Carl Banks quasi-defends T.O. on Sirius

[jdlea]

Carl Banks made a very good point about Terrell Owens on Sirius Satellite Radio today. I was on my way home from work and he was pointing out that the modern athlete isn't any different from the modern millionare. What do all people with money want? More money! He never said that this was a good thing, but it makes them the same as every other business man.

Let's say you're Ralph Lauren; your Polos sell like crazy. (I should know, it's almost all I where). Polos cost nearly $80 now. So...as they get more and more popular the price goes up. He doesn't sit back like, "Man, I just made a ton of money by selling Polos, I should lower the price." No, no, no. The more they're wanted/needed (in the case of the athlete) the more they're worth.

Another example Donald Trump: His suites cost a ridiculous amount to reserve for a night, after he makes millions every year, do the prices ever come down? No. That's not smart business.

Another interesting point he made was that you don't set a dangerous precedent by renegotiating T.O.'s contract regardless of how many years you are into it. Most people would say "then anyone can hold out." However, TO changes games. He is often the difference in games. You have someone like Trotter who changed your D, but doesn't change the game, so you don't renegotiate him should he hold out. It's not the same thing. You have to take it case by case otherwise you're grouping all of your players together which everyone knows is not the case. If...let's say Tomlinson held out I'm sure more teams would negotiate with him than someone like Randall Godfrey. It's just the way it is.

The last point he made was about athlete's saying that they have to feed their kids. That's no different from any other millionare either. Why do people like Trump or Perry Ellis or Ralph Lauren keep doing what they're doing? Most of them will tell you that they want that much more to leave to their kids. Now, this comparison isn't even close. We're talking about people building empires here. These guys make money for their kids...they probably make close to billions. Football players don't build empires, they don't make billions. They have to get what they can get when they can get it. There will never be another opportunity to do it. Because as soon as an organization thinks you're used up, you're out the door or making significantly less. If you're gonna set your family up (including your kids) for life, you have 10 years to do it. That's it.

I think he made some very good points. I thought that they'd be worth discussing. For the record I agree with most of what he said.