$500 Million Offers
The pursuit of money shouldn't be everything in life. It is a sure way to lose.
Jon Rahm has made $57 million in his career as a golfer on the PGA tour. He made eight figures just in 2023 alone. Most of us would probably think he is set for life, he doesn’t really need to chase more money. Back in June 2022, he even agreed publicly with that belief.
“I want to play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years. . . Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. So I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons.”
This reigned true until LIV Golf came calling. Everyone has a price.
LIV Golf has created quite the contention in the golf world. It began in 2022 and is financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It rivals the PGA tour and is flush with cash having been able to pull big names such as Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and now Jon Rahm. But to simply say the tour is flush with cash is probably a massive understatement. It dwarfs the PGA tour in what it pays to players. LIV came to Jon Rahm with what is rumored to be a $500-$600 million offer, with $302 million upfront. He couldn’t resist and was set to be the highest-paid athlete in the 2023 calendar year by far. More than Messi, more than Ronaldo, and more than LeBron James.
It is easy to say “X” amount of money will keep you happy for the rest of your life but when a big offer comes calling it is hard to resist the temptation. It is human nature. We always desire more. Money talks and Rahm kept it real and indicated that it was part of the reason he made the switch. It turns out it was for money. This is not meant to dunk on Jon Rahm either. So many people do it.
Ironically, we ask people how much money they would need to be happy. Studies show that the incremental happiness derived from monetary gain no longer increases after a certain point but that doesn’t stop us. We all have that “number” or salary where we don’t think we would need any more money. Except, when more money comes calling on the other end, it is incredibly hard to reject that call despite knowing it is not going to do anything to our happiness. It might affect our lifestyle but at a certain point, it is all for optics.
Fast forward a few weeks, Jon Rahm is now a $500 million man and is playing on the LIV golf tour. He has shown frustration on the tour getting caught with a hot mic multiple times and even showed some displeasure with fans. Not to mention, he already mentioned missing some of the PGA tour events as once you join LIV Golf you are banned from PGA tour events,
"If there's ever a way back and a way where we can play, even if it's as an invite, I will take it. There's certain events that are special to me that I would still love to support, it was a lot harder to be at home not competing and know that those events were going on."
Not exactly a great omen when you are already regretting parts of your decision on only your second event since joining a rival tour. Money in fact doesn’t buy happiness, even millions and millions of dollars. It is not that the more money we have, the happier we will be because you will never get enough of it if your happiness is tied to it.
At a certain point, the incrementality of money to our happiness just stalls and falls off a cliff. Everyone knows this. This doesn’t change people from still being part of the race. Everyone still wants to be a part of the rat race and thinks it is wrong if you don’t want to get caught up in it yourself. This is especially true with athletes and it is seen in the public eye. Athletes are held to a public standard that they must always enjoy the game they play. The game must be everything for them.
But some individuals, athletes included, have been part of the “rat race” just to realize they derived more joy in things outside of their pursuit. This is not to say financial stability isn’t important but if people only see value in personal achievements, they can miss out on the joys of being there for their loved ones and building community. I think there is more to life than just chasing the next mountain to climb or chasing that next check.
Nikola Jokic is probably the best basketball player currently on the planet. He led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA championship last year and in his postgame interview he said,
“The job is done, we can go home now.”
Except, Jokic didn’t realize the festivities that were to occur after winning a championship, a championship parade in your city. Jokic wasn’t particularly enthused and when he was asked if he was excited about the parade he said,
”No, I need to go home.”
People were not pleased with Jokic’s comments saying Jokic didn’t love the game of basketball. They questioned if he really played for the right reasons. Except maybe, just maybe, there's more to life than your job and chasing the next check. Imagine if we did this to a person who was not in the public light. It is almost a sad reality that it is normal for people to hate their job. We would never get mad at a friend for hating their job. We would encourage them to pursue other passions, switch careers, or try different projects.
The only difference here is athletes are put on a pedestal because they are in the .01% of athletic ability. They are famous. They are one of few and they are who we idolize. When athletes show a human side we can often forget their life isn’t all about their work. You can have your life’s work but your work shouldn’t be your life. There’s an important distinction between your life and work. The second is only part of the first.
The Denver Nuggets started their season on October 19th and it concluded on June 12th. That is eight months of straight work. Imagine trying to work eight months every day with crazy travel and not having any vacation. Yes, professional athletes travel and live luxuriously but it is still work. This is not meant to parade professional athletes either but instead point out they are just like us and perhaps, there is something to be learned here. Jokic was quoted after winning the championship saying,
“We succeeded in our jobs and we won the whole thing. It’s an amazing feeling. But like I said before, it’s not everything in the world. ... There is bunch of things that I like to do. Probably that’s a normal thing. Nobody likes his job, or maybe they do. They’re lying. But it’s a good feeling.”
Jokic has a point in that money, our jobs, etc. is not everything in the world. Sure, I know some people that do like their job and enjoy chasing the money it provides but it is not everything for them.
In a world that continues to grow and innovate, there will always be a shiny avenue that provides more money. However, more money does not equate to a better offer. Just ask Jon Rahm. He had $50 million and that wasn’t even enough. Now despite having $500 million to his name, he still has regrets and still misses the tour and events he left. He still is human. Money doesn’t cure all. It doesn’t wipe all your problems away. True wealth doesn’t lie in the amount of money you have in your bank account and it doesn’t lie in summiting the next peak of the money mountain.
The money mountain can never be summited. It is an exhausting climb that never has an end in sight. We will always want more. There will always be more money left to chase and more peaks to climb. I have found it is important to realize money isn’t everything. It enables what we do in our lives but it should not control how we live our lives and the avenues we pursue. You are the only person alive who has sole custody over how you live. Don’t spend it chasing that next pay raise because no matter how much money you have, you will always want more and will still be a human with normal human problems. The constant desire of always needing more money is dangerous. As Greek philosopher Epicurus said,
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
Appreciate you reading.
-Scantron
Rendon recently made a similar comment that baseball isn't his top priority and got crucified by media and fans for it. I guess the difference between Jokic and Rendon is that one is an NBA champion and the other can't seem to pull it together to play for more than half a season.
Love your attitude on the money mountain, resonates a lot with me.