What Are Professional Athlete's Average Work Hours Compared to the Average American's?

In this blog post I will be comparing the average amount of hours professional athletes put in versus the amount of hours the average american puts in. In the article A professional athlete’s fitness regime: An insider’s guide written by Siddharth Suchde, it explains the different routines and work habits that the average professional athletes has. In a different article I will be comparing called The average work week is now 47 hours it shows statistics of the average american’s work routine. This post will convince viewers to compare the amount of work they put in compared to athletes, and get them to realize that athletes have it better.

Source: http://magazine.foxnews.com/sites/magazine.foxnews.com/files/Olynpics_AverageJoe_editorial.jpg

American’s have always worked extremely hard because they are born with a heart that strives for excellence. They work such long hours in order to take care of themselves and the people they love. Professional athletes clearly work hard to get to the level of play that they are at. But, the difference in the average salaries get people to wonder how much harder they work and if so at all. In the article A professional athlete’s fitness regime: An insider’s guide, Siddharth Suchde explains how he has trained with multiple professional athletes first hand. He has seen an athlete's training routine and knows just how hard it is. In the other article called The average work week is now 47 hours written by Jena McGregor, it has the statistics to prove all of the hours the average american works. The article shows that as the years have gone by the hours have increased as well!

The word “Brutal” is how Siddharth describes the average professional athlete's training. He explains how “You have to be insane and neurologically damaged in your head to undergo some of the training regimes top level athletes put themselves through, day after day, week after week for an entire year.” In the article, he states that on average athletes train 5 to 6 hours a day. This statistic is crazy to me because in the other article written by McGregor, it shows that “the average time worked by full-time employees has ticked up to 46.7 hours a week, or nearly a full extra eight-hour day.” This may not seem like a big difference, but when you look at the difference in pay between the average professional athlete versus the average american worker, this statistic is outrageous. Siddharth defends the athlete's case by providing his audience with an idea of how intense their work outs are. This is understanding, but if you ask me, I would way rather get into fantastic shape while getting paid as much as they do compared to a normal person. Also, many american jobs consist of a lot of hard work as well. So is it fair that athletes get paid more than the average worker even though they work less hours?

I strongly believe that it isn’t fair that athletes get paid more while working less hours than the average worker. American workers are doing jobs that in some way benefit the world to make it a stronger place. Although people enjoy watching athletes play, they aren’t benefiting the world in anyway. It is understandable for them to earn a lot of money, because it is not easy to become a professional athlete. If it was, more people would become one. But that being said, the fact that they work less hours, make their bodies stronger for themselves while working, and are still being paid higher is ridiculous.

In my next blog post, I will be summarizing all of my research to conclude why professional athletes get paid as much as they do. The overall purpose is to understand why athletes get paid so much, and whether or not it is fair.

Common vs. Preferred Stocks

There are two primary categories of stocks: common and preferred.

What is the difference between common and Preferred stocks?

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When purchasing common stock you are purchasing a partial ownership of that company. This often times comes with the right to buy newly issued shares from the company before they are made known to the public, limited liability if the company goes bankrupt and potential dividend payments. Also, according to Zion Investments’ “Types of Stocks” video, you also receive “entitlement to a portion of the assets of the corporation should it be liquidated.” This basically means you receive the rights to part of the property or value of the company you invested in the case that that company goes out of business. But, however, when a company is liquidated, common stock owners are the last priority to reimburse, which is one reason common stock ownership can be considered riskier than preferred stock ownership.

Common stocks are generally more volatile in certain assets, like bonds, than preferred stocks; however,  they generally have more room for growth.  Preferred stocks differ from common stocks in that they “have characteristics of debt securities”, according to Zion Investments’ video, “Types of Stocks”, “Preferred shares generally have a dividend that must be paid out before dividends to common shareholders, and the shares usually do not carry voting rights”.

All and all, preferred stocks and common stocks both have their pluses and minuses. Preferred stocks though seem to be the better option in my opinion because they are main priority to be paid back if a company is liquidated which is very important. Plus, their dividends are generally greater than those of common stock.

FUTURE RESEARCH: How bond investing works.

