CHICAGO -- While engaging in some talk during the dog days of the coronavirus, Roger Pogoy asked me if the lucrative Japan B.League salaries he'd been hearing were true.
Not only did I reply in the affirmative, I told the Cebuano guard that he had the goods to play overseas and that several teams were actually drooling at the possibility of acquiring his services.
Fast forward two years later, I saw a glimpse of the Japan offer that was tendered to Roger as he contract is set to expire at the end of this year.
It would pay him P1.2 million a month in his rookie season. Assuming he performs to his potential, he would then get a three-year extension that would pay P1.3 million, P1.4 million and P1.5 million a month, respectively.
This past Monday, Roger walked away from that pile of dollars and chose to re-sign a three-year deal with Talk N' Text instead.
MAX DEAL, PLUS PLUS FOR ROGER POGOY.
His new contract, multiple sources told me, is worth the league allowed P420,000 a month salary. There are no so-called "under-the-table" perks, which infer a negative connotation.
What Roger will generate in extra pay instead, I am told, are "performance-related incentives that could reach up to P320,000 a month plus another reported P50,000 monthly for living allowance.
Since I'm no math wizard, I'll let you figure out exactly how much the 6-foot-2, 180-pound sweet-shooter missed out.
His agent, Edgar Mangahas, who earns five percent worth in agent fees, also took a financial hit.
Well, it's just money.
There are more important things in life.
One of those is loyalty, Roger told me. And the happiness of playing for the only team he's ever been with since he turned pro in 2016.
GOOD VIBES
"Mabait sila (Tropang Giga) sa akin," Roger said. Also, he really likes interim head coach and team manager Jojo Lastimosa as well as coach-on-leave Chot Reyes and team governor Al Panlilio.
While the Japan B League does provide bigger pay, the relationships built there are transactional. At TNT, Roger believes the relationship is familial, destined to last beyond his playing years.
Although his bank account would have instantly become stouter, Mangahas, who also represents recently signed Ray Nambatac and Mac Belo, never attempted to sway Roger to go to The Land of the Rising Sun.
"At the end of the day, I let the player decide kung saan sila gusto. Ang trabaho namin bilang agent is to present to the player the offers and the rest is up to them na," Mangahas told me in a telephone interview.
While Roger's decision to stay is endearing, it shouldn't be an indictment on the greed of those who choose to go overseas.
Every player's circumstance is different, unique in their own way. And money definitely is not the heaviest thing that tips the scale.
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