Do professional athletes act as smart businessmen or sell-outs? More and more athletes are holding out for larger contracts at the beginning of every off-season. How much money is not enough to these players? They already make millions of dollars, and the resume of an athletes career has now become a long list of the cities they jump around to.
In most circumstances the player is already on a team with playoff potential, but the dollar bill holds more value than a championship. In few circumstances you see players like Tom Brady take a pay cut to bring in a big name receiver like Randy Moss. This is a true testament to Brady's unselfish attitude toward the game of football, he is playing to win games, the money will take care of itself. It is a rare commodity to find a player who is willing to take a pay decrease in order to benefit the team rather than themselves. The Detroit Red Wings did the same thing years back, having a few players cut their pay to bring Dominic Hasek to town.
The selfishness of players can make me sick sometimes, I get so tired of hearing about how hard Reggie Bush had it in college. He broke one of the only rules the NCAA strictly enforces, and that is to not take money or handouts from agents or businesses as a collegiate athlete. He was hands down one of the most explosive college backs in the history of the game, he was capable of scoring at any time in a game. After a disappointing finish to his college career, then his descending draft pick, and soon after the rumors of taking handouts, Reggie didn't seem so intimidating anymore. He was struck with an unfortunate injury this past season, but wasn't even close to averaging 100 yards a game when he was a starter. The only time I have heard Bush's name in the news recently was when US Weekly covered his engagement to Kim Kardashian, and who honestly cares about that?
Jevon Walker and Asante Samuel proved to be disappointing in their contract years, with hold outs and slow negotiation. Walker found greener pasture by moving to Denver, he got the money Green Bay wouldn't give him, but he also got a quarterback who has a better chance of winning the lottery than the Superbowl. Samuel negotiated his contract, which was very lucky for the Patriots, because he could generate a lot of turnovers for almost any other defense in the league.
In certain circumstances a hold out may be for a just reason, but most cases seem to be out of selfishness. Players are concerned about their income rather than the game, the game comes after they know their salary. Free Agency has done a lot of great things for sports, but have also changed the way fans view a career. Growing up I remember watching Ray Bourque try and try again playing for the Bruins, it wasn't until the very end of his career he was traded to the Avalanche to final win the coveted Stanley Cup. It was a common completely normal thing to spend your whole career in one spot and maybe move teams once, now it seems our favorite players move teams as much as a bandwagon fan.
All in all, sports have become a corporate industry, like everything else in America. Each sport is it's own separate business trying to make the most money possible. College sports are full of passion and undying rivalries, mostly due to the income the players make, nothing. Professional sports change rivalries due to who the media perceives as rivals, but their is no more Cowboys vs 49ers build up, or Bruins vs Canadiens, the only rivalry that hasn't died are the ones instilled in baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox will be a forgotten rivalry when the apocalypse hits. The only thing we have to remind us of the true glory days of Professional sports cost about $60 at Best Buy.
