Jay Cutler signed a contract in early January with the Chicago Bears, guaranteeing him around $126 million over the next seven years. Seven years! The quarterback will be in his late 30s when the contract expires, much older than many of his teammates and competitors.
Clearly the Bears want him so badly, despite his lackluster performance this season, that they are willing to pledge this salary for years to come, even with so many unknowns — possible injuries, the promise of new talent and effects of his aging.
Professional sports, with its lengthy contracts and guaranteed pay prior to performance, is a unique industry. And although everyone deserves a few off days, an entire season of poor performance shouldn’t be rewarded with a multi-million dollar check. While the Bears could release Cutler if he were to tank next season or suffer a career-ending injury, he would still pocket about $50 million.
The problem of long-lasting contracts extends to coaches as well. Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was fired at the end of this season, yet he still received his annual salary of $7 million without having to coach a single day of the 2014 season.
The guaranteed salary is so large that athletes do not have to worry financially about being released from a contract. This allows them to work only as hard as they desire, not as hard as they would otherwise need to if they had to worry about pay.
This phenomenon not only exists in football, but it extends to other professional sports, too. There’s nothing more frustrating to us than when Derek Jeter, who gets paid $17 million a year, steps up to the plate and strikes out. Are you kidding me? We could do that, too — for much less money. Maybe if there were a couple thousand dollars riding on whether or not he got on base, he might try a little harder to make sure it happened.
Organized sports come with a pressure to perform, to earn your spot on both the team and in the starting lineup each game. With no guarantee of playing time, athletes must continually prove themselves every time they compete. This mindset not only results in better team play, but in stronger individual performances as well.
It’s probably safe to assume that professional athletes want to do well, but when there are no financial differences between sitting on the bench and scoring five touchdowns in a game, we think there needs to be an extra form of motivation. If the only thing that stood between you and returning to your cushy mansion for the offseason was being cut, there seems to be little incentive for professional athletes to match their performance from the years that earned them these mega-deals. Instead, athletes may just play well enough to guarantee their job for the next season.
We understand the appeal of long-term contracts, which lock in millions for a player and guarantee allegiance for a team. We propose that a lower starting salary and steep bonuses based on performance would achieve the same objectives and improve the quality of the game. Players and coaches alike would have to really work to earn their pay, just like the rest of us.
Perhaps Cutler will earn his keep over the next seven years, justifying the gamble the franchise took signing this contract. An athlete’s success is measured by statistics and team performance, but salary is decided beforehand. If you turn the equation around, athletes will step up their games, which would be exciting to watch and would align with the logic of performing in the real world.
