Cambridge 6, Test 2, Writing Task 2

Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal more money than people in other important professions. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
In the past couple of decades, successful sports professionals have evolved to another role in the society – a TV celebrity, which gives them an open door to earn a great deal more money than ordinary people in the society, including other important professions. It thus raises an issue that whether these sports professionals are worth incomes over millions of dollars each year.
First of all, to become a successful sports professional, what lies behind is intense training, countless sleepless nights and strong will power. They are forced to be on the state of constant pressure and stress from the media and public, which spares no privacy in their life. Although these successful sports professionals constantly appear on TV or posters for advertisements, they might not seem as happy and joyful as they look in real life. An example to demonstrate this is that the media always broadcast news about sports celebrities being addicted to drugs to mitigate their stresses and undergoing mental breakdowns. It sufficiently shows people that the huge amount of income of these successful sports professionals is earned at the expense of both physical and psychological torture.
Moreover, it is a high-risk investment to train a person to achieve the top level in one field of sports. Once an athlete happens to have any serious injuries, which is highly likely to incur, considering the incredibly high intensity of training, the whole sports career of this athlete will be ruined. Thereafter all the money invested in the athlete will be wasted and the sports institution and the athlete must bear the loss, financially and physically. Therefore, successful sports professionals deserve a high income to compensate them for the endurance of everything they suffered in the past.
In addition, other than the negative impacts on these sports professionals themselves, they can also bring some positive influences on the society. Some media are inclined to either write or video shoot a documentary of these sports professionals about the arduous process of becoming successful; some companies hire them as representatives to promote for the sports facilities, sports clothes or gymnastics. The advertising of the successful stories of these sports professionals encourages youngsters to strive persistently for their dreams and future. Most importantly, some sports professionals can even bring about a chain effect in the growth of sports industry: many side products of one sports brand can be expanded to tap further into the profitable market. What’s more, people tend to purchase commodities with their favourite athlete’s face on, hence spurring up the sales of a certain sports brand. The economic effects these sports professionals give rise to are as successful as their sports careers.
However, some may argue that people in other important professions such as people working for education field do not earn as much, but they make a more profound contribution to the society. For example, a university professor not only delivers knowledge to the next generation but also he or she leaves an academic legacy of research papers or even new discoveries to the world. The salaries paid to them are not proportional to their contributed value compared with what the sports celebrities receive.
Nonetheless, my point is that those other professionals do not suffer so painfully as sports professionals and the workforce environment of other professions is relatively more comfortable and significantly less stressful. For instance, my sister is working at a university as a lecturer and she has the very flexibility in working hours and locations. Other important professionals enjoy a better and more relaxing life than those doing sports and hence a much lower income.

In conclusion, I am convinced that successful sports professionals deserve the huge amount of income, for they endure a massive physical pain, bear a risk of permanent injury and bring about positive impacts on the society, which professionals in other important areas cannot make.

(643 words)