Many large cities generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue from ticket and merchandise sales due to the marketability and popularity of their professional athletes. These athletes play for teams hundreds, even thousands of miles away from their homes and families in hopes of winning a championship. They spend weeks at a time away from their parents, wives and children. These athletes endure injuries far beyond what the average person would. The healthiest, fittest and most talented athletes are considered lucky if they manage to play beyond the age of 35. Professional athletes suffer such physical abuse, many are forced to retire because another blow could mean death. You can't put a price on life. For some athletes, money is not an issue. Many, including Griffey and Jay Buhner, defer part of their salaries to make room for other players the team needs to win. Others are voluntarily paid less than market value for the same reason. As generous as these players are, some still argue that professional athletes are selfish and greedy, when that is not the case at all. Multi-millionaire athletes deserve every penny they get paid. With one year remaining on his contract, Seattle wide receiver Joey Galloway sat out 102 days in 1999 before reporting. This cost him $5,000 per day and a salary of 93,000 per game; he missed 8 games. (Allen) Galloway was looking to sign a new contract with the Seahawks to become the highest-paid receiver in the NFL, and rightfully so. Galloway knows he's good. He knows he's one of the best, and his agent Eric Metz knows it too. In Galloway's best interests, Metz was holding out for a five-year contract worth $25 million, including a $10 million signing... mid-paper... money isn't everything." The News Tribune. September 29 1999: A12Kepner, Tyler, “A-Rod Contract Offer Includes Deadline. "Seattle Post-Intellegencer. Online. Netscape. October 8, 1999. Available: http://www.seattle-pi.com/baseball/mari081.shtml."NFL Salary Cap." The Vertical Game. Online. Netscape. November 17 1999 Available: http://www.vertgame.com/Sal_Cap.html.Sherwin, Bob, "M Is Calm After Las Vegas Meeting with Rodriguez, Agent Boras" The Seattle Times November 5, 1999 Available online: http ://archives.seattletimes.com/cg...9a49555.Stone, Larry "Mariners: Griffey seeks job, says he wants to be closer to family" Seattle Times November 3, 1999, available online: http://archives. seattletimes.com/cg...1d31650.The Topps Company, Topps Football trading cards, 1999Verducci, Tom "Joltin' Junior" Sports Illustrated May, 1999: 32-37