Sports And Money | Is Money Ruining Sport?

Sports And Money: Politics and money power are threatening to level the playing field. Whether it’s in the English Premier League or the Indian Premier League, rules and regulations are bent or broken to serve the interests of a select few. Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya recently broke the rules of fair play by being traded for cash alone from the Gujarat Titans to the incredibly successful Mumbai Indians. After leading Gujarat for a few seasons, Pandya almost miraculously returned to the Mumbai Indians camp just hours after being included in the Titans’ retained list. To welcome their wayward son back into the fold, a convoluted financial dance was planned to open up the Mumbai purse. Australian Cameron Green is transferring from Mumbai to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Scroll down to read Sports And Money | Is Money Ruining Sport?

Sports And Money | Is Money Ruining Sport?

Is Money Ruining Sport?

Football is no stranger to large spending, as evidenced by the Saudi takeover of Newcastle, the £2.4 billion purchase of Chelsea, and the suggestion of a Qatari buyout of Manchester United. But football isn’t the only thing at fault. Sports like boxing, UFC, and Formula One are all “guilty” of significant financial outlays.

Venues

Consider the battle between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, which is being promoted as the largest boxing event in history. The argument would come to an end when two Englishmen faced off in a brawl. Ultimately demonstrating who is truly the best. Despite reports that the fight is unlikely to occur,. Everyone is aware that the battle would bring in millions just from ticket sales.

Now, you may assume that the bout would take place in the nations where both Fury and AJ are native English speakers. We do have one of the most recognizable stadiums in the world, after all. 

Based on several interviews, Wembley Stadium does not appear to be among the top five preferred destinations. It seems like money is the only factor involved.

This made us wonder: Is sports being ruined by money?

World cup

The amount of money being poured into elite sports these days is undeniable. Because of the extraordinary numbers, Qatar was able to secure the right to host the World Cup in 2022. It most likely lacked even a few suitable stadiums to host the matches at the time of victory. The World Cup organizers will undoubtedly justify their choice by pointing out that the event will generate a great deal of employment opportunities and benefit the surrounding area, among other reasons. We can’t ignore the reality that they most likely had the largest purse, though.

Player Contracts

We can also discuss the absurdly high pay in professional sports these days, which is officially out of control. NFL player Patrick Mahomes inked a ten-year deal worth up to half a billion dollars in September of 2020. The young man is very talented; the possibilities are endless. Having said that, what happened to playing the game for the love of it?

Please understand that I’m not saying that I wouldn’t take that kind of money to play the game I love, but the way things are heading, most of the sports we know and love will be motivated primarily by money, even though that wasn’t always the case.

Grassroot sports

I love football so much, and I think that’s mostly because I could play it so easily when I was younger. You might join a team for as little as £2 a week in subs. Anyone can play this game, regardless of their socioeconomic standing. But with the amount of doe that is currently being added to the game, could things be going south?

For instance, tuition for tennis and golf may run up to £30.00, giving students an unfair advantage from the start. These activities also appear to be geared toward middle-class and upper-class families, something that should never be the case in sports.

Does money, then, corrupt sports? There’s no denying that these figures will continue to rise over time. All I can hope for is that we don’t lose ourselves in the process and forget why we were initially drawn to sports.

Influence of Money in Sports

These are hard times for a lot of individuals worldwide; a lot of them have lost their jobs, and a lot of others are worried about doing so. More businesses file for bankruptcy every day, and it appears like everyone is waiting for the crisis to finish. All people worldwide, except the sports sector, continue to squander enormous sums of money on agents, TV deals, salaries, and advertising. 

The world of sports is heavily influenced by money. However, by lowering ticket prices and professional player salaries and reducing or eliminating advertisements, we can increase sportsmanship, increase accessibility to sports, and use the money saved to improve the lives of those who are less fortunate than those in the West.

Sportsmen and women are gifted individuals whose abilities greatly exceed those of the average person, and as such, they ought to be compensated. But despite how much the global economy fluctuates, professional incomes only appear to be rising. The highest-paid athlete in 2008, David Beckham, made over 48 million dollars (Freedman), but in the 1970s, TV had less of an impact on sports than it does today. It is evident from Pete Rose’s ability to secure a million-dollar deal annually (Gilis) that wages have increased dramatically in a short amount of time. In 2005, the mean gross income of an American citizen was USD 42,000 (the United States average salary and Income). 

Do sportsmen require forty million to make it? The sums of money that go into a player’s pay do not inspire them to go for excellence. It appears like an increasing number of people are solely participating for financial gain, which destroys the good spirit of rivalry that makes sports so fascinating to watch and, more importantly, to participate in. Above all, it seems absurd how much money is squandered on player transfers—is there someone deserving of more than $100 million? Not only have players and clubs been affected by this trend, but agents representing those players have also seen significant wage increases. According to Mills, there were only 50 or fewer agents in 1967.

$3,900 was his profit from the sale of Owens. The NFL Players Association has certified roughly 1,000 agents as of right now. Agent commissions are now permitted to be 3 percent. He states, “A player receives a $10 million bonus, and the agent receives $300,000.”From Looney’s perspective, professional athletes typically receive almost three times the salary of a high-ranking police officer, doctor, or teacher, indicating where a nation’s priorities lie. What if, in place of this high average compensation, sportsmen were given a considerably smaller annual salary—let’s say $200,000—and were then compensated for exceptional performance? 

This would clearly distinguish good athletes from terrible athletes and encourage more athletes to go above and beyond, knowing they would be rewarded.

Regardless of perspective, supporters are an integral aspect of sports; they exhibit unwavering love for their teams by cheering, yelling, and singing. In short, they embody the spirit of sport. Regrettably, though, the cost of tickets is restricting their support. The national football stadium in the United Kingdom was built at an astounding budget of 1.5 billion pounds (Egan), and to offset these enormous costs, ticket prices have been raised. 

It doesn’t seem fair, though, that ardent fans of those clubs are barred from attending the games because they are unable to pay for tickets. A true fan does not care for the air-conditioned VIP boxes, a location they will probably never visit in their life, thus they will not mind standing in the rain for hours on end to watch a sporting event on a muddy public pitch. Isn’t it the essence of sports—talent and unadulterated passion—rather than wealthy, sophisticated businesspeople courting potential customers who have no interest in the sport?

If someone were to take a moment to observe a professional football or soccer stadium, what they would see is a lot of seats, green grass, and advertisements. Companies appear to be able to get their names on anything. They adorn every player’s shirt, the walls of the stadium, the security personnel, and even the camera. Above all, the largest amount of money is spent on TV commercials. During sports games, General Motors spent $578 million on TV ads (Thomas). Should collegiate athletes receive compensation? Athletes who compete only for the love of the game or to appease their supporters appear to be becoming less and less common.

There won’t be any grand stadiums or multimillion-dollar TV deals if we can get rid of all the sponsors and commercials in the sports sector; instead, there will be a pure, talent-focused atmosphere. Furthermore, the elimination of commercials is likely to result in lower player pay, which will attract more players who are motivated to make history by their accomplishments rather than by signing million-dollar contracts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, player talent is given less credit in sports since it has become too focused on financial gain. By implementing the aforementioned measures, we can guarantee that sports remain competitive, accessible, and enjoyable to watch. Additionally, the money saved will be donated to organizations that help others. While this will undoubtedly hurt the rich countries’ economies, it may be made whole when the charity improves the LEDCs and opens them up to trade, boosting economies throughout the world. If everything is done in this manner, there aren’t many drawbacks.

Also read, List Of National Sports Awards of India