Football as Extreme Sport.

 Whoop, there it is...  look at the way this mortal man's head is literally whipped against the turf here.  Heck of a hit.  Consider this player suffered a concussion too, in Sunday's game, four days ago...

They pay them well because of the health risks, like we pay workers in high-risk professions.  Not for the entertainment value necessarily.

All well-paid workers are not the same...  

ADDED:  Remember too, this is 21st Century America.  We got the rules on the books, and we got the rules the people really play by*...  Best understand the difference before you get in the game, no matter your profession.

In some professions, the training manual is not what is actually being practiced in the field.  Speak up and speak out when you see that.  Change is dependent on it, even if you can benefit yourself -- and your own -- more by going along to get along with the stagnation and the way your parents' generation did it...

Real Change is coming to America, it's already here just not fully empowered.  You just hope the legacies are ready for the changes to come.