One of the traps we fall into is when developers compare themselves and their technical value to the company. In most cases, this is the true driver of value. However, those that pays the bills, aren't so much in a position to evaluate technical value. They are there to determine business value. So, when a developer sees that he is hand-holding another developer who gets paid more, they might have to ask themselves if they are bringing business value to the table. Maybe the other individual does a stellar job in other not so technical aspects. Business value has to take into consideration other valuable skillsets such as interpersonal communications, submitting oral or written presentations, etc. I've seen may developers simply code from the design instead of speaking up when they see an obvious design flaw. Those that speak up gets management's attention and will perceive that individual as truly caring about the project. Now, we've all seen instances where that individual might be punished for speaking out, but that is usually because of the way the developer delivered the message. "Bring solutions not problems", is the manager's mantra.

I believe comparing developers to athletes is an interesting exercise. But, I would be curious to see how developers would compete in an open system. I know that if we had such a system in our company, that developers would spend more time focusing on what makes a particular manager happy. That might not be the best focus on the project.