I really dont' understand athletes sometimes.

This perplexes me a lot. Seems to happen all the time too. If you are an athlete that is already a millionaire and your contract is up, wouldnt' you sign for slightly less money want to stay on a championship team? Why would you want to fight for and demand what could amount to an extra ... couple million dollars a year? I know that is a lot of money. But if you are going to argue about 12 or 10 million dollars, does it REALLY matter? Is it worth going from say the Yankees to a team that has no chance of making the playoffs? Wouldn't you want to be on a team that gives you the best chance to win championships? Especially for players at the end of their careers and multi multi millionaires anyway.

I just thought of this because I heard Johnny Damon signed with the Tigers. He wanted 13 million from the yanks and they offered him 8 or 9 I think. He ends up signing a one year for 8 million with the Tigers. ???????????? Why wouldn't you DH or whatever you had to do and stay with the Yankees rather than sign with the Tigers? This particular case is a little different because I dont' know if the yankees even had a spot for him. But stuff like this happens with these guys time and time again. I can't figure it out. They really don't need the money. Hell I'd take a pay cut to free up room for another stud to help win me a championship. Is it ego? See how big of a contract you can get? Not take less than what your agent tells you your market value is? Seems dumb to me really.

 

We were talking about this very thing (down to Damon), today at lunch. I mistakenly had heard he'd signed with TX, though. EIther way, you're right. They have NO chance.

Yeah. At what point is it "enough" money? To ME, it would mean more (at this stage of my career) to be on a contender.

 

Hmmm, when does an archer have enough bows

The more you got the more you want.

 

If you told me I had to get rid of my bows except for one and it had to be a model 5 years old. But, there's a 95% chance I'd shoot a 150" buck? Ok... where do I sign?

 

Pro sports/athletes really are strange these days.

Look At Hedo Turkoglu....Toronto is no Orlando

 

Wait and see what Bron-Bron does.....if you think Damon's nuts!

 

No it's not. But in his case, I think one of the deciding factors was living in a city more suited to his Turkish lifestyle or something along those lines.

 

Here is the way I see it.... Damon is not worth the 13 mill he wanted. Hell, he's not worth the 8 that the Tigers just gave him. I figure he knows he's been in the league 13 years now and he knows that he is starting to suck more than usual and he knows he has to go out there and make as much money as he can until he falls off the radar after this year.

 

I'll play devils advocate. Yanks traded for Granderson, so he was going to be a backup in NY. You still have Jermaine Dye on the market, who is probably still more of an impact bat. If I'm Damon, I'd sign with the first team to offer me a contract.

All things being equal, hell yes, stay with the winner. But I don't think Damon had much if any leverage this offseason.

 

Perhaps----staying at the Yankees he was one of several stars.
Going to Detroit he can be the star.

 

Or.... Johnny had already won the World Series more than once and he decided that he just wanted to get paid before his career was over. He probablly thought that he could make more than what the Yanks were offering... had he known he wasn't gonna match it... I'm sure he would have stayed and had the best of both worlds.

Jeff... As far as LeBron goes.... I find it funny how many guys think he is staying with the Cavs now... the major differance I see between him and some of the true "champions" like Magic, Larry Bird, Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe, Shaq, ect.. is that Bron seems WAY more worried about his image than winning.

 

Cha Ching!:D

 

The great one Jordan cared about his image too...but he beat everyone and now we praise him (rightly so)

If LeBron goes, its the beggining of the "what if" career style, if he stays, he'll win some championships and go down as a legend.

I hope :D

 

Well.....I hope you weren't thinking I'd disagree with that!

SPOT ON!

 

No Jeff, I was agreeing with you... it's just amazing how so many people don't see the big picture.. or they don't want to see it simply because they want/need LJ to be the new MJ just to make basketball relevant again.

 

It's all about numero uno.

Damon is an aging CF who took advantage of a very gracious right field fence last year and hoped to cash in on it this year. Every team called his bluff for his 13 mil/year demands.

Today's atheletes want to be paid for what they are worth. Their overall worth is judged compared to what their peers do. I will give an example of the St. Louis Cardinals:

They resign Matt Holliday this off-season. He is a GREAT hitter. One of the top 10-15 in the game. He signs a 7 year 120 million dollar contract. Thats a TON of money. Now when the great Albert Pujols comes up for free agency and goes to talk with the Cards where do those negotiations start? If you offer Pujols less money, then it's almost like an insult. He's better than Holliday, so he should get paid more...much more...and he will. It is possible the Cardinals could have 40-45% of their payroll on 2 players for the next 6-7 years.

Joe Mauer will be another coming up that should recieve an unbelievable amount of money....much more than he will probably need to live the rest of his life.

 

The flipside of this is those athletes that are up for free agency. Some of these guys are stuck in their contracts in a franchise that will never win a world series in their lifetime. Upon finally coming into the free agent market, the player starts getting offers from various teams. There's been SEVERAL times when a free agent will sign for a new team (or stay with same team) that has no chance of winning because of the contract. At the same time turning down an offer from a team like the Yankees or Red Sox when the difference was a couple million or a couple years longer or whatever. Minimimal to say the least. I don't get it. Why would you want to go from the Orioles to the Brewers when you could go to the Yankees a little less?

 

Agents?

 

BINGO! :D

Lebron is definitely more concerned with his image than those legends mentioned above. Just watch his interviews or other post game antics.

Siman, Jordan concerned with his image? How so?

 

i see it as different strokes for diff folks. for you or i who make more of our money later in life, we have a diff mindset. the athletes today are trying to make as much $$ as quickly as possible before their career is over.

some athletes dont want a championship! they want to play and go home at the end of the season and try and stay healthy. others will restructure for the better of the team. just like at your job... some people are company men/women while others hop around looking for a better paying jobs.

lastly and i'll shut up.... you have to look at what the contract structure is like. not only does it differ between sports, but now throw in position on a team, off-field activities, years in and so on and so on.

not all contracts are guaranteed! imagine if someone told you if you get hurt on the job that they would split your contract, waive you, trade you etc.and most of us arent getting smacked into at work.

how are you not gonna try and get as much as you can up front/each and every contract? you can still be a good guy and want to get paid.