Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I had previously read books on the subject by other economists, but I had not heard as much about Sheehan's book as his works aren't cited nearly as often. So I was unsure whether it would offer any insight not covered elsewhere, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Sheehan examines the financial numbers in many clever ways that I had not seen before.
Keeping Score takes a much more empirical look at the economics of sports than other books. There is very little economic theory discussed. Unfortunately, because data is not always publicly available, Sheehan is often forced to make estimates. This makes some of his conclusions a little less convincing than they could be. However, perhaps partly because I had done other reading, I do believe that most of Sheehan's conclusions are economically sound.
Sheehan begins by examining the financial health of each of the four major US sports leagues based on available numbers from 1990-1994. He finds that, while there are some franchises in trouble, in general an investment in a pro sports franchise in any sport is significantly better than investing in small company stocks.
Sheehan next discusses the issue of "competitive balance". While other authors have measured competitive balance by calculating the spread of win/loss records and concentration of league championships, Sheehan takes a different approach. He attempts to determine correlation and causation relationships between win/loss percentages, city market size, payrolls, and revenue. His strongest conclusion is that winning increases a team's revenue. Sheehan also discusses league-imposed player restrictions such as the reserve clause and salary caps, concluding that these have little effect on competitive balance but instead greatly increase the owners' profits.
Perhaps the most novel ideas in the book deal with revenue sharing. The typical owner's conflict of winning vs. profits is discussed, including its effect on league competitiveness. Sheehan advocates a two-part proposal to revenue sharing: 1) excess revenues of the most financially successful teams are taxed and redistributed to needy teams, and 2) to prevent the owners of lower-tier teams from simply pocketing their subsidies, a tax is placed on excessive losing, thereby adding financial incentive to attempt to field a winning team. The exact levels of these taxes are explained in great detail.
Keeping Score concludes with a brief look at big-time college football and basketball programs and examines possible financial implications of paying student-athletes. Sheehan finds that while many college programs are quite profitable, the majority of them would not likely be able to pay competitive salaries to student-athletes. His recommendation is that athletic scholarships be tied to graduations rates, thus giving athletic directors and coaches real incentives to see that their students are successful in the classroom as well as on the playing field.
Overall, Keeping Score is a fascinating empirical look at the economics of sports in the early 1990s. Because there is relatively little discussion of economic theory or historical events, this makes it a much easier read than the more comprehensive Pay Dirt, the so-called "bible of sports economics" by Quirk and Fort. Keeping Score often reads more like an essay than a text book. Yet Sheehan arrives at many of the same conclusions that Quirk and Fort do, even though they take somewhat different approaches to get there. I highly recommend both Keeping Score and Pay Dirt, as they complement each other well.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Keeping Score: The Economics of Big-time Sports
No descriptive material is available for this title.
Click here for more information about Keeping Score: The Economics of Big-time Sports
0 comments:
Post a Comment