Worth the Money?

Nick Saban, Picture Courtesy of blacksportsonline.com

What's the most you ever paid for something you really love? Something so good and so great that you can't picture living without. Sometimes as people we get caught up in the idea that some things are worth dying for. We make exceptions and it could cost us everything. Do you ever think about that thing you paid whatever for and realized, it might have been that great of an investment?

Nick Saban is the 4 time national champion (LSU-1, Alabama-3) that is known for his ability to recruit some of the best talents to his SEC power houses. Nick is known as the genius that gave the SEC the forth running with power in conferences across the country. We know that there are different teams in the SEC that are really good, but Saban has been able to create that gap between being good to Legendary. His legacy with Alabama has overlapped any thoughts about him ever coaching LSU.

The question people should ask is, what do people not know about Saban. Nick Saban was a one year player at Kent State, where he learned how to create a team based on defensive intensity with becoming a GA there under his head coach. Saban after struggling with the Miami Dolphins, came back to Alabama and became one of the highest paid coaches in college history.

 Nick Saban would sign for $32 million for 8 years with Alabama, only thing is, that doesn't account for all the extra money that he has earned in incentives. The thing that people don't realize is, we don't know what those incentives really are but he definitely has earned his fair share. It was just reported that an organization of Alabama have been paying some extra bills for Saban. The Crimson Tide Foundation has been able to give out $3.1 millions for his home and paying for the taxes on the home every year.

It is said that the organization is not obligated to do this duty but has done so. So now people ask, is it illegal?... No, is the answer. Based on the NCAA, a coach's compensation is allowed from a university foundation. It's noted that it's normal for universities to own their coaches homes, cars and etc. for their living.

Why can't these funds go to the players? Why does so much have to go to the coach? Isn't Saban's $7 million a year enough? The NCAA is going through a tough time right now, trying to figure out what is acceptable for the players. Money is definitely a topic that will continue to be brought up as long as it involves what these coaches are getting vs. what the players are offered. Don't take away the work Saban has been able to put in, but this is a topic that should be thought about. How much is ENOUGH?

How about Serena!

Serena Williams, Picture Courtesy of WTAFinals.com

Nothing beats winning, but when you can do it over and over and over and over again. You only wonder how dominate are you? Comparisons are always done and people like to have an image like the one we see above, but there has to be a difference when you are talking about somebody that continues to win. Women in sports has always been a topic that people have to try and figure out who's the lady out there that will grab the attention of the world for their respective sport?

Everybody by now, pretty much knows Serena Williams. The 33 year old African American who has taken Tennis by storm. Her career started in 1995 but had troubles up until 1999 trying to get her feet underneath her. She would win matches but find herself losing control when the games got tough. Her young stage of life didn't seem to be the best of her but everybody would realize how great she was in 1997. In 1997, she was able to defeat Mary Pierce, who was ranked #7 in the world. In 1998, she would begin to be a target in the big matches internationally. This would be her international beginning of her brand and ability to draw attention.

Her sister Venus Williams, who is definitely no breeze-over, has been able to grab attention also on a large market. Venus started her career a year before and was able to have success within 3 years with cracking the top 50 in the world. By the end of 1997, Venus would be 22nd in the world. Venus and Serena would go on to face each other many times in their career and do some things with tennis that would change the world.

Up to date... Serena has been and looks to continue to be everything in the world. We can talk about Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Michael Phelps, and a few others in their dominating respects but I don't think we value or understand what Serena brings. Serena not only the face of tennis but she is the face of female athletes.  She has been able to have fans from so many different backgrounds and has grabbed attention with her ability to stay number 1 in the world for so long.

Today was Serena's third title at WTA and she was able to dominate it in a 6-3, 6-0 fashion. Serena was able to earn another $2.04 million today winning against the #4 ranked Simona Halep. She ranks #1 in earnings of all time female athletes in their perspective sports with over $60 million under her belt. She earns around $11 million in endorsements and is the face of Nike Female Tennis. Serena brings an element of notoriety throughout a diverse community. I know a lot of different people will disagree throughout time but you definitely have to check all the different things that Serena has been able to do for female athletes.

