This was more or less my answer yesterday when a friend remarked his surprise at the Detroit Tigers being able to draw Prince Fielder to sign with them. It was said for humor, of course, but it got me thinking. I had already decided that the contract was very large, too large if you would ask me, and a very big risk for the Tigers. There certainly isn't anything that says Prince Fielder won't still be playing at a high level in 9 years, but this writer is only slightly skeptical that at some point, be it one year from now or eight, there will be some regrets in Detroit about this trade.
Now, Prince Fielder isn't the first superstar in professional sports to find the elusive piggy bank, he was just the latest to join the party. In a day and age where massive deals seem to be becoming the norm, teams are eager to be shackled to a player or players for anywhere from 5-10 years, oftentimes with a large sum of guaranteed money. So in today's article, the Committed Fan asks teams, fans and readers like you alike, "what is the value of a superstar?".
First off, lets take a look at the players in question. Now depending on your own definition of what a superstar is, there stands to be a large number of them in any league you look at. Tom Brady, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, Candice Parker, Alex Ovechkin, Albert Pujols and of course, Prince Fielder. These athletes are superstars, no doubting that. They all garner immense publicity, fan support and merchandise sales. When you eventually lure one of these players to your team, it does not come cheaply, but if an owner plays their cards right, they stand to make a lot of money from a potential signing. Superstars are proven talents, freak athletes who owners never have to worry about getting production from, because like the local ice cream truck, when the time comes, it'll be there. It always is. And just like in the world of sports, if the ice cream man is being particularly extravagant one day and wants to charge more for extra sprinkles, there's always the DQ down the road (AKA every other player in the league). The question that needs to be answered, then, is why do owners like sprinkles SO DAMN MUCH?
I'll tell you right now, NFL wide receivers and NBA superstars are the worst. By far. I've never heard of a prima donna hockey player but considering the amount of teeth they've all lost, I'm surprised we hear them speak at all. Everyone has heard a superstar whine or rant at some point in their life. Mostly because we've all more or less been alive for the careers of Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson (Ochocinco). Oftentimes its the same sort of subjects (give me a new contract, "i'm open, throw me the ball", "I hate my team", "I'm always open, throw me the ball", "I'm so under-appreciated", "Did I mention i was open?"), and oftentimes these prima donna superstars will take to twitter or other media outlets to make their case public and, by default, an embarrassment. Suddenly, you realize crushed nut topping would have been a better choice than sprinkles.
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| Just wait, there's still 7 years left on that contract! |
Fortunately, the sports world has taken some steps towards slowing this trend by instituting rookie pay scales and salary caps, and lowering guaranteed monies, but overpaid superstars will most likely always exist in this game, which makes it all the more important that the teams, as a league, decide to hold strong and let these superstars sit out for a while. Keep them on the free agent market for a bit, to give them a reality check they won't soon forget. Either that, or we're gonna see the NBA sign a 14 year old to a 30 year, 450 million dollar contract any day now.
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