The Sport Contracts dilemma

It is correct that I have been blessed not having multi million dollar contracts in my life. So this doesn’t make me an expert on sports management, but what the hey, still going to throw out my two cents anyway.

This must be a real headache for both players and management trying to figure out what is the worth of a player in the third and fourth year when they go to sign a new contract. And with the possible jump in salary cap in basketball next year where does that leave a player signing a new contract this year. This applies to the NBA so I will use their example to make my points that might also be applicable to other sports.

I started thinking about this after reading an article (about the 30th this year) saying Monta Ellis is probably going to opt out of his contract for the upcoming year and try free agency. Of course some of the commentary was about whether or not he is selfish, moody etc… and that affected his play this past year.

And the other scenario that drove some of my thoughts is the play of Matthew Dellavedova for the Cavaliers in the current NBA finals.
The current way contracts are developed leave out opportunities to reward or encourage play going forward. Matthew is doing well right now, so why not have in place the mechanism to reward someone virtually on the spot or at least have the equivalent of a Christmas bonus at the end of the season to reward him for the role he has stepped into in the finals. Many people will say and GMs included will say he has his contract we are already paying him to play. And in most ways they have a valid argument.
The other side is someone like Monta. He watches someone younger get paid twice as much as himself without having proven himself to the team like Monta did the year before. And yes I know all players know there is the reality that young new stars are going to be given major contracts based on the potential factor. And they are suppose to step up and play well based on their current contract. And I think they should, but I also think they should have the opportunity to be compensated if they continue to improve as the contract goes on.
The details will need some serious work to make this a viable plan, but there should be something in place to help teams work with their players that doesn’t have to include being in the standard salary cap.
My suggestions are something akin to a year end bonus. Or contracts that stay within the cap, but can be altered at the end of the year based on metrics etc. And sometimes metrics aren’t the whole story, such as the hustle plays Dellavedova was making in the first three games of the finals.
The complications could be: are you offending some players if not all players get a year end bonus, how do you measure the actual payout (percent of salary or fixed amount or something else), how does the league control teams just going haywire because they can, and I am sure there are other situations I cannot think of right now.

The positives are if someone like Monta continues to grow with his current contract a team may be able to hold onto him for his final year instead him of opting out if he sees the team recognizing what he is contributing. His motivation to do well is still there even though a younger player gets a better contract. Or someone who has a great year, but historically hasn’t always done well. He gets paid for his great year and the team can still keep a reasonable contract on him till he shows some consistency year over year. If he does, they can continue to bonus him.
And finally with all the talk about the cap jumping up significantly next year how do you sign star players this year. This is a dilemma for both the players and team management. Players that sign this year may want to renegotiate next year because there is such a huge jump in the cap. Or management may have to only be able to offer shorter contracts because a max player wants to be on the market again next year. How can you build team continuity if you have to renegotiate year after year with the same players or with the Mavericks case over half your team is free agents each year? ( I have another beef with Maverick drafting that I will save for another day)

If players are allowed to negotiate good contracts for themselves, but know on the back end if they grow with the team it could be even more lucrative; then teams get a better product because now they have the continuity they need so the coaches can develop long term plans and strategies for the team and what types of offenses and defenses they can employ successfully.
If teams do not like how players are performing they can send a message by not rewarding anything extra. The player still gets the contract money so they should have no complaint. Human nature says they will, but with many making millions quite frankly the fans wouldn’t be too upset and it allows teams to focus on the players that want to play for them or just want to play.

I know this is a rough idea and probably been discussed before by someone somewhere. I think though it is worth discussing more. As a fan it is hard to watch someone not play well making millions in some cases when there are so many role players busting their back end for far less money. They may not be star caliber, but their efforts are so important to the team and to supporting the stars in what they do. Somehow someway this needs to be addressed without affecting/reducing the current cap situation. Teams are still held accountable to managing their team and hopefully maintaining some parity, but not held hostage when they have players that went way above and beyond.