I was watching the NFL Draft yesterday and quickly noticed just how big of a role character played with all of the draft picks. I learned a major lesson and want to share it with you.
Mel Kiper, the NFL Draft guru for ESPN, had players rated on a scale based purely on their physical skills and potential. One guy was described as being "the most talented player in the draft at his position" and a "top 10 pick based on talent," but was not drafted anywhere near where his talent said he should be picked. The guy was still chosen in the first round, but dropped between 10-15 spots because of very credible character concerns.
Here is the kicker, his legitimate character issues (mainly constant marijuana abuse), will likely cost him, based on previous salaries, anywhere from $8-$20 million dollars in signing bonuses and total rookie salary. I told my wife, but it’s true, that dude smoked the world’s most expensive joints!
Another guy, several months ago, was thought to be THE most talented player in the draft and was projected to be a top 3 pick. He was still drafted high, but dropped, in part, because it was discovered that he already has multiple kids by multiple women. Dropping a few spots at the top of the draft cost him millions of dollars!
Bad character will eventually cost you financially, but good character can actually open doors for you and earn you more money than anyone would ever expect.
Case in point, with the criminal scandals of Mike Vick (still breaks my heart), Pacman Jones, and the entire Bengals football team, guys with good character were in MAJOR demand yesterday. So much so, that athletes that were rated as being the 25th-40th most talented players in the draft were routinely taken much higher than that because teams wanted men that would be good examples and leaders for their team and community. For these guys, their good character has paid off in more ways than one.
It is imperative that we stress the real benefits of good character for our kids. It pays, being a scoundrel costs.