Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems
I’ve loved the NFL since I was a kid.
Our family used to always go to Jason’s Deli after church, and I’d get a loaded baked potato for lunch and a beefeater sandwich to go. When the Cowboys game came on, I’d eat the beefeater and cheer them on – even when they weren’t doing too hot. Think Quincy Carter/Troy Hambrick era. Yeah, ouch.
I’ve always thought it would be a blast to own an NFL franchise. Or at least coach. Or be a team chaplain or a scout or, anything really. Just to be a part of an NFL team.
Something that has always baffled me is when players leave a team for more money. I don’t get that at all. Dudes who are already making millions a year, leave so that they can go make even more millions. Why?
I understand a player wanting to leave if they are being treated unfairly, or if they could get more playing time somewhere else, or could win a Superbowl, or whatever… but just for more money?! What?!
What makes these guys think that if they can just get a couple more mill, their lives will be better? Why aren’t they happy with what they got? I mean, they’re set. They’re good. What's another car when you've already got five?
My dad and I were talking about it over lunch the other day. He said he’d listened to a radio show the night before where the guys were talking about how, for some players, money = respect, i.e., the more you pay me, the more you respect me.
I guess I understand that. A lot of those dudes might’ve not had too much growing up, and so, for them, mo’ money = mo’ respect. It means that they’ve graduated from their meager beginnings. It means that they’ve “made something of themselves.”
Here’s what I’m saying: mo’ money = mo’ problems. And that principle applies to lots of things. The more you want something, and the more you get it, the more it owns you. It consumes your thoughts and it becomes just another thing for you to waste your time thinking and worrying about.
Obviously, money is not an inherent evil. And a lot of dudes in the NFL are using their money to start foundations and charities and help others. That’s awesome. I totally support that.
But if you’re leaving a team just for more money, just so that you feel more respected, just to make yourself feel a little better about yourself… don’t. It may make you feel better for the short term, but it won’t pay off in the long term.