that would take a fair effort, especially once he gets older and the lure of girls, booze, drugs etc. likely took his friends fancy and he kept at it.

as i said, not even sure where my standpoint is, but i thought that was an interesting story

That's like Tom Scully's story. Local Berwick boy, at 14 he set he's goals and told his friends he wasn't going out anymore, he just ran and ran and ran, trained hard and worked to the extreme, and look where he is now.