Money or a Championship? Are We Hypocrites?

This afternoon on the Gambo and Ash show, they discussed Amar’e Stoudemire, his trade scenarios, and his contract situation. What it came down to was that Amar’e would rather play for a woeful team (such as the New Jersey Nets) and get paid $20 million more in a contract, than play for a team like Cleveland, where he could win a championship. This led to a discussion between my wife (Señora Sports) and I about athletes, money, and winning, and how we expect our athletes to be more principled than we are.

We expect more of athletes than we do of ourselves when it comes to money. We vilify those that leave looking for a bigger paycheck. We can be near pious with other people’s money. We want our athletes to take much less money than they can make in the open market so they can win, or have the chance at winning. (Now, to be clear, for purposes in this article, I will not refer to cases of players like Cardinals player Darnell Dockett or Anquan Boldin, who signed contracts that they outperformed and have no contractual way to change that. I refer to free agent players or players that have opt-out clauses in their contracts, allowing them to forfeit the money left on their deal to seek more money and/or years of security.) To be honest, could we expect ANYONE to turn down $20 million for a job (excluding moral/ethical beliefs)? Is Stoudemire less of a player because he wants to maximize his earnings? Should he take less money or even a pay cut for the possibility of winning a championship?

I am sure that there are a few players and former players that retrospectively would say that they would pay some millions of dollars (maybe even up to $10 million) to be able to have won a championship or for the guarantee of one. However, the problem is that there is NEVER a guaranteed championship. It was all but a forgone conclusion that the 2003-04 Lakers were going to win it all, giving Karl Malone and Gary Payton rings that they never before were able to get, but then a key Malone injury in the Finals contributes to the Detroit Pistons shocking he world and beating the seemingly unbeatable Lakers.

A look at the other side, and we can find a familiar face. Joe Johnson wanted to leave Phoenix, wanting to be paid more and to be the leader for the terrible Atlanta Hawks. A majority of people here were very disappointed that he would not want to come back and play with Steve Nash and the chance to win one or more titles, wondering why anyone would want to go and play for an awful team like the Hawks. Look at him now- rich, a four-time All-Star, on a team that has already been competitive in the playoffs, and is now one of the best teams in the East. AND he looks to possibly score another huge contract after this season. So, a situation that at the time looks like a bad situation, aside from pay, can turn very quickly into a winning situation.

Now, the money that athletes earn is obscenely more than a person like me makes. But in any case, I wouldn’t, in my job as a teacher, take a pay cut to be a part of a better teaching team or in a better school. Nor would I turn down a significant raise to teach with a less talented group of teachers where I would be expected to be the leader or best performer. Not now- I am raising a family. It might be a consideration once my children are grown and I have earned a level of comfort that can warrant me to consider job situation or ambience over compensation.

There is a general rule for athletes. Make as much money as you can while you are young, because no one knows how long they will be able to play. After making their money, as an older player, they THEN should seek the best opportunities to win. In sports, owners don’t owe anything to their players other than the money agreed to in a contract. Players owe nothing to their teams when contracts end. If players like our local players with ending contracts or contract outs (Amar’e Stoudemire, Brandon Webb, Karlos Dansby) think they can make more money than their teams now are willing to pay them, we should not think less of them, even if we think that their best chance of winning or contributing is here. They are just doing what most of us would do in their situation.