Hypocrisy in the Separate, but Similar Worlds of Sports and Entertainment.

Why is it that when professional athletes earn outrageous amounts of money, society is in an uproar? Doesn't society know that Oprah Winfrey, whom many laud as a great anthropologist, is the richest African American in the world?

Allen R. Sanderson, associate chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, addressed these questions and many more in his article, "The Puzzling Economics of Sports." Honestly, Sanderson had no idea why the economics of the worlds of sports and entertainment should be different. In my opinion, the economics of these two worlds should be very similar because they are based on three of the same very basic economic principles:

1. Scarcity
2. Supply and Demand
3. Human Behavior

The truth is that in the world of professional sports, there is a scarcity of players. Yes, there are many athletes out there that are talented, but relatively few are good enough to play professionally. Because there is a limited supply of such talented individuals, along with a huge demand, people are willing to pay them the big bucks.

It is the same way in the world of entertainment. With the exception of Keanu Reaves maybe, the majority of actors that we see in the movies are full of talent. But there aren't many actors out there that are good enough to be in the movies. Therefore, regular average joes like us are willing to spend $8.5o to see a movie in the theater.

When we see that Oprah is worth $1.4 billion, we say that she deserves it. Look at all the great things that she's done! But why doesn't Alex Rodriguez deserve to be paid $25 million per year?

I think that it needs to be looked at from a different position. A-Rod may not do as much good for the global community as Oprah does, so of course he doesn't need to be paid $225 million per year like she is. But...he does make the game of baseball more fun and exciting to watch. Is America willing to pay that kind of money to watch him play? Obviously, they are, because the Yankees almost sell out every game. If the public is so concerned about how much professional athletes are being paid, then it needs to stop paying so much money to attend their games.

What the public doesn't want to admit is that they love to watch sports! Human behavior shows that people will pay for what they want to see. It is irresistible. So, I agree with Sanderson. I don't see any reason why anyone should make a big deal about how much professional athletes are paid. It makes no sense when compared to the way the public treats movie stars. The truth is that it is the human tendency to pass judgment on situations without viewing them from the outside and looking at the "big picture."