Losing Ground (Sports Apparel Brands)

Sports Apparel Stats, Courtesy of Market Watch

Ask yourself something...What do you really know about Germany? Most people only know that the country sits in Europe and barely that. Germany is a location in Europe that has 80 million people strong. This country has a large history that involves some ups and downs but has always been a country that involves the world. This country is the 4th largest amongst economies via nominal GDP and the 5th amongst purchasing power parity. Germany is the 3rd largest importer and exporter of goods but lately, the goods have not shown on the state line.
According to The Economist (http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21625784-german-government-should-invest-money-infrastructure-not-worry-about-balancing-its), Germany is losing ground on the industrial world for production. I'm not sure if they are factoring Adidas, but Adidas is following the trend with the rest of Germany. Yes, the German based large company, Adidas, known for it's ability to penetrate America and draw attention to running and soccer is losing ground and fast.

Adidas has always been known for it's ability to create opportunities for the world internationally but has not been able to impress America lately. In the latest power for power sports brands, Under Armour has taken over the spot of Adidas at number 2. Adidas based on research has been losing ground because of many different factors. Why? you might ask. Adidas being an international experience is something that you can never take away from the brand and that made the brand a success, but it just doesn't work anymore in modern technology. Adidas has not been able to sale shoes in the basketball experience and it didn't make it any better with them sponsoring the World Cup and not getting the refund on the back end.

Nike was able to attack Adidas which helped Under Armour in a large way. Nike was able to have the most players (a large %) wear their product during the time of the world cup. Nike has been able to make their power moves with product innovation, selection and marketing.

These are the 3 things that Adidas seem to be missing out on, which contributes to the decline. As far as the innovation part, Nike has been able to grab technology in their product to set themselves apart from others. They release the highest percent of technology in products with some of the highest products in the world, including their join venture with Apple with Nike+. Selection is a struggle because the people that they have working with their product are mainly German based and everybody knows that, even with the debt of America, the world loves a good old fashion American based invention. Adidas decided to take on Reebok, who has done nothing but lose market shares every year since they came under Adidas. A product cleared by American hands with the support of international ideas can and will always be a good selection. This seems to be a selection that Adidas has stepped back from. The products of Adidas are too slow and have too much of traditional focus, rather than focusing on attracting the modern world. Last but not least, marketing. Nike spends a large majority of their time focusing on getting their players, product and teams, the right marketing at the right time. They don't waste opportunities to strike at a mastermind and Under Armour has been doing the same with the football experience and advanced fitness training.

Adidas seems to have taken their foot off the largest element of the international experience with a sports apparel brand. Adidas definitely has some things that they could use on their side and one of the biggest moves they have made recently was going over some Nike designers and getting them to work for them. Also they ware opening a creative design studio in Brooklyn. The accessibility of the headquarters might not seem like much but with the opportunity being so large in America, there really isn't much that stops Under Amour and Nike from increasing their margin from Adidas if they don't pick up the pace.

Short Season

LeBron James, Picture Courtesy of CBSSports

In 2011-12, the NBA had trouble with keeping the season from going into a big crisis. It seemed as though, the NBAPA was not happy and the owners fell in line with being disappointed also. There was a struggle with trying to get contracts with the CBA on one accord and it took away some of the product that reached what we see today. This crisis seemed to not bother players actually as much as they thought. Why didn't it bother the players as much?... 2 words... Shorter season. Those players that were under contract were already in good status because the new CBA would not affect them in any way. The players that didn't have contracts needed to find out what was going to take place for their future.

Having to make a decision based off of not knowing is always a tough situation. The idea is to get everything needed in your favor, so when the options come around you can make a decision before others make a decision for you. This forced a lot of players to make a move to different borders so that they could earn some income immediately. Players would even negotiate that if things work back out in a timely fashion that they would return to the states to play in the NBA, no matter what the overseas contract stated.

LeBron James has been making a lot of noise lately with the different decisions that he has made and I guess we can't expect anything less from the genius himself. He has found ways to explore different venture and express his concerns with league. "Not sure if anybody is paying attention, but it sounds like he's getting ready for ownership". LeBron has been named the most powerful athlete in the world for the 2013-14 and it looks as though, he's taking that power and using it for some good.

LeBron recently stated that he would like the season to be shorter. How much shorter, you ask? How about a model like the 66 games that were played during the shortened season of "11-12". Now why would LeBron want a shorter season? Product control seems to be the idea of that. The idea is to be able to keep the high elite talent on the floor without damaging the image of the league. You definitely want to be able to give cities the opportunities to see their favorite players but you also want to be able to have quality product. Players lately have been taking off games because of their injuries, personal issues or just because of the fact the coaches want it to get that team ready for the playoffs.

