Hobbs: It's All About The Money
Philadelphia Inquirer Sports Columnist Bob Ford writes about the Eagles, the Phillies, the Sixers and the Flyers.
Hobbs: It's All About The Money
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Is the day gone, or did it ever exist, when professional players were willing to take less money -- even if "less" money is a pretty good living -- to stay with an organization where the likelihood of winning is better than whatever options are out there?
The New England Patriots traded cornerback Ellis Hobbs to the Eagles on Day 2 of the draft for a pair of fifth-round picks, apparently because the team and the cornerback weren't going to come to an agreement about a contract extension. That's a two-way street, of course. The Pats made their decision and Hobbs made his, and was honest about it.
If there is any team that, over the last decade, might expect that players would be willing to stay put for a few dollars less, it is the Patriots. Doesn't work that way any more, though, as Hobbs told the Boston Herald.
"There are a lot of ones that are coming up that are going to need to be paid," Hobbs said. "...There is a lot of guys out there who are not going to take the (lesser) dollar for the win. Guys really want to get what they deserve and each one of those guys that are coming up in the next year or so deserve every dollar they are going to get."
We tend to look through the wrong end of the binoculars here in Philadelphia occasionally, believing that the Eagles' way of doing business is unique. They sign good players to contracts that give them security when they are young and then don't see any need to redo those deals when the players outplay the contracts.
As Joe Banner explained last week, Sheldon Brown was happy to take the money when it was offered, getting financial security for life, and the back end of the bargain is that his signature is still on that piece of paper.
The Eagles have been a successful, winning franchise under Andy Reid, and there is every reason to expect that will continue. With the right luck, they could be Super Bowl champions before the reign of Donovan McBlog comes to an end.
That doesn't keep the players from moving on if they can get a better deal, however, something that goes for Brown, Lito Sheppard, and goes for Brian Dawkins, too, for that matter. Same goes in New England.
Hobbs is here and will probably be a productive player, but he's here because New England wasn't willing to give him what he wanted and shipped him out of town before that became a bigger problem.
"At the end of the day, we're all dollar signs," Hobbs told Sporting News Radio.
And, at the end of the day, that is how the players view the teams, too.
Flyers2001 is right when he says it is the fans that are out of control. It is simple economics. If we the fans stopped going to games, stopped watching them on T.V., etc. ticket prices would come down, beer and food prices would come down and players salaries will come down. Will it happen? Probably not. As long as we are willing to pay the prices, then the madness will continue. Brown and Hobbs, et al, are symptomatic of what is wrong with American society today. Read the Lenny Dys. story in S.I. for the exteme case of sports greed....— Danny55- If Hobbs does the job, he will be worth his arrogance. Sort of like Obama isn't it?— KGKoons
- Right on, that's the way of the world these days, from grave diggers to garbage collectors to football stars ... just because he can make millions, good on him ... I hope it can trickle down on us all :-)— petergou
last i check, Asante Samuel was all about the money, but he can back up his money with his play. And i love Asante as a player- Just view the superbowl winning catch by plaxico over hobbs, and then ask him how money is he worth?— Onlineps2beast
Comment removed.- It is all about the money. The money you agreed to when you signed the last contract and took the big payday. Nobody blames the players for that, but you can't have it both ways. Brown has been solid, but not necessarily worthy of a contract extension. Hobbs is playing out his rookiw contract and depending on how he plays this year, he'll cash in.— jonnyb0916
- Owners like the Lurie clan have turned this "game" into a meat market. Can't wait to see what the future holds....start watching hockey people at least those guys spill blood for the game.— Nico Lange
- Football owners are crazy. Don't they know players would play for free just to be on TV.— tmack33
- Salaries are high because the owners are making a lot of money off of them. Owners are making a lot of money because we AGREE to pay $65 a seat, and we gobble up merchandise at inflated prices and we watch the games on TV in droves, boosting ad revenues which, in turn, yields even more money for the owners. The consumer drives it all. Never forget that.
- It's a game to us, but not to them. It's their profession - they SHOULD want to get paid, yo!— Bake McBride
- Comment removed.
- bring back rod hood— occasionalpost
I guess now that the draft is over the writers need to concoct controversy so they have something to write about? Home made job security the way I see it. So what that he said players go for the money. I bet sportswriters do too. I haven't heard Hobbs had asked for anything so why make a story out of nothing? Just stirring the pot to get another story for tomorrow. Waste of time reading this nonsense.— tpizza- How would you react to a co-worker who said "I'm all about the money. Either I get a big raise or I'm out of here. I could care less about this company or anyone else who works here. And if I go somewhere else and get a better offer, I'm gone."? Tactless, unprofessional, immature, poor team player. Pretty much all the things you don't want in a co-worker. And when a player threatens to undermine the team to get out of a contract? That's at the fans who pay their salaries. As far as the owners go, they put up the cash to buy the team, assumed the risk, and negotiated the TV deal that made all that money available. Ticket prices are market driven. Supply and demand. I won't pay $65 for a ticket but enough people will and that's their choice. They can do whatever they want with their money.— MikeP