Gaming Popularity Drives Game Cost

Source: Ferryhere.files.wordpress.com

Why do video games cost $60? They were so much cheaper years ago, why has the price skyrocketed from what is was? One reason we already discussed was because video games cost more to develop than before and in order for the companies to make a profit they had to raise the prices of the games.

Another reason that ive found is that the popularity of gaming is one of the factors that drove the price of games up. Have you noticed how the price of gas rises around the holidays and then lowers after? Thats because when the holidays come around they know people will be traveling more and in order to make more money they inflate the prices, and when they don't travel as much and people aren't buying as much gas they lower the price again.

And the price of video games are not different. In the article "Just How Popular Are Video Games?" it talks about when video games were a brand new concept they weren't that popular the price for games was around $20. and as they became more and more popular the companies slowly drove the price of games up so the companies can make more profit.

Medical Aid Worldwide

How do American nurses and doctors benefit underdeveloped countries through their medical assistance, and how are their projects supported?

 

source: http://resurge.org/graphics/feature/story_medical_volunteers.jpg

Throughout my research, I have discovered that not only do American nurses and doctors volunteer through different medical organizations in order to help underdeveloped countries, but the benefits those doctors and nurses receive for helping people are also morally rewarding.

There are many different medical organizations available for people to volunteer. One of the most prominent organizations is Americares, and the story of how this organization was founded is quite interesting. In an article found on the official Americares website entitled, “Our History: How Americares was Founded”, the author describes how a plane full of vietnamese orphans crashed into a jungle near Tan Son Nhut. Fortunately, a man named Robert C. Macauley courageously volunteered and took the risk of flying jets to Vietnam in order to save the orphans. He needed money to do this, so he sold his house and many of the belongings in order to help these orphans. Afterwards,instead of feeling regretful, Macauley felt relieved to have had the opportunity to help others. He then founded one of the most helpful medical organizations in the world, which continues to save lives today.

This article shows how the moral benefits of providing medical aid outweigh the costs of providing it. Macauley knew that it was more important to help the orphans, and he was willing to do so in the first place because he knew that it was the right thing to do. In addition, it also shows how one man can make a difference in so many others’ lives.

Americares and many other organizations accept donations including medical supplies and money in order to support their cause, and the effects that these donations can have on other people are extraordinary. An article entitled “Global Programs” found under the website of Americares describes how it can provide supplies, medicines, and even build hospitals in underdeveloped countries around the world because of such donations. This greatly benefits the people of underdeveloped countries because they now have access to medical resources and assistance that they would not normally have.

This greatly shows how one donation can go a long way. It is important for people to donate because their money can be used to help people who desperately need it. It is also morally rewarding this way to know this.

In addition to medical organizations accepting donations, volunteers are also necessary for these organizations to function and prosper. An article entitled “Medical Volunteer Programs Abroad: Top 9 Countries in Need” describes how volunteers in Peru help the people there because Peru is the number one country in need of medical assistance. Volunteers usually work in local clinics or in villages, so they have a first-hand experience with these people.

Volunteering is necessary for organizations to function, and it also causes the volunteers themselves to be immersed into different cultures. This is good because it is important to know and understand different people in order to help them. In addition, volunteering is also good because it encourages global relations with other countries.

Most basic organizations provide medical assistance on a daily basis, but when a serious disease or a virus threatens the safety of people everywhere, the United States government steps in. In an article entitled, “FACT SHEET: U.S. Responds to Ebola Epidemic in West Africa”, President Barack Obama describes how the United States donated extra resources including medical supplies and money in order to aid those being affected by the Ebola virus in West Africa. However, an additional article entitled, “Report Slams U.S. Ebola Response and Readiness”, the author exposes how average American citizens feared their own risk of catching the disease, and instead of focussing on helping the affected nations, citizens focused more on protecting themselves.

Even though the U.S. prepared to respond, the fear of its citizens prevented it from addressing the issue properly. Perhaps if citizens got over their almost their fear, then more lives would have been saved, and the disease would have been contained earlier. This shows how it is very important the put others before oneself when addressing major medical concerns.

I have learned a lot throughout the course of my passion project in regards to medical aid in other countries. I have discovered that much of the medical aid provided to underdeveloped countries is distributed by medical organizations. I have also discovered how these medical organizations thrive off of donations and how they accept volunteers who work first-hand in affected communities and villages around the world. In addition, I have learned that the United States government plays an important role in addressing major medical concerns around the world. Most importantly, I have learned that people’s health and well-being is an international concern that requires global support and that people providing this support will always be morally rewarded.

