The Sad Truth About Sports Pawns

    The reason I am making this post is because of the recent injury of one of my favorite NFL players, Dj Chark. He is a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars and in his last game against the Bengals he, unfortunately, suffered a terrible injury. The Jaguars ran an Hb Toss and while blocking a corner, his teammates crashed into him landing on his left ankle. This ended up breaking his ankle and he will likely undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season. While injuries are common in sports, the impact of the injury is huge to Charks’ career. 

    This season was actually his contract year, meaning this offseason he will become a free agent. Now most players play their best during contract years because obviously, they want to make the most money they can with their new contracts. Dj Chark was on the right path to getting a big contract with the Jaguars or another team, already having two touchdowns in just three games this season. While he isn’t a Tyreek Hill or Davante Adams-like player, he has been the best wide receiver for the Jaguars the past couple of seasons at just 25 years old. The sad truth now is that Dj Chark will not receive his big contract but instead will likely receive a really cheap contract and there’s even a chance he may not be signed at all. Imagine that, your about to get a huge payout for your hard work and after one injury you’d be lucky to get a minimum contract.

    This is why I titled my post ‘The Sad Truth About Sports Pawns’. The sports industry isn’t just a way for skilled players to make some money, the sports industry is an entertainment business. While I’m sure the Jaguars would never wish an injury on any of their players, the reality from a business standpoint is that the Jaguars Manager is probably excited since they can give Dj Chark a huge pay cut. This is why I label sports players as pawns. They are at the front line taking the most damage and in the grand scheme aren’t seen as most important for the business. I would say the Kings would be the owners, sitting in the back not doing as much, just reaping the benefits since they are the cornerstone of the business. Then I would say the Queens are the Managers of the teams, the powerhouse that has complete control over the business, hiring and firing whoever they please. It’s a sad truth but in the sports industry, players are not seen as human beings but as pawns that can help teams win so the fans are happy and so the team can make revenue of products with their name or likeliness on it. 

     Sorry if that impacted the way you look at sports but again, that’s why I titled my post ‘The Sad Truth’. Hopefully, Chark is able to recover from his injury and suit up again on a decent contract. I realize these players make a lot of money even on minimum contracts, yes, but maybe the huge contracts are the reason the public doesn’t scrutinize the business aspect of sports. Overall I’ll continue to pray for Dj Charks’ recovery and in the future, I will look at players’ injuries in a much different light.