While football players are paid copious amounts of money for playing a game adored by American children everywhere the salaries are completely justified. The salaries have reached these high levels through the simplest of all economic theories - supply and demand. Those who feel football players are paid too much are making an emotional argument that holds very little weight.

First we can look at the arguments supporting the current level of players salaries.

The average salary for an NFL player in 2006 was $1.4 million. This is relatively low when compared to players of other major sports. Major League Baseball players received $2.9 million on average and NBA players tallied a tidy $4.9 million during the 2005-06 season.

Additionally, while an average of $1.4 million a year is high when compared to the average yearly income for all Americans it is directly commensurate with the revenue these players generate. If a team does well and earns a playoff spot fans are more likely to attend games which drives up ticket prices and stadium concession sales. Also, the emergence of a particular player may drive merchandise sales as fans flock to stores to purchase replica jerseys. It is the players who are ultimately responsible for generating the $5.6 billion in revenue the NFL realized for the 2005-06 season.

But more simply NFL players earn what they make because supply for world class football athletes is small and demand is high. Peyton Manning receives extraordinary contracts because he is one of five (give or take a few) people in the world who can currently perform like he does. NFL franchises cannot just swing by Wal-Mart on their way to the stadium and pick up another LaDanian Tomlinson. Players like Terrell Owens and Randy Moss bring their fair share of personal baggage to a team but they possess a skill set that is near impossible to find.

NFL players are paid huge salaries because franchise owners are willing to pay them. And the franchise owners are willing to pay them because in return the owners will receive a large amount of revenue from ticket and merchandise sales as well as their share in the league television contract. All of this revenue is generated by the ability of the players.

Now lets look at the arguments supporting the theory of NFL players being over-compensated and why these arguments hold little merit.

There are two main arguments for believing NFL players are over-compensated.

First is the argument

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