Is the NFL too Big to Fail?
By The Badger
The Super Bowl is right around the corner. The game is the pinnacle of its sport. It’s not just about a football championship game it’s also about marketing, advertising and sponsorships. Frankly, it’s about big business. Ticket prices are steep, CEO’s mingle with Hollywood celebrities and the parties both before and after the game would make the Great Gatsby envious.
To own an NFL franchise is a capitalist’s dream. While there are certainly great risks to go along with the incredible asking price of a franchise today, the overall financial rewards are significant and have helped some of the current owners become billionaires. Many of the owners as well as the NFL execs in NY are truly great business leaders who have combined an excellent overall marketing strategy with a terrific product resulting in unprecedented appreciation in the value of their teams. Think Apple stock price appreciation over the last 10 years and you will start to get the picture on how the value of an NFL franchise has grown the last decade. I repeat, to own an NFL franchise is a capitalist’s dream.
But is the NFL really a business based on capitalism? Does company (or in this case team) revenue sharing across all competitors sound like capitalism? That’s how the TV contracts work in the NFL. When a company (again in this context team) wants to relocate to improve their economic situation how many capitalistic industries require a majority approval vote across all the competitors to approve the move? Other than perhaps one of the other professional sports leagues I can’t think of any. While I love the teamwork of football and of the NFL, the more I think about it I come back to the thought that there are elements of a monopoly here. Sure, there are 32 individual teams but the case could be made that the league as a whole is certainly not a pure capitalistic industry. Interesting to note too that the NFL can get local municipalities (tax payers) to fund new multi million dollar stadiums. Sound capitalistic to you?
Be clear your author loves professional sports but more importantly is thankful for all the opportunities our great capitalistic society has provided him. I know that the competition that comes from and with capitalism drives innovation, drives consumer value and drives more opportunity for more people. Is the NFL doing all of that? I don’t think so.
The NFL needs to be careful. While it’s the biggest most popular professional sports league in the country it’s got some PR issues. Player safety, player character and affordability for the fan base are all brewing issues. Billionaire owners appear to be overly focused on driving more and more personal wealth in a “clubby” industry insulated from much if any government oversight. In a sluggish economy where most Americans are currently not prospering the NFL would be wise to be mindful that they are not too big to fail.
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