How does a food business expand successfully?

After much effort on your part and others, you may realize that your restaurant is doing well, turning a profit. To take it to the next level, the following ideas must be considered. The article Ten Ways To Grow Your Business explains the ten potential ways an entrepreneur can incorporate in his or her corporation. I have what I believe to be the most effective tips from the article, and have summarized them in the short list below.

americdn.com

1) First off, you should open up another location. This can be done, but isn't as easy as it may seem. "Physical expansion isn't always the best growth answer without careful research, planning, and number planning," according to Frances McGuckin, a writer and business consultant. You're business must have already proven itself to be profitable, and to have been growing steadily for a few years. The location that should be chosen should be one best for your business. This doesn't always mean whats best for cash.

http://dietsthatworkfaster.com

2) Diversifying your business is another effective way to expand successfully. To do this, one should sell complementary products or services, and import or export your or others products. This is a good idea as it will keep revenue coming in for the times your food business isn't making quite as much money. Doing this can also increase your presence in the market place, drawing more attention to your business.

High Risk, High Reward

I read an article called, Crash Course on Extreme Sports and it displayed well thought out information on why the extreme sport industry is a “goldmine”.

SOURCE: http://www.div1grade7.com

It said in the article, “Once you get past the stereotype of twentysomethings swigging energy drinks while skateboarding, you start to see the extreme sports industry like any other--filled with executives and venture capitalists wearing Armani and Donna Karan.” That just means that the industry for extreme sports is so big that it overlaps with all sorts of businessmen and entrepreneurs. According to the article, extreme sports are also really big in the TV industry. When Ryan Sheckler signed up for another year contract for his reality TV show for skateboarding or when Fox cable presents snowboarding, motocross, BMX or surfing on their channel, there are 24 million homes watching these sports so there is a huge industry in place for action sports.

Also athletes are turning the sports they play into a business and are becoming entrepreneurs. A quote from Nikki Stone, gold medal champion in 1998, states how "extreme sports athletes know how to take risks.” People wanting to get into business will have to learn that it takes guts and a lot of work to run a business. But when the person becoming an entrepreneur is an athlete, to be successful they must take that extra unknown risk at times.

Also the athletes that realize that they cannot possibly go through the risks of extreme sports their whole life and will have to eventually settle down to do something for stable for a living. An example from the article would be how “it wasn't until a potentially career-ending injury--two broken arms and legs--that Hart began to focus on his business, Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company. While he recovered, he launched his Las Vegas-based tattoo and apparel company and has grown it to four locations.” The article displayed some really interesting and factual points in understanding the growth of the action sport industry. The action sports industry is growing all the time whether it is through Red Bull or through major athletes that start companies.

Why Baseball Will Never Have a Salary Cap

After learning that the MLB does not have a salary cap and understanding the significance of the absence of a salary cap in the MLB, I want to answer the question: Why is baseball the only sport without a salary cap and does baseball need a salary cap? This article argues that baseball doesn’t need a salary cap because they do not need to improve competitive balance, it makes for an exciting offseason, and it allows players to be paid the money they deserve.

SOURCE: Statcrunch.com

Baseball experts say that the only reason salary caps are implemented is to maintain competitive balance among the league.  Many would agree with this statement, but baseball experts also argue that the MLB doesn’t need to improve competitive balance because they already have it.  According to, “No, Baseball (still) doesn’t Need a Salary Cap” an article by Dayn Perry, “As you can see by these number, MLB by these measures has enjoyed more parity than the capped NBA and roughly equal parity to the capped NFL.”  The article shows the number of different championship teams, playoff teams, and non-playoff teams.  The numbers show the MLB has more parity than the NBA and equal to the NFL.  Perry later writes, “We find no evidence in our data to suggest that salary caps have helped competitive balance, measured as the variation in wins between the best and worst teams in a league in a given year, in professional sports. Further, there is some indication that the introduction of the salary cap in the NBA is associated with a significant decrease in competitive balance.”  According to this information, salary caps do not improve competitive balance, and they may actually decrease it.

