Professional athletes are overpaid for their job. not including product endorsements and television revenues, many athletes are paid far too much for what they do. 2. professional basketball player lebron james is the highest paid player in the nba. his salary alone is over $73 million. 3. matt ryan of the atlanta falcons makes a whopping $43 million just for playing football. 4. these men possess exceptional talent and deserve recognition; however, it is extreme to pay athletes this excessively for "working" a few months of the year. 5. the high salaries of professional athletes have driven the cost of tickets for these games even higher. it is out of reach for some families to attend a basketball or football game. 6. what does this say about our society when athletes are paid much more for entertaining and playing a sport than people who really make a difference in our world, such as teachers?