Does Greed Succeed?
by Kevin
I have a new article up over at Sports Central today. This one is about greedy and selfish players in the NFL. Here is the teaser:
The NFL off-season has been marred by a few selfish acts. It is depressing to think about some of the antics athletes pull off. SC’s Kevin Holtsberry takes a look at the immaturity and self-centeredness of some pro athletes and contrasts that to the end of a classy legend’s career. Complete Story ยป
Not surprisingly Kellen Winslow is mentioned as is Terrell Owens.
Players have a long ways to go before they are as greedy as the owners.
Consider that players are bound by their contracts, but owners are not bound by the same contract. In other words, if an owner thinks a player is making too much money, he can merely cut the player, putting him out of a job. However, if a player is underpaid, that is, his value as a player has risen during the life of the contract, well tough. You signed the deal you have to live by it. Considering the brutal nature of the game and the toll it exacts on those who play it, I can’t blame players for doing whatever they can to make as much as they can during the short period of time that they are able to play.
Kellen Winslow’s case is not about greed but about stupidity.
Owners of football teams routinely extract huge sums of money from the local taxpayers. They charge outrageous amounts for tickets to their games. They think nothing of moving their franchises to other cities to suck up the money from a new base of taxpayers when the base they currently suck from isn’t to their liking.
Amazingly, it is the players, who are in a position far worse than that of an employee-at-will who are seen as the greedy ones. I suggest that you spend one week suffering the physical pain of an NFL player and see how your perspective changes.