Are they? The teams/owners/tournaments get huge amounts of money from investors & deals with the media....part of the agreements negotiated by the player unions enables the players (the reason why these investments/deals are being made) to reap a fair share of what the teams/owners are taking in. The players are being paid as much for their economic value to the teams/owners/tournaments as for anything else. The best players get paid a lot of money for their value off the field as well as on it.

They are the source of a lot of revenue.

Interesting story...started way back in the early days of organized professional baseball, around 1900. Team owners paid ball player 3 times normal working wages for the best players. The snowball effect, now it's 100 time normal wages but they still pay to get the best so they can win...

They generate a lot of money

They are entertainers,and they get paid accordingly.

It's all about exposure and advertising

Because the fans keep buying tickets

Because fans keep buying tickets.

Because they are in demand?

Mostly the fans pay obscene prices in order for the players to be paid obscene salaries...BOYCOTT

Sports and Hollywood.
emperors circus..
distraction from how shit your lives are.