$16 Million per Year is Enough

On October 28, 2012, I wrote a blog about the contract involving the James Harden trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets.  The blog was titled $13 Million per Year is Not Enough?

James Harden - Houston Rockets

In the article, I mentioned what Chris Broussard of ESPN’s The Magazine quoted concerning James Harden’s contract negotiations where the “Thunder offered Harden $55.5 million over four years -- $4.5 million less than the max deal Harden coveted and will get from the Rockets…” 

According to Yahoo Sports.com on October 31, 2012, Harden will receive a guaranteed $16 million a year over 5 years totaling $80 million.  Head coach of the Houston Rockets, Kevin McHale was quoted as saying, “We have him for this year and five more, so six years,''   

Father Figure Coaches Needed on the Sidelines

Father & Son

As many of you already know, father figures are so important in the lives of boys and girls.  Too often in society we see men who father children but decide to walk away from the responsibility of being an actual father.  Men and women constantly love to make love or have one-night relations that produce millions of children every year. 

According to American Pregnancy.org, over 4 million children are born every year.  I wonder what the statistics are for children who have seen their fathers on a consistent basis after 5 years?  The problem is most men give up on seeing the child if they have to fight with the woman they had relations with to produce the child.  We can go through so many different scenarios of why men do not see their children, but the point I am trying to make is this…..these young boys need and want father figures in their lives.

I believe the same holds true for players in pro football.  Yes, you may have heard NFL fans say,

$13 Million per Year is Not Enough?

Currently, America is dealing with an economy that is slowly starting to get back on their feet, due to millions of citizens being out of work.  Politicians in Washington, DC are making economic headlines due to the upcoming presidential election arriving on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.  Both presidential candidates are promising to turn the economy around to give middle and lower class Americans a financial future to believe in.

Professional sports have been a financial blessing to many athletes.  In March of 2011, Business Insider.com reported financial figures stating the top 4 professional sports leagues in America.  The top 4 leagues raked in an estimated $22 billion in 2010 with the NFL receiving $9 billion of the total.

What is interesting to see is some of the financial decisions made based on the contracts.  Let's take a look at one NBA contract in particular.  According to ESPN.com, Chris Broussard of ESPN’s The Magazine was quoted as saying this, “Thunder offered Harden $55.5 million over four years -- $4.5 million less than the max deal Harden coveted and will get from the Rockets…” Most players that have achieved the status James Harden has had over the last few years would have relished at a deal to receive $13.875 million per year for four years. 

I could be wrong, but my translation of that math says the max deal the Thunder could not offer was $4.5 million more over the life of the deal.  Again, if my math is correct, the Rockets are paying Harden $14.975 million per year. That sounds like $14.975 minus $13.875 equaling a difference of $1.1 million more per year.

No matter what anyone says,

Emotional Leaders for the Boys

Every NFL team is not fortunate enough to have a Tom Brady, an Eli and Peyton Manning, a Drew Brees, or an Aaron Rodgers.  One of the greatest NFL leaders of our time and in the conversation of all times is Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.  There are 32 NFL teams, but I only mentioned less than 10 leaders.  That means more than 22 NFL teams are missing leaders on their teams.    

DE # 97 - Jason Hatcher

The Dallas Cowboys happen to be one of the 22 plus teams who do not have an on the field leader.  According to NBC Sports Pro Football Talk.com, Cowboys DE, Jason Hatcher currently in his 7^th season, stated the team is need of a vocal leader.

Dallas Cowboys Need Psychology 101

At dictionary.com, psychology is defined as “the science of the mind or of mental states and processes”.  The mind is a powerful tool that can be easily persuaded.  When I watch the players for the Dallas Cowboys, I see men who are in love with the idea of playing professional football, but guys who cannot commit their focus on developing their minds.  Of the 53 man roster, many players are happy just to wear the star on the helmet.

One of the most popular and valuable franchises in all of professional sports is the Dallas Cowboys, according to Forbes.com.  Owner Jerry Jones has been trying to do everything in his power to win a championship since his Cowboys won Super Bowl 30 in 1995.  For a franchise that has appeared in eight (8) championships since Super Bowls began, the Cowboys have faltered heavily in the last 17 years winning only one playoff game.  Not one Super Bowl, but one playoff game.  8 appearances is an accomplishment of its own and the Cowboys have won 5 of their 8 Super Bowls.  Only 1 other team has appeared in as many and has won the most Super Bowls in history at 6, is the Pittsburgh Steelers.   

3x Champion Troy Aikman

The old cast of Cowboy's champions consisted of names like Roger Staubauch, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith.  Their head coaches were the great Tom Landry, the famous quoted “How ‘bout ‘dem Cowboys” Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.  The current breed of Cowboys carry names like Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Demarcus Ware and Dez Bryant.  I believe the current breed of Cowboys needs to study the old cast of characters to understand the mindset of what it takes to be a champion.

#9-QB Tony Romo bobbles snap

Many television announcers and sports writers feel the Cowboys current members will never be able to assemble enough victories to win a championship.  Maybe they are right, but one thing that needs to be studied is the mental make up of the new brand of Cowboy's players.

The Dallas Cowboys began the 2012 NFL season by beating the reigning champion New York Giants 24-17 in the Giants home stadium on opening night.  The Cowboys were not even favored