How much is too much?

We ask ourselves that question all the time.

We ask it when we are thinking about grabbing that last piece of pizza. We ask it when we want to play one more game of Madden. We ask it when we want to watch one more hour of the NFL Network.

But the question I’m posing this time is how much is too much when it comes to what the athletes we watch, root for and adore earn?

Is $1 million per year too much? $2 million? $3 million?

The President of the United States makes $400,000 a year. The median yearly salary for a school teacher is $53,000. A police officer? About $50,000.

Those jobs seem a lot more important than hitting a baseball, dunking a basketball or tossing a touchdown pass.

But are pro athletes really overpaid for what they do?

Think about the job requirement for a professional athlete. Think about the time it takes to get to that level, the talent that person must possess to reach the professional ranks — and stay there.

And physical wear and tear on the body, especially in pro football, can linger and impair them for the rest of their lives.

Plus, an athlete has maybe a 10-year window — if they are lucky — to make their money in the game.

Suddenly, those millions don’t seem like that much.

Then again, Alex Rodriguez will earn $64,000 every time he steps to the plate, whether he gets a hit or not.

CC Sabathia will take home $100,000 for every inning he pitches — and about $1.2 million for every game he wins.

That’s a lot of scratch, but not nearly as much as other entertainers.

And that’s what pro athletes are — entertainers. Their baseball game is a minimovie each night, or a sitcom if they play for the Pirates.

Each NFL game is one of 16 episodes with the hopes the show won’t get canceled.

When compared to actors, athletes are vastly underpaid.

Charlie Sheen certainly was winning. He made $1.8 million per episode on his CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Over the course of a year, he made $43 million.

That’s $10 million a season more than any pro athlete on the planet.

In 2008, actor Will Smith made $80 million. (Will Smith, the Saints defensive end, made $1.1 million). Johnny Depp made $72 million. (Johnny Damon made $13 million). And Mike Myers, of all people, made $55 million.

Mike Myers the relief pitcher made a shade under $1 million that year.

Who’s overpaid now?

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.