Do Athlete’s Salaries Affect How Much They Care About Winning?

     We have seen the causal athletes nonchalantly dribble a basketball down the court, his or her team down by 20 points, and their team record is 20-50 for the season. Or a football player throwing his 4th interception of the first half and shrugging his shoulders as he walks towards the bench. With athlete’s salaries as public as can be, we tend to wonder if these athletes even care about winning or losing. 

    One of the most scrutinized athletes in sports is Lebron James. He has a 3-4 record in the NBA finals. That’s right. He’s lost more championships than he has won. I always wonder, if I made $25,000,000 a year, would ANYTHING bother me? Let’s take a moment to break down such a salary. 25 million dollars a year is a little over 2 million dollars a month, a half of a million dollars a week, and around eighty thousand dollars A DAY. A successful graduate with his or hers masters degree can maybe make that in a YEAR salary. 24 hours or 365 days after a long road of schooling or job promotions to make a living? I’d take 24 hours everyday. Keep in mind that this is just income paid by the sport he plays for. There are many athletes with endorsement deals for shoes, drinks, and like Klay Thompson, chocolate milk! 

     So with all that wealth, do emotions really come into play? When you walk off that court or that football field after a loss, does it really sting that much? March madness ended a few days ago and we seen those college kids crying, heck, sobbing in the locker room. Keep in mind, college players don’t get a salary, they just get the exposure for a possible deal to the pros with the honor to represent their school’s athletic program in the process. They get televised and have family and friends cheering them on. But have you noticed the sheer emotion they play with and ultimately win or lose with? I think it’s much MORE revealing than peofessional athletes. Now one may say it’s because they are “kids,” they’re 18-19 year olds and it takes time to mature and be able to hold your composure. But how so?

     Don’t these athletes both play the same sport? In front of their beloved crowds? All for the same goal, to win? Does income really ease the pain with losses in sports? I completely understand that to get paid the big bucks there is SO much that goes with getting to that level. The way you must take care of your body, dieting, consistency etc etc. Let’s not also forget that you have to be good, I’m talking really good, at the sport you play. I think the conversion rate of basketball players for example to NBA athletes is around .3%. Lottery odds aren’t going to be the main focus of everyone but it’s definitely something that “would b e nice,” to say the least. How about when you get there? Do you say “ok, I’ve made it, whatever happens happens” or after signing that multi million dollar deal, does the motivation rise, especially as the excitement declines? Does the ultimate goal mean so much when you can snap your fingers and buy any materialistic thing on this earth. I’d rather cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle, but please share what you guys think about athlete motivation and salaries and how money can effect the balance between the two. 

Good day!

-Relobelo