Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Lucrative Pro Sport Contracts, Motivation Issues, and Failed Return on Investment

Lucrative Pro Sport Contracts, Motivation Issues, and Failed Return on Investment

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Jul 09, 2013

No Comments

albert-pujols-2

Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton are two of the wealthiest players in Major League Baseball today, but their current statistics hardly back up their monster contracts.  In each case massive, long-term contracts were offered based on previous All-Star level performances, yet both Pujols and Hamilton have put up rather pedestrian numbers since receiving their pay.  Alex Rodriguez had earned the most lucrative contract in baseball (twice actually), yet few people today see him earning his keep with the years remaining on his current deal.  Sport psychologists want to know where’s the mental toughness after cashing in on big paydays?

Pay, motivation, & performance examined

The issue of pay, motivation, and performance is, of course, much bigger than Pujols, Hamilton, and ARod, as we see professional sport GM’s regularly offer outlandish contracts to players who sometimes fail to live up to anything close to what was expected.  Outside of the NFL, professional contracts are guaranteed, meaning once a player signs his deal he is assured of getting his money — even if his numbers stink.  This issue of pay and performance might not seem like a big deal to you, but when teams invest upwards of $200 million in a player only to see him put up average numbers afterward (i.e. Josh Hamilton this year), it becomes a very big deal to the GM’s left looking foolish for spending such huge amounts of money yet receiving little in return for the investment.

When GM’s invest in a player there are many variables impacting the decision, including the current market, the team’s needs, the other players available at the time, and the “hype” of emotion related to “what if he has 10 more years in him” when thinking about the player’s monster stats to date (as was the case with Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez).  The problem, however, has little to do with those variables and everything to do with one big variable: guaranteed money.  In other words, without incentive to produce player motivation decreases, focus widens, and resiliency softens.  The result?  Players putting up average numbers after being previously seen as the best in the game.

Learning theory applied to sports

B.F. Skinner, the famous behaviorist psychologist, once said that everything we do in life is to either gain pleasure or avoid pain.  Drilling deeper, Operant Learning theory is based on schedules of reinforcement, suggesting that we often work harder when we receive positive reinforcement for our efforts.  In pro sports, however, all the “payout,” or reinforcement, is top-end loaded, meaning there is literally nothing to prompt a player to work hard and put up numbers beyond personal pride.  Contrast that with sports where the winner earns a bigger prize for athletic success and you will see a markedly different level of motivation and effort, and subsequently performance.

While we do occasionally still see a player continue to put up big numbers after getting paid, the reality is that most people will take their foot off the accelerator once they are guaranteed to be taken care of for the future.  This decreasing level of effort is not something players are proud of, and in many cases they can’t even explain it if they tried — what I mean is that the decrease in motivation is often so subtle that it goes unnoticed.  For example, it’s the extra half mile of running the player doesn’t do, or the last set in the weight room that gets put off.  It might mean casually taking a day of (where the player wouldn’t have before the big contract), or taking a little longer to come back from an injury.  These little things might not seem like a big deal taken individually, but if you are one of the world’s greatest athletes and start to cut corners it almost always catches up to you.

Aside from motivation issues, big contract players are left to hear about “earning their keep” from every fan, tv/radio show, and chat room on the internet.  While all of these rumblings are irrelevant to a player’s on-field success, players are human and many get caught up in the whispers, causing them more fear and insecurity.  As these negative feelings creep in, performance goes down, often causing an otherwise great player to seem quite average.

The conclusion to all of this?  Long-term lucrative contracts rarely work out, but I’m sure we will continue to see them in the future nonetheless.  Supply and demand will always drive prices, and in pro sports a really good athlete (based on previous performances) can often cash in big time for the future if the timing (and climate) is right.

www.drstankovich.com

Take your game to the next level with our high performance products only at AHPS!

 

arod, contract, hamilton, motivation, performance, professional, psychology, pujols, rodriguez, sports

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • September 20, 2023 Rather than Focus on Youth Sport Results, Try Embracing the Power of Play
  • September 18, 2023 Labels Matter: Mental Illness, or Mental Health?
  • September 12, 2023 Youth Athletes are Experiencing Serious Injuries & Mental Health Concerns
  • September 6, 2023 Increasingly More Student Athletes Make it to College — Then Quit
  • August 30, 2023 Enough is Enough: Addressing Adult Violence in Youth Sports

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

So You Want to Be Your Kid’s Youth Sports Coach? Tune in for Some Quick Tips

NEXT POST

Scholarship Athletes & Coach Accountability and Culpability

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , College , Mental Toughness , Performance Enhancement , Pro , Pro and College Sports , Sport Psychology , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Performance Science , Uncategorized

Tags

arod, contract, hamilton, motivation, performance, professional, psychology, pujols, rodriguez, sports

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Rather than Focus on Youth Sport Results, Try Embracing the Power of Play
  • Labels Matter: Mental Illness, or Mental Health?
  • Youth Athletes are Experiencing Serious Injuries & Mental Health Concerns
  • Increasingly More Student Athletes Make it to College -- Then Quit
  • Enough is Enough: Addressing Adult Violence in Youth Sports
  • Learn What it Takes for Kids to Make it Far in Sports
  • The Physical & Mental Price of Pushing Kids too Hard in Youth Sports
  • "Embrace Debate" Yelling & Screaming is Replacing Traditional American Sport Journalism
  • When You Should (and Shouldn't) Make Your Kids Do Things
  • Parents Can Help Kids Improve Mental Health by Minimizing Enabling
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1207 Grandview Ave., Suite #218, Columbus, OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482

    Media & General Inquiries

    information@drstankovich.com

    Sales & Product Support

    sales@drstankovich.com

  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2023 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