by Mitsy Simpkins

Created on: January 24, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

If we can all agree that most athletes are paid too much; at least in relative comparison to the job they do (i.e. versus an EMT, or Garbage Man, or Postal worker), then we can also agree that most Football players (or Footballers as my esteemed colleague put it) are underpaid compared to other athletes in other sports. To argue my point, multiple factors must be weighed to determine the worth of an athletes' value to their particular sport. Assuming we were to only categorize American(ized) sports, and then we sub-categorized them into only team sports (see you later golf, tennis, boxing, and tobacco spitting), we could begin to determine value versus value. While there is no exact science that I can come up with in one hour to do this with complete accuracy; to warrant some merit, it is my conviction that no less than four factors should be weighed.

On that note, I propose a five league, four round, single elimination tournament to declare the worth of an athlete to their respective sport. For giggles, we'll use the criteria of popularity, revenue generated (2004), probability of injury, and finally average salary versus probability of injury of all players in the remaining leagues. As we narrow down the field, let's keep in mind that the people who should really be receiving these absurd paychecks for the job they do are those who teach our children, fight the fires we start up, and keep us safe from criminals and terrorists.

Without a doubt, the popularity of the sport amongst Americans should be the first measurement. For without the fans' support, there would be no debate in the first place. Everyone would be arguing that Actors, Rock Stars, Doctors, and Lawyers make too much money, or something crazy like that. In this first category, there's absolutely no room for debate. While water polo, volleyball, and soccer are indeed interesting (ANYWAY!), they can not hold a candle to the top five. The five in question are (according to www.usatourist.com) Hockey, Baseball, NASCAR, Football, and Basketball. NASCAR? Yes, NASCAR is technically a team sport. If it weren't for those guys cleaning the windshield, gassing up the car, and putting the engine together, the driver would pretty much be you or me. Let's not leave out the all important person who gets to be look out up in the deer hunting stand, "spotting" the other drivers as they go by.

The least popular of these five major sports is (drum roll)...drama, drama, drama, no drama...it's NASCAR. While extremely

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