ON DECK: Athletes following the big bucks
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke raised some eyebrows when he said that if the last-place team offered him $200 million and the first-place team offered him $10 million, he'd sign with the last-place team.
And I absolutely agree with him.
This comes down to one of the biggest hypocrisies in sports. If a player chases the best payday instead of wanting to sign with the team capable of winning, he's playing for the wrong reasons. But when an organization trades or releases a player who has given his heart and soul to the team — not to mention many times forcing them into the decision of being away from their families or making their children move and leave their friends and classmates — you always hear the same thing: It's a business.
So if it's a business when the organizations treat the players like stock, it should be a business when the player decides to pick where to sign. He's got a family and a small window to make a lifetime worth of money.
If the last-place team offers me $200 million, I ask, “Where do I sign?”





