Second-Tier Pro Athletes Are Modern-Day Serfs

The income distributions of many professions look like pyramids: A few very well-paid people at the top, a smaller number of well-off journeymen in the middle and lots of struggling hopefuls at the bottom. That pyramid is especially steep in professional sports: Lower-ranked athletes lack the most basic protections afforded to other workers.

The International Federation of Professional Footballers, an organization that represents 65,000 professional soccer players, published a report detailing the plight of the many athletes who barely make a living wage in the world's most popular team sport. According to FIFPro, 45 percent of pro soccer players -- including 32 percent in affluent Europe -- make less than $1,000 per month. Just 2 percent -- those in the world's wealthiest leagues in the U.K., Spain, Italy, Germany and France -- make $60,000 a month or more.