Sports and Money

Jack raised a very interesting point in his blog post, asking why athletes should be paid millions of dollars for their hobby, while others enjoy their hobby for no salary at all. Personally, I can (grudgingly) admit that I don't have an athletic bone in my body. I tried to play soccer in middle school, only to face a surgery as well as the more athletic boys on my team making fun of me. These two events led to me putting my cleats up for good. Not only will I never make millions kicking a ball around, but my parents paid for me to play as a child. Sure, this failed attempt at athleticism only left my parents with maybe seventy dollars wasted, but honestly, I think that's a much better option than being paid for a hobby.
If you love doing something, such as playing a sport, I don't think it's such a bad idea to have to pay to perform this hobby, even as a professional. This requires professionals to have another job in order to pay for their hobby. It also eliminates athletes who are only in it for the money, while keeping those who play out of passion, making for a much more meaningful game.
Though this has a huge potential to decrease the level of competition, this might be a good thing for our over-competitive country.
I will admit that this proposal has many gaps and potential disadvantages, such as the lack of sports scholarships that may allow students to get a better education than they would originally be able to afford. In this case, while it is important for students to be acknowledged for their talent as well as academic merit, those who rely wholly on sports scholarships, which may have lower academic standards, may not benefit from a more academically-heavy schools. These students may choose one school over another for monetary reasons, but be better off at another school that has lower academic standards.
This is only an idea, and as it stands, it would not work. But I do believe it is something to consider.