Texan Mosaic

by NICOLE LOPEZ//Sports Editor

The NFL season has begun once again, and many people are excited to see how far their team will go this year.

I love watching football, and I know the players work hard for their money. But I can’t help thinking that maybe they make too much of it.

I kept up regularly with the NFL news during the off-season though, since I watch a lot of football.  I remember hearing on ESPN that Matthew Stafford, quarterback for the Detroit Lions, had signed a five-year contract extension worth $27 million per year. This contract made Stafford the highest-paid player in NFL history!

I know this topic has been going on for quite some time now. Many people, including me, feel NFL players get paid too much for what they actually do. I’m not saying what they do isn’t great. But, I’m saying getting paid millions of dollars for playing football shouldn’t be on the highest-paying jobs list.

Doctors, firefighters, and military personnel don’t even get paid that much money, and they’re actually risking their lives every day. Someone can argue that football players risk their lives because of potential injuries, and the long-term effects of playing football can be damaging to their health.  Some of that is true. But, it doesn’t come close to what military personnel go through every day. Military personnel are actually risking their lives on a day-to-day basis. They can end up dying from the work that they do. When is the last time a NFL player died during a game? Doctors and firefighters are saving lives. NFL players aren’t saving lives. They’re saving us from being bored every Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night. But that’s about it.

NFL players might be the best in the world. But, do they really need to be making millions of dollars every year? Stafford is going to be making too much money! That’s more than I can imagine. Also, I don’t think he’s worth the money. I’m not just targeting him, though. I can make any NFL player an example, including my favorite NFL team.

For example, I don’t think quarterback Aaron Rogers should be getting paid a lot either. I think he should be getting paid more than Stafford, but that’s a discussion for another day.

It’s not a favoritism thing. I’m not trying to single anyone out. I love watching the NFL as much as the next person. But maybe they can lower the sum they get paid. I think that’s a great solution. Even though they’re not risking their lives, they do entertain the public, and deserve some amount of money. The NFL team owners should really think about how much they’re paying these players. If we cut some of the players’ salaries, we can use that money for more important things. The money can go to charities, people in need, lower ticket prices, or raise salaries for people who deserve it.

The NFL players play extremely hard, and they do risk their time to play the game we love to watch. I hope maybe someday, though, the NFL owners can see the players are getting paid too much for what they do.