Incentives are everywhere. Incentive pay can be defined as “a monetary gift provided to an employee or athlete based on performance, which is thought of as one way to entice them to continue or begin to further deliver positive results” (Business Dictionary).
There are many reasons why human beings do certain things. The brain is motivated by many external and internal factors, which leads to the Incentive Theory of Motivation. These growing acts of incentives are now seen as a problem that is escalating, especially in athletic organizations and competitions
Over time dating back to the 1950s, there have been many traces of sports economics in athletics. Incentives were quickly being added to players of value and were an attempt to show that contracts of players should be based on the value of individual performance, rather than anything else (Avgerinou). However, this expansion into sports markets is based upon how much money a player could earn on a team, rather than loving the team they were playing for or enjoying their time whatsoever. Money was ingrained into the mind of athletes as the ultimate prize, and they would do anything they could do in their power to earn more of it.
Think about it. If someone is making a lot of money, why do they want more? Why do they need more? People always want money, and that is something that will never change in the growing world that we live in. Many researchers have compared having high amounts of money to higher levels of happiness, which leads to the thought, can money really buy more happiness? The answer is that yes, it just depends on what the money is being spent on and used towards.
The innocence and morality of sports has been altered forever in sports because of financial incentives placed on athletes. The passion and drive behind playing the game is not the same as it was over fifty years ago many argue. Others argue now that instead of playing for the love of the game, players are driven by money and other rewards. We hear these discussions so many times among the older heads around us. To them, incentives have manipulated the minds of players, and have caused a shift in the direction of sports.
Athletes in the 21st century are prone to accepting larger contracts with financial incentives because sports have also turned into a large business industry. And who’s to say this is wrong? It is now normal to expect the clubs with the bigger budgets will most times lure the best players and increase their chances of challenging and winning titles. Fans tend to be drawn to the league, events or teams that have the best and biggest attractions. These organizations become the best by attracting the best through incentives. Financial incentives are often offered to teams as a whole but are also offered to specific players who are able to complete certain tasks due to their ability which comes at a cost.
In essence, the effects of incentives on the performance of sports administrators and athletes have long been of interest, for quite some time now in the context of this study, incentives are something that motivates an individual to perform an action. The level and amount of effort in a person will either increase or decrease on the basis of the quality of incentives offered to the person (Kundu&Tutoo,
2002).
In line with this view, Eboh (1992) noted that incentives are essential gadgets or the totality of the factors which should assist sportsmen and women to whichever their goals. In the same vein, Orlick (1981), incentives motivate, energies and spur one to action and at the same time, it is capable of sustaining high-performance level, because it is contained in the process of obtaining one’s optimum goals.
However, incentives, both monetary and non-monetary may have invariably influenced the performance behaviours of athletes and sports administrators. Obviously, not all incentives are created equal and the rewards that you find motivating might not be enough to inspire another person to take action.
Monetary rewards are used to motivate human behaviours in a number of ways.
In the athletic context, players are often enticed to improve their performance to obtain higher salaries, bonuses or tournament rewards.
Monetary incentives are used by employers to attract, retain as well as compensate the best workforce for a job well done (Milton, 2013).
The conclusions in several research studies show that improper incentives (Traveling allowance, Daily allowance, refreshment, Cash bonuses or prizes, accommodation facilities, Proper treatment, Scholarships) affect the performance and motivation level of the athletes as well. There are many benefits of incentives in the workplace as well including Increasing productivity; Creating a culture of high performance; Retaining top performers; Motivating staff to exceed their goals and Improving company morale. There are the pros as well as the cons with the latter including the possibility of encouraging deception; misaligned Incentives and can lead to conflict.
Sports Editor's note:
Shaun Fuentes is the head of TTFA Media. He was a FIFA Media Officer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. The views expressed are solely his and not a representation of any organisation. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com