How Athletes Wealth and Organizations Greed Influence Bad Decisions

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ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE: People (usually) respond to incentives in predictable ways

THESIS:  It is predictable that as the professional athlete’s income increases, there will be an increase in bad decisions made by them.

SYNTHESIS PARAGRAPH:   

Why are these athletes making these bad decisions? From my research, I have learned that they are making bad decisions due to a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons are a lack of knowledge, immaturity, and thinking they can do whatever they want because of their skill.  Knowledge and immaturity go hand-in-hand, many athletes leave college early to go pro, however, many of them are uneducated and do not know how to handle their financials or handle themselves on and off the field. The formula that I came up with for athletes in today’s day and age is that it is predictable that as the professional athlete’s income increases, there will be an increase in bad decisions made by them. Throughout the past decade, we have seen more and more athletes making bad decisions both on and off of the field.  Some athletes make one mistake and move on and learn from it, but a lot of  other professional, collegiate, and high school athletes, like Johnny Manziel, repeatedly beat the system with their athletic ability on the field.  No one should have the right to get away with breaking the law or rules of the game, so why are these organizations like the NFL and NBA seemingly let their ‘all-star’ athletes off the hook? The answer is they can’t afford not to let these athletes off the hook, and the athletes realize that and take advantage of it.  The NFL and NBA are multi-billion dollar industries and if they don’t let a team’s best player play, chances are the fans won’t show up and spend their money because they will lose all hope. If you look at the attendance rates of fans when LeBron James is playing versus when he takes a rest, the attendance is noticeably lower. Dick Vitale, a college basketball analyst, agrees that athletes receive ‘get out of jail free cards.’ In his article titled, “Young Athletes Making Poor Decisions” he states, “ When you have talent, you get chance after chance. I wish that some of these kids would realize what they are doing, how they are hurting their families, coaches and friends.” Dick Vitale is very upset in what athletes this sports industry is producing. These athletes have no costs to their actions because of their wealth and athletic ability. They are able to easily pay whatever fine comes their way, or the organizations won’t do anything because they are great at their sport. In an article from a local newspaper call Savanah Now, written by Roy Hadley titled “Athletes and Bad Decisions” states, “We have seen it again and again - bad decisions have bad consequences and athletes, sooner or later, have to realize that they are ultimately held to the same rules and standards as everyone else.” Roy Hadley agrees with me and Dick Vitale that athletes should learn to make better decisions and be held to the same rules as the rest of us. Overall as athletes wealth and the organization's wealth grow, there is more likelihood that the athletes will make poor decisions on or off the field.