One of the most exciting parts of sports besides the actual games is the offseason, this is when teams can completely rebuild.  One team could look totally different from one season to the next.  Baseball experts argue that implementing a salary cap would make the offseason boring because less teams would sign great players to huge contracts.  Everyone loves seeing their team sign a big-time player to a ridiculous contract, and that would be less common if there was a salary cap.  Also, this policy allows the market to decide what the players are worth.  In his article, Dayn Perry says, “Thanks to the structural checks in the collective bargaining agreement, [teams] also get to retain their players for six full major-league seasons at below-market rates if they choose to do so.  Once they hit the market, those players make a lot of money because the market has decided that's what they're worth.”  6 years is a long time to develop, that is why baseball players make so much after those 6 years.  They have been playing and improving their skills and learning the game for lower pay for 6 whole years.  Once that contract is up, everyone knows how much they are worth and that is how much they will get paid.

In conclusions, MLB does not have and does not need a salary cap because they are doing just fine without one.  Competitive balance is maintained, it makes for a more thrilling offseason, and it allows its players to make what they deserve.

What factors affect consumer's decisions?

When I started this blog I asked myself one question: What factors affect consumer's decisions? Now, after couple of blog posts and thorough research I can say that I have and answer to this question. Main factors that affect everyone’s decisions are based on cultural, social, personal and psychological differences between the people. Everyone is a mix of all the factors and the decisions are unique and different from person to person.

Source: mysocialgameplan.com

Cultural factors are factors that come from our culture and customs. In Management Study Guide research post it is stated that Subcultures (smaller divisions of one the same culture), Religion (Christianity, Hindu, Muslim, Judaism etc.) and even your Gender affect your decisions. That means that all the everyday things that we take for granted, subconsciously affect our decisions.

Social factors are the next major group of elements that take part in consumer decision making process. From Management Study Guide website I got a good idea  of how social differences affect us. Reference groups (people surrounding you in everyday life), family, role in society and social status (upper/middle/lower “class”) all affect our decisions. The way you see yourself in society changes yourway of decision making.

Personal factors include age, occupation and income and lifestyle. Age is quite straightforward, some products are made for one group of people, some for others. In this article on Marketing 91 it is stated that your occupation and income affect you, which makes sense because your income sets the limits to your buying power. Lifestyle is pretty flexible, it is all the decisions you personally make and shape according to your desires.

Psychological factors, as stated on Small Business website can be separated in two groups: ones you were born with and ones you acquire over time. Motivation and needs (hunger, thirst) affect you at the moment, or right before the buying, perception is the factor that is used in marketing (the way we see the product), learning (if you bought it once and you didn’t like it you won’t buy it again) and beliefs all affect your decisions from the psychological side of view.

So, we can see that many factors affect the way we decide between two sodas or two car types. Many parts of your life affect the way you conceive products and for the most cases the decision making process is preprogrammed or subconscious. From your religion to your buying power and even your role in society, everything in your life affects the way you decide between two products.

How and Why Can People Be Happy?

My overall research question for this topic was “how and why can people be happy?” To answer this question I have found that people can be happy in many different circumstances because after your essential needs are met, it is a matter of finding meaning in your life and thinking positively among other things. It is also important that materialism is not considered when talking about happiness because it does not give people long lasting happiness.

SOURCE: http://exploringpsyche.com/

Throughout the research process I have found that the relationship between materialism/ wealth and happiness is often misunderstood. Many people may believe that the richer you are or the more materials you have, the happier you are, however in "The Psychology Of Materialism, And Why It's Making You Unhappy" the author discusses that after one’s basic needs are met, there is little evidence to support that the common misconception that the richer you are the happier you are. According the author, “It seems that it may not be the money itself that leads to dissatisfaction, but rather, the continual striving for greater wealth and more possessions that is linked to unhappiness.” Therefore it is important when answering my overall question to look at the correlation between happiness and materialism. With all evidence I have found it is clear that people can be happy without having excessive materials.

