Topic: Successful Sports Professionals
Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think is fully justified while others think it is unfair.
Discus both these views and give your own opinion.
Give reason for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 01 :
As a result of constant media attention, sports professionals in my country have become stars and celebrities, and those at the top are paid huge salaries. Just like movie stars, they live extravagant lifestyles with huge houses and cars.
Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super salaries with those of top surgeons or research scientists, or even leading politicians who have the responsibility of governing the country. However, sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution to society a person makes, or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead, they reflect the public popularity of sport in general and level of public support that successful stars can generate. So the notion of ‘fairness’ is not issue.
Those who feel that sports stars’ salaries are justified might argue that the number of professionals with real talent are very few, and the money is recognition of the skills and dedication a person need to be successful. Competition is constant and player is tested every time they perform in their relatively short career. The pressure from the media is intense and there is little privacy out of the spotlight. So all of these factors may justify the huge earnings.
Personally, I think that the amount of money such sports stars make is more justified than the huge earnings of movie stars, but at the same time, it indicates that our society places more value on sport than more essential professions and achievements.
(246 words)
Model Answer 02 :
Nowadays, it is acknowledged that sport professionals earn huge salaries that exceed other respected professionals by far. This situation has sparked a heated debate with opinions on both sides, in favor and against.
Some people argue that is irresponsible to pay such amount of money to people who has just borned with a natural gift to play certain sport. They believe this is unfair for other professionals that spent several years studying hard and have to deal with really serious situations daily. Doctors, engineers, fire fighters among others, are clear examples of this unbalanced situation. Furthermore, we are setting a bad example for the youngsters as they grow up witnessing how our society do not reward the hard work.
Nevertheless, other people assert that athletes deserve their salary. They have a very short career, as can only play at highest performance during very limited amount of years. Normally sport players above thirty five are consider old to keep playing professionally. Moreover, they have a big responsibility as are requested to perform their best in every single game. It is their job to strive until see their team win, there are millions of dollars involved in each game. Companies invest a lot of money to sponsor teams and this creates an extra pressure on the players.
In a nutshell, I believe that athletes deserve a huge compensation for their work. Even though it is true that they have been naturally gifted however they still need to train hard every day to perform their best and help the sponsors to boost their brand value hence increasing the selling.
(266 words)
