Almighty dollar starting to dominate sports

“Moneyball.”
That 2011 Brad Pitt Hollywood hit about a Major League baseball team has sadly become the real world name of the game in today’s sports world. Whatever your sport of choice, the almighty dollar is having an impact inside the lines, breaking records and making headlines as much or more so than athletes on the fields of competition.
Three headlines this past week grabbed my attention, and not in a good way. 
First there was Shohei Ohtani, the California Angels superstar described by some as the most unique player in baseball history. Why? Because he can pitch as well as he can hit, which in the big leagues makes him freakishly talented, and fun to watch. I’ve seen just enough highlights to know that this guy plays the game with passion and incredible raw talent, though even that didn’t earn the Angels a single playoff win in his American League stint.
Ohtani is taking his talents a few miles north to the LA Dodgers next spring, but the size of his contract hit me like a foul ball to the facemask. The two-way star will make a staggering $700 million over the next 10 years for the Dodgers, breaking the previous record by $250 million. That’s guaranteed bling, for one single baseball player, regardless of how well he performs on the diamond over the next decade. The fact that a team was willing and able to pay that suggests that the economics of the deal must pencil out, somehow, but in my eyes the size of the increase alone looks like a greedy big-market play to buy wins.
My favorite pastime made headlines this week as well when reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm announced he is joining LIV Golf for somewhere north of $300-500 million. 
I love watching this fiery Spaniard play golf and believed him when he repeatedly said that he doesn’t play golf for money, but rather for the love of the game. Rahm insists his departure from the PGA is not about the money, which makes me think he should stick to golf rather than public relations, because that just doesn’t add up.
Why would a golf superstar, already a legend of the game at age 29 who was destined to make more money in the PGA than several future Rahm generations could possibly spend in their lifetimes, risk his name and reputation by taking money from the shady Saudi Public Investment Fund? Because he could, and it’s guaranteed. No pressure to perform, just show up.
Moneyball talk has now weaved its way into the college realm with the introduction of Name Image and Likeness (NIL) contracts. I understand the concept of letting young athletes share some of the benefit of their talents with what has become a lucrative college sports scene, especially football, but it was a safe bet from Day 1 that money would change the game, and it has.
Husker fans were fully engaged this week in the debate of who Coach Rhule and Co. should sign up to help turn the tide at QB. Paying a talented recruit $1-2 million could have landed someone in jail just two years ago, but now it’s just the way things are done. I’ll cheer on the Huskers as much as anyone next fall, but the fact that the formula for success now depends on a school’s ability to pay as much as coaches ability to spot and develop talent makes me long for the old days.
Are you old enough to remember those days, when young guys and girls competed because they loved their sport of choice and played for the name on the front of their jersey instead of the name on the back? The best of the best went on to play professionally, where if they were lucky and stayed healthy for a few years they were set for life with generous contracts that provided for their families but fell short of the GDP of some small countries.
I miss those days.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net