I also learned easy steps that people can try to improve their happiness because often times people are really happy and it’s not because of their genes or who they are as  a person, rather it is what they do with what they are given. The article “The Science of Being Happy” outlines these steps and how they can be beneficial to someone. The steps include thinking that stress is a challenge, not a threat, thinking young, having a positive mindset, not ruminating, spending money, finding meaning, and singing. Of course these steps are much easier said than done, especially for someone who is very unhappy in their life, however starting with one suggestion can lead to a greater overall happiness in life. I believe one of the most helpful suggestions for how someone can be happy is by viewing stress as a challenge, not a threat. Many people tend to break down under stressful situations and become unhappy, however looking at the situation in a different way can open up new ideas and happiness. This article gives many examples to answer my question showing how people can be happy.

In the next article, “Why Employee Happiness Shouldn’t Be Your No. 1 Goal”, I learned about certain things that companies do in order to try to improve employee happiness. Companies are putting in extravagant luxuries in office spaces such as napping areas, free massages, coffee cafes, and lunchtime yoga in order to increase positivity. However, what these companies do not realize is that these luxuries are only relevant for short-term happiness. If a company really cares about employee happiness, they do not have to spend thousands of dollars on unnecessary services, but rather they can focus on how they treat their employees on a day to day basis. The real way to increase productivity and employee mentality is to treat employees as equals, challenge their abilities, be involved in employees work, and invest in the individual. In a world with the majority of the population working, it is a good place to start when trying to increase overall happiness and this article supports why and how people can be happy.

The last topic I learned about was the impact that cell phones can have on someone’s happiness. A Kent State University study shows the relationship between excessive cell phone use and happiness in the article, “Excess Cell Phone Usage Reduces Happiness” by Steve Baskin. The overall idea is that many teenagers are addicted to their phones and the many functions they can be used for such as social media and texting. In most cases, the study has shown that teenagers are more likely to be uncomfortable with face to face communication and feel an overall sense of unhappiness. It is evident that this idea connects to my other research about materialism because even technology can lead to unhappiness. After all it is not up for assumption that people who have all the technology and possessions they want are happy. In fact they could be more unhappy than one may believe. Overall, throughout my research process I have found that happiness is something that pretty much everyone strives for and there are many ways to do so. Also, anyone can be happy, even if they don’t own the newest iPhone, sports car, or a fancy mansion. As long as you can support yourself and strive to work hard, keep positive, and continue to look on the bright side, happiness is within your reach.

Which position players make the most money?

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http://www.businessinsider.com/major-league-baseballs-highest-paid-positions-sports-chart-of-the-day-2012-9 I will answer the question about which position makes the most money.

Thesis: After reading this article, I learned that generally the highest paid positions in baseball are first basemen and pitchers. The reasoning for this is that usually a team's best all around player who can hit, hit for power, get on base, and field their position well are first basemen. Every team needs a leader as well and being a first basemen brings on that responsibility. Also, everyone who knows their baseball realizes that a team is nothing without top notch pitching. The highest paying contracts in the league are mostly made up of ace pitchers like Clayton Kershaw and David Price. With this said, it’s important to understand that every position is important, but each team has their superstars and those players need and deserve a big pay day.

Analysis: After reading this article, I would have to agree with the way baseball teams pay their players and who they focus on the most. Being a baseball player myself, I know what it takes to be on a winning team and I know how important it is to have your best player take over the team and set up and become a leader. I realize that at my level of baseball. know one is getting paid to play the game, but I can relate and understand what professional teams intentions are. With the way the MLB is set up, it has the fortune to pay some of the game’s most talented players serious amounts of money.

Future Research: In my next post, I will summarize my research on why baseball players get paid the overwhelming amount of money they make and why it’s more than other major sports. The big question here to ask ourselves is at the end of the day, is it fair for baseball players to make this kind of money while other sports could only dream of seeing a contract of that magnitude.

What kind of money do other athletes make compared to baseball players?

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2015/01/23/average-mlb-salary-nearly-double-nfls-but-trails-nba-players/ I will answer the question about how much money other athletes make compared to baseball players.

Thesis: After reading this article, I learned that the MLB is absolutely flushed with cash right now thanks to skyrocketing TV rights fees, both local and national. The best example for this is one of the newest contracts signed by the stud pitcher Max Scherzer for 210 million for 7-years. The average MLB salary was 3.82 million during the 2014 season, up 12.8% according to MLB Players Association. When other sports like the NBA or the NFL are compared to the MLB, they are lacking one major thing, both the NBA and NFL have salary caps to deal with. This limits teams to have a certain amount of money so they can’t pay their top players as much as they would like to like in the MLB. The other thing we must put in perspective though is that in the NFL, they have a significant amount of more players than a typical MLB roster, making it harder to focus a lot of a team's money on just one player.

