High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Professional sports, as
opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive
payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to
the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and
increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports
organizations or teams can command large incomes. As a result, more
sportspeople can afford to make athleticism their primary career,
devoting the training time necessary to increase skills, physical
condition, and experience to modern levels of achievement. This
proficiency has also helped boost the popularity of sports. Most
sports played professionally also have amateur players far
outnumbering the professionals. Professional athleticism is seen by
some as a contradiction of the central ethos of sport, competition
performed for its own sake and pure enjoyment, rather than as a
means of earning a living. Consequently, many organisations and
commentators have resisted the growth of professional athleticism,
saying that it was so incredible that he has impeded the
development of sport.