An argument I've heard made is that professional athletes have compressed careers: for example, the median major league baseball salary is 1.5 million per year,

An argument I've heard made is that professional athletes have compressed careers: for example, the median major league baseball salary is 1.5 million per year, and the average baseball career is ~5-6 years. This is actually on the high end, as Googling indicates that NFL numbers are much lower ($900k median over three years). It also doesn't factor in time spent in the minor leagues, which has a much lower payout. So if you spread the contract out over ~30 years or so, the numbers look far different. [1]: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/15126571/study-mlb-average-salary-44m-44-pct-rise http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/15126571/study-mlb-averag... [2]: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709131254.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709131254.h...