The decision does fall in the hands of the owners and there is no telling what will happen but I'm definitely interested in seeing a product that's as perfect as possible. Nobody wants to continue to watch boring games with back up players in. The league will also be testing out a new theory of a 44 minute game. LeBron states that it's not about the minutes of the game because more minutes provides the opportunity for a game to be interesting but there is not reason to shorten a game. CJ McCullom stated that if they shorten the time, it would take away from the product and hurt the brand. The reason is because the role for the role players would decrease which hurts the time that players would be able to play on the floor.

There is no telling where the NBA game is going, but it seems like everybody has so many ideas, especially with the Silver at the top and the changes of the teams and owners. The players are really interested in making a difference for the better but I guess it's best to just watch them try and work things out.

Brand Recruiting

Coach Pitino (Louisville), Picture Courtesy of Complex.com

 College Basketball is on the rise, and not just because of it's player or the game itself. College Basketball has always been surrounded by money but never like this before. The contracts are getting bigger and seem to be warning labels in many ways. The affect of that label could cost coaches these days and there seems to be a big struggle between different labels because of loyalty.

Imagine you live in NYC and because of that you decide to go to St. John's University just because you are from NYC. Well...It's sort of like that anyway right now, it's just with the different sneaker apparels. Nike, Under Armour and Adidas have college basketball in a headlock, almost literally. These 3 different sneaker apparels are the huge elements that make up a large backbone for college programs, not for just basketball but all sports. That backbone could be the reason that a player might not attend a certain program

The biggest connections are the AAU programs. The AAU programs have so much loyalty and with that loyalty comes value. If a certain AAU program can find that top player, then they might have a leg up on what is provided for the future. Most of the AAU programs that have been elite, have been elite for years. Those programs such as Boo Williams, BABC, Team Final, Baltimore Elite, NJ Playaz, Grassroots Canada have been around ever since I first got involved with grassroots basketball. Now with the additions of programs such as WR1 and King James (just to name a few), the money is become even more reachable.

So now the connection builds because you have AAU programs who get money and apparel from Nike, Adidas and Under Armour. Of course Nike is the biggest of them all controlling well over 50% of the market but there's always going to be a dog fight for players. The dog fight comes because Nike has their universities/colleges that they sponsor and those schools amongst themselves are trying to get the best players they can. Kentucky has been winning the battle with recruiting ever since Calipari came to Lexington. He created a large avenue for Nike to do some things with the program and also help launch players in the NBA draft.

Now that we have everything down to size, here comes Pitino. Legendary Coach Pitino is not happy at all. Pitino was having problems with getting the top players in the country and it made him upset because that's now how it use to be. He realizes that in today's generation, you can't just recruit to recruit, you have to recruit based on factors. The biggest factor seems like the loyal of players to their AAU programs and not their parents. Those AAU programs because they have the elite players, they have the elite contracts with those brands. So now AAU programs because of their contracts with these brands get their players to go to their brand schools.

Pitino's Louisville Cardinals have a $39 million contract with Adidas. He also has his own deal with the brand but he claims that the pot of players he can pick from has shrink. In Pitino realizing that, he now focuses on players based on their values and try to go after players that he knows are not affected by that value system. Pitino suggest that the NCAA should have all control and the apparels should be out of the deal financially for all programs (AAU and NCAA).

What's your Net Worth? (NBA Salary Cap)

LeBron James, Picture Courtesy of blog.sharpie.com

You ever work at a job and feel like you never get you fair share of the pie with the production that you have been giving out? I think this is a large majority of the work America. People tend to put in their hard hours everyday to make sure that a company can expand their revenue. The question people keep asking is, how fair is it when you continue to see your production add a maximizing value to a company and your fair share isn't even close to increasing.

The NBA has been tricky with their revenue because they have been able to compensate for certain areas with pay but also take away different opportunities for players because of their CBA (collective bargaining agreement). The CBA states that no one player can maximize their earnings past 35%. The CBA also states that there are opportunities for full guaranteed contracts. The NBA has not only provided a shift with the CBA but the players for the last 16 years have been trying to find ways of keeping themselves away from lockouts.

Money will always be the big target of focus for the any organization. People want their fair share but the golden idea for most companies are, how can I maximize my profit with having people work without having to give up as much so that I can keep it for myself. Over decades people have found ways around the loops and then ended up in court to do more negotiating because they want rights as laborers. So, the NBA and the players tarnish the game because they are more interested in finding ways to make their worth.

