I don’t mind competitive sports – or the fact that many professional sports athletes train so hard to achieve their wildest dreams.  Let’s take a look at how much professional athletes get paid or what their contracts are worth…..

FOOTBALL

1. Matt Ryan ($43.8 million)
2. Matthew Stafford ($33 million)
3. Peyton Manning ($27.1 million)
4. Darrelle Revis ($23.8 million)
5. Geno Atkins ($22.4 million)

BOXING

1. Floyd Mayweather ($105 million)
2. Manny Pacquiao ($41.8 million)
3. Wladimir Klitschko ($28 million)
4. Canelo Alvarez ($21 million)

SOCCER

1. Cristiano Ronaldo ($80 million)
2. Lionel Messi ($64.7 million)
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic ($40.4 million)
4. Gareth Bale ($36.4 million)
5. Radamel Falcao ($35.4 million)

BASKETBALL

1. LeBron James ($72.3 million)
2. Kobe Bryant ($64.7 million)
3. Derrick Rose ($36.6 million)
4. Kevin Durant ($31.9 million)
5. Dwayne Wade ($29.9 million)

These salaries and endorsements for these athletes totalled $838.2 million dollars, according to Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/#tab:overall

Here are some statistics for this years Superbowl – Superbowl XLIX:

• 118.5 million viewers watched the halftime show
• 120.8 million viewers in the 4th quarter

**Above statistics from Nielson Ratings**

• $4.5 million – cost to run a 30 second ad during this years Superbowl.

The NFL is listed as a not-for-profit who’s commissioner was paid $44 million last year.  Taxpayers are losing $10 million due to the tax exemption the NFL is granted as a not-for-profit….does this make sense?

Couldn’t $4.5 million be used to fight poverty or feed the hungry?  The brands that are paying these professional athletes – are they allocating the same amount of money to charities as they give to athletes as endorsements?  Is it justifiable to give athletes millions of dollars in salaries while those who are committed in saving lives receive a fraction of that?

In a world that is continually being divided due to income inequality and the tax breaks that big businesses receive – is it any wonder that world citizens are craving for a revolution?  The distribution of wealth, corporate greed, corrupt governments and politicians are the reasons why people are at a breaking point. 

Would 120 million viewers be as engaged if they were exposed to commercials about the violence animals face on a daily basis?  Would people be more concerned about the planet if they understood the implications of how these same brands are polluting and destroying the earth in order to advertise and sell their products? 

It would be fantastic to see a PETA, Greenpeace or WWF ad during the Superbowl.  People need to be made aware of what is happening in our world and commercials from these real not-for-profit organizations would definitely engage them to act.  Maybe it’s time the NFL start thinking about creating real positive change in the world.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!