Take for example Matt Geiger of the Philadelphia 76ers. He played his guts out when making a paltry $2 million per year, but once he signed his $80 million deal, he became lazy in his workouts, lackadaisical on the court, and easily succumbed to injury. His motivation was the cash, and once he got it, felt he didn't need to earn it anymore (Marks).
A second motivation for today's star athletes would be championships. The obvious states that every athlete's ultimate goal is to win the championship in his or her respective sport. When kids have backyard fantasies, it is not "Here's Jason Bonavita, stepping up to the plate to sign his million dollar deal- It's more like: "It's the bottom of the ninth, two outs in game 7 of the World Series- You hit the home run and your team wins the championship.
Most individuals have the goal of winning championships, and they are motivated by the thought of being able to stand atop a mythical hill and shout "I am the best!" Generally, your older star athletes are more motivated by championships, where the younger players yearn for fame and fortune. In the case of the University of Florida's high hopes in the 1999 season, they originally were motivated by the National Championship, but eventually ego caused them to fall out of the picture (Korth). .
A player like Mark Messier is motivated by championships, and it has driven him to become one of the great hockey players of our time. He has maintained for his entire career that he is not motivated by money (Krieser and Friedman), as evidenced by his never holding out in a contract dispute. One also can look to that as a sign that he was prepared to compete selflessly in his goal of winning the Stanley Cup, which he and the Rangers did in 1994. (Much to the dismay of this Flyers fan). The joy on Messier's face was evident as he took his victory lap around the rink, holding Lord Stanley's Cup above his head.
