Let me first preface this entry with the defensive statement that I am not actually rich, so don’t assume I’m boasting like some young rap-star. I just wanted the title to be catchy, edgy, and enticing to readers. I know a statement like the above makes people want to read more because it references two very popular things in our culture: money, and people who have it.

Its that time of the not-season when we start hearing about big name players who sign for contracts larger then a small country’s gross national product. X years for Y dollars, where Y equals a gazillion. It’s the time of the year guys like me dream of, guys not gifted with physical traits that could pass for Olympian gods, that is. I mean, who hasn’t  wanted to be the handsomely compensated player that whips out the American Express Black Card and casually drops it on a dinner bill reaching into the multiple thousands? For those lucky players who’ve produced amazing numbers and planted the seeds of legacy, this is a very fun time of year. However, with this same stroke of good fortune also comes the birth of a storm always looming just over the horizon.  

I always get asked why John Q Big League Superstar isn’t producing when the team gave him so much money to do so? You may have said something like that yourself when you’re hanging out around the water cooler, or listening to the game next to the grill? Money is supposed to equal production, and when it doesn’t the person not producing is a bum. No trial, no artfully rendered litigation, from star to bum– end of story. All that money, all those endorsement deals; they now sit sourly in the mouth of fans who shake their first and declare, “Look at him, making more money to be a loser then I do all year! That son of  *&%&$%%@!”

I have to tell you, from my perspective, that statement is assumptive and false. First, it excludes the possibility that you are an eccentric billionaire or oil tycoon? Maybe you’re the proprietor of a very successful Ponzi scheme? In which case, player X does not make as much as you so stop your whining and go pay off some lobbyists. Second, It also assumes that player X is content sucking and letting you and the team down. I’ve been around a few guys who’ve struggled after making the big money and it eats them up. In fact, the expectation of production after collecting such a large sum sits heavily on their shoulders whether they’re at work or not. When you’re an entertainer, you are the product and your reviews don’t leave your mind when you punch out for the day, or get punched out for the day. Those players read the media, they hear the boos, and they KNOW why. They know what’s happening to them and they hate it and they want to fix it, but it’s hard. Real hard. Think about how hard even the second nature stuff in your life becomes when everyone around you expects you to perform at your best and is suddenly disgusted with you when you don’t, not proud or excited by your potential.

I’m not saying this game shouldn’t be tough or that we should coddle our well compensated athletes. We all can name a few titanic jackasses that deserve a good booing. But, we also need to know when our dissatisfaction with a player is legitimate and when it’s a mixture of jealousy and villanizing. This year, some new faces are going to get big dollars, and some of the faces aren’t going to do stuff that makes us feel like they deserved the money they got. The general public, folks who will probably never know those large sums of cash, will be very upset and think to themselves that if they were where player X is, they would give one hundred percent every day and be thankful for all of it and give the money back because they would feel guilty about the fans they let down, betrayed, embarrassed, etc… Then, in nearly the same breath, many will say the athlete shouldn’t feel wounded by this candor because they’ve got a gazillion contract dollar shield to hide behind. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “If I was making that kinda money, I wouldn’t care who hated me”? If you are indeed that strong willed, I suggest dictatorship because most of us, even big dollar athletes care. We are told we shouldn’t, that we should factor out the fans, but what good is all the money in the world if the world hates you?

I digress. There are a few solid reasons out there for people to dislike players; seeing them in police reports, hearing them cuss at children, watching ESPN television specials in which they break your entire city’s heart or can’t decide if they want to play another year; but money purely for the sake of money should not be one of them. The sports market operates on some outrageous principles that compensate players based on a mixture of things ranging from past production, future potential, hope, luck, and fairy dust. It’s a gamble, and the player is a part of that gamble from the day he signs knowing he could get hurt and have nothing to show for all the labor he puts into it. There will be players whose stock rises and falls in the face of guaranteed money, there always are. That’s life. But, if a player is struggling yet giving back as best he can from the situation he’s in, please know he cares. If he’s throwing two middle fingers up and informing you that your opinion doesn’t mean a thing to him. Well, it obviously does, doesn’t it? And with that in mind, I grant you full permission to boo your little hearts out.