Being a professional athlete usually means making millions yearly and getting rich and famous. However, with that comes to a busy schedule, stress, and less privacy, and not being a professional athlete can be a good thing.
The schedule for professional athletes can mean that they are swamped. In the National Basketball Association, players start practicing in late September, and a season has 82 games from mid-October to mid-April, meaning that they are playing a game about every two days and are busy from late September to mid-April. Also, they have to travel because games are played between the home team and the visiting team, who travel to the home team’s city, and they spend many days traveling. In Major League Baseball, players are even busier because starting around late March or early April to around early October, meaning that during the season, they are playing a game almost every day. They also sometimes travel on the same day they have to play before or after a game. They also have spring training from early February to late March to prepare for the season, meaning they have almost no time for anything else, such as friends or family, from early February to early October.
The National Football League has a more manageable schedule, as players only play 17 games from early September to early January. However, even though they only play once a week, they have to practice every day, and they only get every Tuesday off. They also start practicing in late July, making them busy until early January. Professional athletes are even more active if their team plays in the postseason, which is from mid-April to June in the National Basketball Association, early October to early November in Major League Baseball, and early January to mid-February in the National Football League, meaning that they are busy until their team is eliminated or wins the championship. Professional athletes also have to work on weekends, meaning they are playing and not seeing their families.
Also, professional athletes have less privacy than others, and some of them want to keep their personal life private. For example, National Football League quarterback Tom Brady had media attention when dating Bridget Moynihan. He met her in 2004, but they broke up in December 2006. However, early in 2007, Moynihan discovered she was pregnant with Brady’s son, who is now 15. Brady met Gisele Bündchen in 2006 and married her in 2009. However, when he divorced her in 2022, there was also media attention, and he tried to save the marriage but could not.
Professional athletes often have details about their personal life that are public, and they cannot keep them private. Also, people can recognize them, meaning they cannot go to a place such as a restaurant like a regular person. For people who want to be famous but not lose their privacy, being a news anchor can make them a local celebrity without losing their privacy. Also, politicians are more famous than regular people but not celebrities, meaning they can run for city council, school board, state legislature, or national legislature. They also make regular television appearances, which allow them to have media attention without losing their privacy. They also do not get recognized even though they make frequent television appearances because they are not celebrities, and there is no attention from ordinary people. That means that politicians can go to a restaurant like an average person.
Professional athletes also have to maintain their skills, and if they do not, they may not have any team give them a contract, meaning that their career is over, which can make them very stressed. They also can be traded, meaning that their current team sends them to another team in return for another player, a draft pick, or money. That cannot be easy because they have to go to another group, even if they are happy with their current team.
There are good things about being a professional athlete. For people who want to be professional athletes, they can make millions every year. The average salary in the National Football League is more than $3 million and in Major League Baseball, it is more than $4 million. In the National Basketball Association, it is almost $10 million. That makes their income much higher than the average salary, which is $58,260. Also, the highest paid athletes are paid more than that, with the highest paid Major League Baseball player being paid more than $43 million, the highest paid National Basketball Association player being paid more than $48 million, and the highest paid National Football League player being paid more than $50 million. That allows them to buy anything, such as a big house or a private boat, that regular people cannot. Being a professional athlete allows them to play a sport that they love and make more in a year than many will ever make in their lifetime.
Professional athletes also get a long break during the offseason. That means they are free for a long time, which regular people do not have. That allows them to go on an extended vacation, but usually, everyday people can only go on a holiday when they have paid leave. They can also spend time with their family after a long season of not spending time with their family.
Professional athletes have busy schedules, stress, and less privacy that comes with being a professional athlete. Still, they also have very high salaries, and it could be a good thing to be a professional athlete. People who want to be professional athletes should consider if they like what it entails.