Analysis: After reading this article, I now have a much better understanding on how the salaries work for some of the major sports. People need to realize that each league is set up differently and there are a lot that come into play when it comes to money. Different sports get more publicity nationally rather than locally and so on, there are different amount of players that are required to be paid in each sport as well. The biggest key here is for a major sport to have a strong supporting cast surrounding it.  

Future Research:  In my next post, I will talk about why certain position players get paid more than other position players. Every position has a purpose and is very important to a baseball team as a whole, but is one position more important than another?

Is it necessary for athletes to have as high of salaries as they do with all of the money they make from advertisements?

In this post my goal is to get viewers to understand just how much athletes make in total. A lot of people seem to think the money athletes make is just from their salaries, but a lot of times they forget that these athletes are being paid from being in commercial and being sponsors of big companies. In the article 18 Athletes Who Make More Money Endorsing Products Than Playing Sports it shows the differences in various athletes salaries and the money they make from endorsements.It confirms that athletes already are getting paid more than the average person and then on top of that, their endorsements makes them even more money than their regular salary. This post will get viewers to believe that athletes are getting too much money.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/18-athletes-more-money-endorse-sport-2013-6#tiger-woods-earned-83-of-his-money-from-endorsements-6

Many people are well aware of the high paying salaries that they receive. But, what people don’t realize, or sometimes forget is the loads of money they make from their endorsements alone! In the article 18 Athletes Who Make More Money Endorsing Products Than Playing Sports it shows 18 athletes that get paid more money from endorsements than they do from their salaries. This article only shows 18 examples, which is obviously not the only athletes that have endorsements. There are hundreds of athletes that still have their salaries and get bonus money from endorsements as well. Everything I’m saying here is just words, but now let’s look at the statistics.

Tiger Woods, one of, if not,the best golfer that’s ever lived. A well-known athlete that played as a role model for many in the prime of his career. Obviously, being the best golfer in the world, most people can assume that he has an extremely high salary. Woods is most famously sponsored by Nike, but is also well known for being sponsored by Rolex. As many can probably imagine, Tiger Woods has a high paying salary of $13.1 million a year from golf. When that number is thrown out people obviously are aware that it is a high number. But, what many aren’t aware of is that Woods gets paid $65 million dollars in endorsements alone! That is a total of Woods making about  $78.1 million. Give the man what he deserves, but at the same time give some of the money to people that are starving to death. Tiger Woods is one of many well-known athletes that have higher paying endorsements than their salaries. Another athletic icon that get paid more in endorsements than they do playing their sport is Lebron James. Lebron James, currently the best basketball player in the world and is obviously getting paid millions of dollars for dominating his sport. But, what many don’t realize is that his salary is a lot less of his income than from his endorsements. James has a salary of $17.8 million a year from basketball. According to the article, what most people don’t realize is that James is sponsored by multiple blue chip companies such as Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and Dunkin Donuts giving him a total of $42 million alone from endorsements. That gives Lebron James a total of $59.8 million overall! Is it really necessary for athletes to get this much money?

It is simply fair that athletes get paid a lot of money for dominating their sport because there are so many people that try in this world but only a few number succeed. That being said, I don’t believe that they should get paid to the extent in which they do get paid. The amount of money from their salaries alone is reasonable, but when they get paid even more millions from their endorsements it becomes unnecessary. People need to start to realize that there are millions of people that are starved or are homeless in this world and can easily benefit from little portions of their money. Overall, it is understandable why athletes have high salaries and I think people should respect them, but at the same time they aren’t saving lives. It would only be fair if there total income was reduced and given to people that are less fortunate.


In my next blog post I will be comparing the amount of hours athletes work a week compared to the average american's work hours a week. Depending on the sport, games don't last very long, so how long could the athletes practices be daily?

Over the past five blog posts I have addressed an array of topics from a broad view of racing to the most notorious racing event in the world, the Indy 500. In this blog post i will be summarizing my ideas on the economics of motorsports.

