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Some sporting events have become super lucrative over the years to the extent of near ridiculousness at the money being thrown around to satisfy the players who have become Icons and World renowned, with a larger than life personas that demands value.

One can easily flash back to the days of pre commercialization where the emphasis was more on glory than the money. Assembling a U.S.A basketball team for the Men these days for any tournament is usually a herculean task marred by withdrawals and NBA super stars opting not to participate. This is because they often see their lucrative NBA careers as much more important than whatever honor any national engagement will bring.

Soccer is one of the other events where the influence of money has been most felt. Money had literally changed the landscape of many leagues round the World with teams like Manchester City and PSG becoming significantly better after they got new financially buoyant owners. The transfer market is especially ridiculous with player valuations these days since some clubs determined it was okay to splash hundreds of millions to sign a single player.

This has rendered some clubs unable to participate in the transfer market and inevitably leads to either bankruptcy or unequal results. Players have become especially expensive to agree personal terms with as it always seems there are clubs who are willing and able to raise an offer that will tempt even the most loyal of players.

It is not abnormal to see sporting teams and entire sporting organizations run into debt over huge wage bills they are obligated. Barcelona football club is a prime example, and they are not alone. This is an increasing trend that will become more evident in the future as player valuations get increasingly out of control due to money thrown around by richer teams.

How then Can we Arrest This?

In other to keep a sport healthy - that is, both interesting and competitive, it must have a certain mix of talents distributed across board such that many teams at least have a share. These days, many leagues are uncompetitive because the talents are heavily concentrated in a single place.

For rich elite teams, they could simply use their financial muscle to lure quality players and even-out the trend. However, for teams who fall into the majority of the rest and possess limited budgets, that financial muscle is unavailable. Teams are faced with the option of either having low ambitions and be feeder for bigger teams, or look for innovative ways to stay relevant and competitive. This is where grassroot talent identification comes in.

Being able to lure a quality player into a team can totally transform the fortunes of a club. This is particularly true in the NBA and the opportunities for less prominent teams to become championship contenders through favorable draft slots.

Identifying talent before they mature means that a club is able to benefit from the rookie years of that player and might have his loyalty into the peak years, saving huge costs otherwise incurable.

Conclusion

Developing a system for spotting potential should be the focus of poorer teams that seek to be competitive. It both pays off in the long run, and can be a potentially lucrative venture to transforming the financial standing of smaller teams.