Money Players

Money Players is all about being the best resource for the business of being a professional athlete. Here are some links from around the web that we think are must reads for any current or aspiring professional athlete and their families.

• Lester Munson with a great tribute to the late Gene Upshaw. Munson gives a very thorough breakdown of how Upshaw fought for and gained free agency rights for NFL players. You have to wonder what benefits NFL players would have today without the work of Gene Upshaw.
   
• On Ball Don’t Lie, . With more and more professional athletes starting their own blogs, one has to wonder if blogs help or hurt them. Some might say that Gilbert Arenas has both hurt and helped himself a ton with his NBA.com blog.
  
  
• More on Jameer Nelson’s “Building Magic” team building event. We have no idea if this will translate to wins, but this definitely shows that Jameer Nelson is a leader, through and through.
  
  
• According to bankruptcy papers, Michael Vick is losing $12K per month. Michael is going through tough times now, but he’ll have a chance to rebuild his life in the near future. Hopefully he’ll come out and be willing teach young up and coming athletes about the mistakes he has made, so that they won’t make the same mistakes in the future.
  
  
• According to NCAA President, Myles Brand, "NCAA amateurism regulations preclude individuals from receiving cash or the equivalent thereof (e.g. trust fund), as an award for participation in competition at any time, even if such an award is permitted under the rules governing an amateur non-collegiate event in which the individual participates."  The NCAA has dug its heels in on the amateur issue and shows no signs of relenting. Interestingly, the International Olympic Committee, which for many decades insisted that the amateurism was a core belief, dramatically relaxed its amateur rules. In 1974, the word "amateurism" was removed from the Olympic Charter, which eventually paved the way for the participation of athletes who received compensation, either through playing or endorsements. Regulating amateur athletes in a marketplace that places a high value on elite student-athletes is becoming increasingly difficult. The NCAA is in a tough situation. What do you think the NCAA and its membership should do? 
  
  
• Speaking of Brand, the Indianapolis Star gives us a report on Dr. Brand’s NCAA salary.  With an annual salary of $971,000, the NCAA President makes more than every public university president in the country. But he also makes less than ever major sports commissioner in the country. His job has similar requirements to both of those groups, so his salary being in between the two might be right on point.
  
  
• Brand was also in the Huffington Post this past week talking about the topic of pay for play in college sports.  In response, Brian Grummell of AOL’s Fanhouse gives us his take on the topic.  The comments section on Brand’s Huffington piece are also worth taking a close look at.
  
  
• The New York Times investigates if endorsement opportunities disappear for Olympic athletes that are injured before they have a chance to perform.
  
  
• Speaking of the Olympics, CNBC’s Darren Rovell has been doing an excellent job of covering the business side of the Olympics. We highly recommend rummaging through his blog archives over the last couple of weeks to soak up all of the information you can. You can start with this post on the most marketable non-team sport athletes following the Olympics.
  
  
• Check back Thursday for another set of must read Money Players Links.

-Nate Jones

For more in-depth information on the business of being a professional athlete, purchase , written by our own Marc Isenberg.