Racing is cruel to drivers, race teams, workers, owners, and crew members. In racing nothing is given, both on and off the track. NASCAR has had tremendous success in the past few years concerning economics and the popularity of the sport. However, what makes NASCAR difficult from an economic standpoint is the cost of equipment. Team owners, like the legendary Joe Gibbs, pays for all the racing operations. Team workers get paid but there are some teams that do not run good but still pay for all the other costs. This in turn provides a dog eat dog world similar to any other business. NASCAR also polices itself from an economic perspective. They do this partially by limiting the amount of tires a team can be given over the course of a race weekend.

Indycar is also a popular form of motorsports. Indycar is faced with its own sets of challenges in terms of economics. The indycar series is faced with a crossroads concerning TV rights and broadcasting. It seems as if Indycar is a dying sport. Reasons include lack of sponsorship, lack of fan-base outside of the Indy 500, less popular tracks, and other problems. However i find that hard to believe. If anything indycar is becoming more and more popular. The Indy 500 is still the most prestigious race in the world, there are more competitive drivers competing full time, and there are drivers with different nationalities. The sport is beginning to become more popular in other country as well.

Racing isn't just a sport. For so many, it's a way of life. For a moment, everything goes away when attending a race, it's just you, the cars, the track, and the drivers. However, one needs to examine the economic aspects before one decides to enter the sport.

Does Going From Rags to Riches Negatively Affect a Person's Decisions In the Future?

In this blog post I will be focusing on a specific player by the name of Michael Oher. The reason he is significant is because he is one of the best examples of an athlete that went from rags to riches. In the article Michael Oher Biography, it explains how in the beginning of his life he was homeless, and had a dramatic change to being a high-paid NFL player. A lot of people would assume that because someone wasn’t educated properly, it may mean that money will get them into bad things. My goal in this post is to explain the change that athletes have, and how to they choose to spend their money being improperly educated.

Source: http://www.wapt.com/image/view/-/31130238/highRes/1/-/maxh/630/maxw/1200/-/29xxd9z/-/Michael-Oher.jpg

With all of the professional athletes there are in this world, it is very realistic to believe that some of them were raised in poor conditions. The idea of going from poor to rich sounds amazing, but could it possibly affect the person negatively? On average, professional athletes get paid more than the average high paying job. In other words, they get paid loads of money. But, since they were raised in poor conditions with improper education, it is extremely reasonable to imagine them choosing to spend their money in ways that they shouldn’t.

The famous story of Michael Oher is extremely well-known, in fact, there was a movie that was made about him that was released in 2009 called “The Blind Side.” In the article called “Michael Oher Biography” it explains the life that Oher went through. He was 1 of 12 kids raised in a family that was provided no support. Oher’s father was frequently in prison while his mother was addicted to crack cocaine. This led Michael to being in and out of foster homes and often homeless. Eventually, at the age of 16 Oher was taken in by a family that later became his legal guardians. The family recognized his naturally large size and wanted to get him involved like all the other kids, so they put Oher in football. Due to his size and strength, he quickly earned scholarship offers from Division 1 Schools. He then took his football career to Ole Miss and excelled there as well. In the 2009 NFL draft, Michael Oher was selected as the 23rd pick by the Baltimore ravens. Now a days, Oher has a networth of 15 million dollars. Going from absolutely nothing to that much money is overwhelming for most. Although Oher went from rags to riches, he has chosen to spend his money appropriately. He has never been accused of doing drugs, or committing illegal things that other high paid celebrities have been accused of doing. He took his story and inspired others by writing and autobiography. Oher has proved that going from rags to riches doesn’t necessarily mean the person will spend their money inappropriately.

Many people assume that growing up in poor conditions where some is deprived of proper surroundings will lead them to being carried away and spending their money that they eventually earn on everything in front of them, including illegal substances. People see celebrities and high paid athletes making poor decisions even when they had a normal childhood. But, they automatically think that the situation would be worse if the celebrity or athlete was raised in poor conditions. The people that assume this are wrong because Michael Oher has confirmed that a poor childhood doesn’t mean someone is destined to fail when earning money. He has grown up and made nothing but strong decisions and has become a role model.

