Many would say that the United States is in economic turmoil.
Between the student loan crisis, the real estate market, the unemployment rate, the war, and many other current issues we face, we are not doing as well collectively as we should.  There are, however, a few exceptions.
The average income of a professional athlete in a major sport (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL) in the United States is currently $2,762,000, according to www.freemoneyfinance.com, a popular financial advising Web site.
This median income factors in all athletes including those even avid sports fans haven’t heard of.
Now, with unemployment rising, and the average household income under $50,000 a year according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average athlete’s salary isn’t too shabby.
Actually, it’s just over 55 times the average American household income.  However, even the average athlete’s substantial salary is pales in comparison to the income of the athlete superstar.
Albert Pujols, a famous former-Cardinal and current Los Angeles Angels baseball player, is not the highest paid athlete.  He’s not even the highest paid baseball player.
However, the Dominican Republic born first baseman is on a $240 million 10-year contract, which averages him out to $24 million a year, not including endorsements, incentives, bonuses, and luxuries.
To better understand a salary of this magnitude, which most of us (if not all) will never see, I broke the salary down further.  Pujols makes over $460,000 a week, which is about $70,000 a day, every day, year round.  That daily amount is more than the average American household earns in a year and he will be making this every single day for the next 10 years — to play what many people call lovingly “The Children’s Game,” baseball.
Keeping in mind the fact that the average student graduating with a four-year degree has more than $25,000 worth of loan-debt (and this number is climbing rapidly), and the limited job market, it doesn’t make sense that there are athletes, or anyone really, making that kind of money.
Even one athlete superstar making enough money to pay for four years of university tuition every two days for a guaranteed 10 years is bad enough, but with so many making so much?
Where’s the sense in that?