So, most pro sports contracts come with incentives in them, like bonus money if a running back reaches 1500 yards, stuff like that. I guess this makes some sense in baseball, since baseball is only sort of a team sport, but I just don’t get these kind of incentives in sports like football and basketball. At least, not from the owner’s perspective.
Frankly, if the team you own wins the Super Bowl, the individual stats are irrelevant. Conversely, if you finish 2-14, they’re irrelevant then, too. In fact, one could make an argument that individual stats are almost completely irrelevant to owners. What owners want, and should reward, is winning. Players should be rewarded for individual sacrifices which help the team win, not accumulating personal stats. There’s enough reward in prospects for later contracts that players should be motivated to generate individual stats–what many of them need more motivation for is helping the team win. Block. Dive for loose balls. That kind of thing. Owners should put incentives on winning, because that’s what matters.
So, why don’t they do this? Anyone?