It's interesting that people have this mindset of animosity towards the players. I don't really understand it. It seems to me that are to some extent being exploited for profit by the owners, like most laborers.
Compared to most industries you could argue the level of exploitation is about the same. 50% for payroll?
Not to mention, as others have pointed out, the average career is only 3-4 years and much of the earnings are taxed away, pay managers, are poorly invested, etc. (There's a Netflix documentary).
I guess I understand it's difficult to sympathize with someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars to play a game. But the straight up animosity is bizarre.