Why Are Some Athletes Prosperous While Others End Up Broke?

My love for sports inspired me to ask a question about the sports world, and after looking into some sports research, I noticed a startling occurrence: many professional athletes were going broke quickly after retirement. So I asked the question, why are some athletes prosperous while others end up broke?

SOURCE: www.atheistsoundingboard.com

Professional athletes make a lot of money. Multimillion dollar contracts, big name sponsorships, and advertising opportunities, are just some of the ways athletes can gain a huge salary. With so much money, it would seem highly unlikely that athletes would run out of it. But unfortunately, going broke seems to be a common trend in the sports world. It has been for a long time. Johnny Unitas, one of the most prolific quarterbacks from the 50s and 60s, struggled gaining financial stability. More recently, Vince Young, the quarterback who signed a 26 million dollar contract in 2006 with the Tennessee Titans, filed for bankruptcy just last year. Not every player goes broke, but the number is quite alarming considering the huge salaries these players receive. According to an article in the Washington Post, found on the ProQuest database, “shortly after they retire, four of five NFL players are bankrupt or under financial stress” and in the NBA “nearly two of three players are broke within five years.” Why are some athletes prosperous while others end up broke? A lack of schooling, a lack of financial guidance, and the overall briefness of an athlete's career result in this financial distress.

    School is important. It’s very hard to argue against this because there are almost no downsides to going to school. The one exception to this is an athlete. There are arguments for and against athletes getting a college degree. The article, “College Vs. Pros: Should be Allowed to Leave School Early”, examines the advantages and disadvantages of skipping out on college. Athletes  As stated before, education is important, but going into the draft ensures that athletes get working with professionals as soon as they can to be the best player they can be.  But in the end, a college athlete is a student athlete. Student comes before athlete. An education is way more important that a collegiate activity. Sure, the sport will send an athlete into the pros, but an education will provide one with a great foundation for an financially sound future. When athletes do not get adequate schooling, often times their decision making, especially financially, is not great. They never learn discipline and how to manage their resources if they skip out on school, and many athletes do skip out, which is why so many athletes lose their money.

    Receiving a big contract is very deceiving. With so much money, so many things can be bought, right? Wrong. Athletes will always look at the huge sum of money on their contract and blow it on expensive houses, cars, and lifestyles in general. Athletes have agents which will help them receive the best deal from offering teams, but once the agent gets the athlete the money, there is no guidance beyond that. Athletes, on top of not having a solid education, often times do not have financial advisors to aid them in budgeting their money. With a lack of guidance, athletes find themselves all alone with their money. And what do they do with it? Spend it.

    The typical working class citizen works for about 40 years of their lives, all the while gaining a steady income. the typical athlete only plays for  around ten years, but gains a big sum of money. the two factors to point out are the time of play, and the size of salary. Once an athlete ends their 30s and maybe even their 40s, they find themselves with a lack of a job. Pair that with a lack of an education, and the future is looking pretty bleak. Many athlete’s can’t find a well paying job because of their inexperience and failure to complete schooling. Yet, one way for athletes to solve this problem is to get into franchising. Athletes can invest in companies, with the help of top performing investors, and secure a great financial future for themselves. The article “Why More Pro Athletes are Scoring Franchises after Sports Fame,” explains all of the benefits of franchising to a sports player, and lists many athletes who found success in franchising. This route after retirement is one of the safest and easiest ways for an athlete to find a steady income after playing sports. But the factor to talk about is the money. Many people think athletes are paid too much. I mean, if they end up wasting it all, why should they get paid so much. The article, “Two Sides to Every Coin: Are Professional Athletes Overpaid” explains both views on whether athletes earn too much money. Truth be told, athletes deserve the money. 1.) They are in a brutally selective field where only the best of the best make it big 2.) The medical expenses are huge and will continue on later in the athlete’s life 3.) Their salary comes from the fans, so the only one to blame for athletes getting too much money are the fans that support the athletes during games.

    If athletes simply had more financial guidance and schooling, they would have a far lower chance of going broke. They have the money, they just need to protect it. A college degree, a financial guide, and a secure job after retirement, like franchising, are all an athlete needs to secure their financial stability. But until that changes, athletes will continually cause sports fans and economists alike to ask themselves “How the heck do they go broke?”