No doubt in my mind have I been blessed to see some of the greatest players off all time in Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal. These guys have all earned their due in the NBA and continued to entertain at the highest level. They have been able to get the right support behind them and earn as much money as they are able to do so. Well....Not actually. Based on a recent study through different sports management programs in the country, players are well underpaid. As the generations continue to flow in, the game of basketball continues to grow globally. As it grows globally, there's more access to funds to help build the brand and keep the net value of a league at an ultimate high.

The LA Clippers have shown that the party will continue to grow as they were just sold for over $2 Billion to owner who was banned for racial comments. If the LA Clippers, who have never won a title but have some of the most electric players in the world are worth that kind of money for a franchise, what kind of money are we talking about for other teams such as the LA Lakers, NY Knicks and Boston Celtics. Time will only tell but there is definitely a rise behind the idea of being able to sale a team for more money than it was worth. The idea that people will earn 300+% profit is very close to happening, especially when franchises only worth 700 million go for 2 Billion.

The NBA just got a new TV contract worth $24 Billion. Sounds crazy, well it is when the pie just got bigger but nobody's really getting a bigger slice except for the owners. I guess Adam Silver and David Stern have been really doing their job and worth every penny of their large amount salary, that reaches a number hire than 80% of the players in what they make per year.

Players should be scared, but I guess LeBron is ready to take a step. He just signed for a short deal with the Cavs and realize how much more money he could get. He's made over $300 million in endorsements but hasn't quite yet reached over $150 million in NBA game money. Michael Jordan is still the highest paid NBA player for one season but was highly underpaid for his career. His numbers were amazing off the court but is it fair to say that the NBA got off cheap only making over $5 million in his career twice, which happen to be 2 largest contract years, well over $30 million.

So now what, the market is much bigger, LeBron is a bigger icon and he's hasn't even begin to reach even close numbers to Michael Jordan. Believe it or not, because the game is more global, LeBron has drawn more attention than any player in the NBA history during his playing career. Think about it...LeBron was able to almost shut down the entire city of Cleveland after he left the team in 2010 by himself, losing an enormous income of over $100 million in a very short span. He did all of this by just saying he was going to Miami.

LeBron could easily without a cap get paid around $40 to $70 million a year. Some analyst have even said that he is worth about $100 million a year to play on the court. Kobe calls out the NBA on the new contract and LeBron and other would definitely like to see the change of the salary cap in the NBA but what's the risk. NBA Owners have already expressed that if done, they will make sure the money is not guaranteed. Only time will tell what will happen but whatever we see in the next few years, I know the players with some brains will find out a way, even when the people who pay the bills will find ways of their own to still win. 

NBA Draft Combine (5 on 5 Play)

NBA Draft Combine, Picture Courtesy of Draftexpress.com

If everything good isn’t always agreed upon, does that make it a bad idea? ... Not necessarily. Lately the NBA Draft Combine hasn’t been a huge success because of the players not focusing their energy on that concept. Agents have been getting their players to think out of the box and figuring out a way that their player/s can shorten the time they spend on the court and find out ways to attract scouts. It seems like it’s been working but in doing that, it seems as though, it has taken a hit on the NBA Draft Combine experience.

The NBA Draft Combine was created so that player could showcase their talents and be individuals but also have some training against some of the best in the same room. With the concept like recruiting, it seemed like the right thing to do. I guess not because now, the NBA Draft Combine lately since 2009 decided that they would implement the concept of NFL Draft Combine. They would get more skill training than anything and see what guys would participate in because it seems as though the top prospects were no longer interested in the formula of 5 on 5 play. 

I guess we can all understand the reason of not wanting to do the 5 on 5 play because, nobody wants to see anybody get injured. Adam Silver has decided to change this whole concept back to the format, somewhat of having 5 on 5 play. Based on attendance, things were not getting better but guys were not being able to be seen in the large spectrum because there was no competition against guys in their talent. Now the NBA Draft Combine is such a focus for the product to improve and the fact it’s on TV, why lose out for the fans to get to see 60 of the top prospects go at it in 5 on 5 competitions at the combine.

In 2012 and 2013, 22 players refused to participate in drills, which hurt the future prospects on the further years because now, they feel their stock won’t be hurt. Last year, 3 of the top 5 draft picks skipped the combine completely while others were just holding off for physical measurements and refused to do anything else. So for the players that will attend the combine and need that extra boost in their stock, prayerfully it’ll be a help in the long run because they’ll have the opportunity to face off against each other.