Tanking For Draft Pick Is A Myth

Every year in professional sports, the worst performing teams stir up speculation that they are somehow purposely attempting to lose or "tank" games in order to be in position to have the first pick in the following year's draft which will yield a franchise altering athlete. This year in the NFL, the Jets (2-14) and the Jaguars (1-15) triggered conversation as to whether they were losing games to be in position to select wunderkind Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. This hoary myth deserves to be filed with the other baseless conspiracy theories plaguing this country. Having represented professional athletes for 47 years, this scenario is clearly an impossibility.

The very nature of talented athletes is to be competitive. It runs completely against their ethos and training to lose at anything. A top athlete would try to beat you at tiddlywinks. Their performance in each game is being evaluated for playing time, potential contract negotiations or free agency implications and is put on tape that never goes away. In most sports, athletes are continually competing for the size of future contracts. They may have contracts that have incentive clauses that will accrue more money based on success on the field and reaching certain statistical benchmarks. The concept of an athlete that has a finite playing life, shading his or her performance for the benefit of a future draft pick hasn't been a reality since the " Black Sox" baseball scandal when athletes took bribes. They were paid so little in those days, they needed second jobs.

In taking this theory to the coaching ranks, imagine a coach living in a hypercompetitive bubble during the season advocating for altering a game plan or starting a less competitive player or doing anything to insure a losing result. This runs counter to that coach's competitive and career preservation instincts.

So that leaves a team owner who might care more about the future of a franchise than winning an individual game. Even if he or she had the power and suasion to force the front office, coaching staff, and players to go along with losing, any obvious attempt would bring scrutiny from the press, fellow franchise owners and other leagues. An owner might lose their franchise for such a provable offense.

What distinguishes a competitive sport from a sports such as wrestling is the shared confidence that games are played on an even playing field - same rules, conditions, officials, and athletes competing at the highest level. Any inference that the games might somehow be fixed would destroy a sport and move it to the realm of carnival.

Lastly, no one can precisely prognosticate the future. Lawrence will probably turn out to be a game changer for Jacksonville. It is difficult to make the playoffs and the Super Bowl without a franchise quarterback. If the Jets stick with QB Sam Darnold and trade down to bundle high draft picks, and use them wisely, then Darnold may flourish with a supporting cast and bring happiness to long suffering Jet fans.