Leverage.
If there is anything that you take from these basketball overseas post series, let it be this…
Today, many ballers are happily accepting lower offers than their worth, now this may be out of desperation, choice etc. But as long as this is the case, the situation won’t really improve in terms of how easy it will be for players to get into basketball overseas .
If you’ve read the previous posts, you would have remembered me saying that there are more players than jobs out there.
Even if each country’s economic status was put aside this can still put a strain on getting a job – let’s put it into perspective.
Example: If a 1000 euro player a month accepts a 500 euro job, what happens to the 500 euro player? Two things could happen that player could end up with a 250 euro role or what’s more likely in my opinion, is to struggle to get a job at all.
Basketball is a very strategic sport but a business first! As far as player signings go it’s all about getting one up on the opponent or bringing in revenue (the catch – both of these roads technically lead to revenue). This is why it is no surprise that the teams with more money consistently do better than those without.
Think about it this way, when you can get a 1000 euro (worth) player to do the 500 euro job above and beyond, why would you bother getting a 500 worth? It’s very similar to using a coupon and still playing full price – there’s no point.
It’s almost safe to assume that the decision makers will think similarly if presented such a situation and thus the low-balling begins in terms what they are offering.
This low-balling and high criteria is exactly what I call LEVERAGE – using power to control the market.
You probably won’t believe me – I wouldn’t have either, until I researched lower division teams on Eurobasket.com and saw where their imports are coming from… In comparison to where their imports came from in previous seasons…
This will be doubly advantageous if other teams in the same league haven’t got as much money, they wouldn’t be able to compete (on paper). In lower divisions especially, it’s rare that a top paying team will be challenged on personnel alone throughout the season and increase chances of promotion – and you guessed it… Profit for the organisation!
Next: Foreigners Are Improving, Find Out What This Means
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