Which comes first in professional sports - Passion or Money?

Now a days sports is also a way to make money. So quite naturally it is possible that, the passion towards sports is not there up to compared to money. May be we will be able to find a few people who might take sports as a passion, and we can see those people having both money and fame. But those who running behind money only will end up with no where in their life. Once they might get a chance to show the world that , they were once a good player, but not the greatest, if we turn around to those people who are known to be greatest in the sports field, we will find them, they loved their game not the money.

I'm pretty sure it's the money that comes first. Once players get out of their rookie contracts, their first goal is to secure the biggest, juiciest contract that they can. Hell, some are worried about that BEFORE they even get drafted - some players won't enter the draft if they don't think they'll get picked in the first round.

I think it depend on the sport.Just to give an example, I think that the great majority of football players, play football only for money and often forget that they started this as a game they did with passion... the problem is that football players ( I'm talking about europe, i think it's different in the us ) earn really too much for what they do, they're really overestimated and treated as heroes or stars-- guys, they're only kicking a ball! However, cyclists for example should really be considerated heroes: they earn much less than football players ( most of them, ok maybe not the most successfull, have another job!) and really sacrifice their life, just to train themselves: do you think that these guys would do what they actually do without a strong passion? So, I think it's quite normal that when you reach the top in a sport, you start to look it as a way to earn money, but you shouldn't look it only in that way: never forget how you started, always do it with passion and try to give the right example toward youth!

I really think in sports it is first passion and then later on it turns into the money. I think when they first start out, athletes are wide eyed, in it purely for the love of the game and the love for competition. They are ready to compete to try and be the very best that they can be. Competition is a great thing for sure and these athletes are competitors. As time moves on, age and injuries tend to sit in. Perhaps their love for the sport is not that much what it used to be. Therefore, they are going to take those bigger money deals. It is the nature of the beast. Then they start not being worth what they are paid for. That leads to a lot of high priced, underperforming athletes that really do a disservice to the sport that they are in. Still it is a vicious cycle and one that is not going to be broken any time soon.

you need passion to start doing some sport and if you are good player, the money come to you, and both passion and money become you a better player.

I would say it is the money. I would be hypocrite to say if it passion. Those who are into sports due to passion are still in the provinces or are yet to be discovered. Those who are in the light are into business in this case into sports due to the offer that they receive. Money has become their driving force to succeed in their field.

I think that nowadays a lot do it for the money. There are some footballers for instance who have a big contract and are happy just to sit on the bench and not and get paid. I imagine that once you get to a certain standard of living your motivation and hungry will drop. There are still some players who do it for the love of the game. Players like Craig Bellamy, who instead of staying at City went on loan to Cardiff to play every week. If you look at someone like Tiger Woods then it's hard to see why he still plays golf. It doesn't look like he's enjoying it anymore, But he's got more money than he probably could have imagined he would ever have, so he doesn't need that. So maybe it's just habit thats making him do it.