One question that has spurred a lot of debate in sports is the aspect of players being paid to play. In today's society athletes are making astronomical sums of money and some have never even played a game. Jonathan Yardley, a writer for the Washington Post said it best that the American spectator sports may be losing their souls. His primary focus was the NFL and its salaries. The salary that stuck out most in my mind was "Broadway Joe Namath's contract in 1965. Joe Namath was a Hall of Fame QB that is considered to be one of the best to ever play the game and in 1965 the New York Jets paid him a contact worth $427,000. In contrast to one of the contracts today Mike Vick signed a contract in 2004 worth 130 million with a 37 million signing bonus. The numbers don't even compare and it is becoming more common to see. In my opinion, the players today are making way too much money. Players now gauge themselves to other contracts and expect to be paid top dollar. As a result organizations are forced to dole out money to reel in and keep the players. The integrity of the sports are being called into question when players hold out for more money. Another aspect of being paid to play are the disputes over contract negotiations. Contracts are becoming more difficult with signing bonuses, franchise tags and the length of a contract. One contract that hits close to home is Carlos Boozer and his situation with the Cavs. In 2004 the Cavs said they would pay him 39 million over 6 years if they let him out of his old contract. They let him out and he received a call from the Jazz. He ended up signing with the Jazz for 70 million over 6 years. Boozer shafted the Cavs for more money.
Lastly, an effect of contract negotiations are the ways it affects other sports. In baseball Barry Zito became the richest pitcher in history when the Giants signed him to a 7 year 126 million dollar deal. Also, in soccer David Beckham signed a 5 year 250 million contract to play for a bottom dweller LA Galaxy team. Everyone sees the different contracts and wants to emulate one another. I think that there needs to be more of a balance when distributing money. Average players want to be paid like the elite players and it is compromising their sports. It is reflective of our society in that we compare ourselves to others wanting what other people have. We need to look past our differences and be happy with what we've got. Gone are the days when players showed loyalty to a franchise and played for the love of the game. It is a cycle that will continue in sports and society until we stop letting money drive us.
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You bring up some very good points in your article. Like how the players don't play for the love of the game but for the money instead. This is a problem because when one superstar gets a huge contract in the free agent market all the other players on the market want that type of money as well. I also agree that the owners are paying that type of money to keep the superstars on their teams so they don't leave to go to an other possible rival team. I don't see much to loyalty with the players any more because all they want is the most money. In the end the fans lose because they have to pay increasing ticket prices to see the players when the payers don't really care bout the fans.
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