In the horrible sports dead zone that is June and July, those of us who can’t work up the patience to watch 9 innings of baseball on a regular basis have very little to look forward to. Presently, the most exciting thing going is keeping an eye on NBA free agency to see where guys like Lebron James and Paul George will go and to drool over their outrageously high Super Max contracts. As a lifetime sports fan, I’ve seen the evolutions of contracts and free agency in real time as well as the evolution of the money first athlete. I honestly don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, I appreciate these guys with limited career timelines maximizing every penny of earnings possible and, on the other, sometimes I am disgusted to watch a player turn on a team and a city of fans who have loved and supported them for a few extra dollars. I see guys like Lebron, who has changed cities a few times, brought championships everywhere he went and is probably worth every penny.
Then I see guys like Sam Bradford on his fourth team, never having a winning season, rarely even playing a full season with a lifetime earnings number of $129 million…just in contracts.
Spending my entire career in sales, I have also seen the evolution of the “money first” salesman and have similar feelings on the subject. Now don’t get me wrong, we all got into sales for one reason: money, money, and MORE MONEY! However, after hiring hundreds of salespeople, I have never been able to rid myself of the feeling of disgust when an interviewee spends the entire interview asking about money with no real interest in anything else. Or also the salesman grinding his manager every second of the day about “what’s in it for me?” These types of people are usually a cancer on any sales floor. They’ll only sell deals with the highest possible upside to themselves while letting untold amounts of deals go because there wasn’t enough in it for them. I may sound like I am contradicting myself in loving money motivated individuals but hating ones that make everything about their money but there is a principle behind it. More often than not, a salesman’s lifetime earnings, quality of life and overall happiness will be exponentially higher by sticking with a company over time, showing loyalty, and having an ability to put the company first unlike the the salesman who “Sam Bradford’s” his way around town collecting signing bonuses and never really finding a place to thrive.
Take for instance, Tom Brady. Tom was a sixth-round pick who was paid close to the league minimum, served studiously as a backup with no complaints until he eventually built the trust and loyalty with his team to go on and have the greatest career in sports history. Throughout that career, he has taken numerous pay cuts to allow his team to bring in quality help they needed to continue his lasting legacy. Not convinced? Let’s go to the next GOAT. Michael Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA, almost all of which were with the Chicago Bulls. Besides leading the most dominating dynasty in NBA history, Michael Jordan built himself into a beloved superstar and a living legend. Because of this, today MJ’s net worth is estimated to be over one BILLION DOLLARS.
Like everything in life, everyone’s situation is a little different. Sometimes you may just be at a job that really sucks and you don’t believe it is the right place for you to grow. Nobody can fault you for finding the best place to thrive. However, if you believe you are in a situation with great leadership and an environment you want to be part of but aren’t making every single dollar you think you deserve …maybe take a second to ask yourself, “Am I looking to make a quick buck?” Or “Am I looking to build my own dynasty?”
