Why the NBA?

  When looking at several graphs about the average athlete's salary, it's evident that basketball players receive the most money on average. I'm curious why this is because football and hockey seem a lot more dangerous and some people may believe that they should be compensated for risking their health. What other factors go into the popularity and/or salary of athletes?
  After some thought I decided basketball players made the most money because of the amount of players in the league. This sport is also popular because it is one of the least expensive sports to play, behind soccer. After all, all you need is a ball and a basket. Before I began research I thought that NBA teams could have a lot more players on their team than the amount they have in reality. Some teams will have as few as 12 players, and others can have up to 15. There are 30 teams in the league, so there will always be between 360 to 450 players.
  So to answer the question about the health risks relative to the amount of money they receive, think of football. There are 53 players allowed to dress from game day and 5 others who are on the practice squad. This is a significantly higher number than the number of NBA players allowed on a team, and there are 32 teams in the NFL.

As bad as it sounds, Americans don't care all that much about the injuries of professional athletes. There will be a lot of talk over a superstar's career ending leg injury on ESPN, but it only goes on for the rest of the season. We immediately look to see who else can play for our city's team for the remaining season or the upcoming year.

   So what else effects the popularity of sports? The conclusion I've come to is the expenses of the sport for children and recreation. Football requires a lot of gear but can be played for most of the year. Hockey is another sport that requires a lot of equipment and can only be played in the winter, unless you're willing to pay for an indoor ice rink.   Then there's golf. It's a very mature game and requires a lot of practice to become good at it. Most of the places where you practice this sport requires a membership (country clubs).  So there you have it. There is definitely a correlation between the amount of money a sport requires for recreational use to the popularity of the sport- leading to a higher salary for players of the specific sport.