Sports Payrolls

Economics and Sports Payrolls “Labour Markets in Professional Sports” was written by Sherwin Rosen and Allen Sanderson from The Economic Journal, Vol. 111. No. 469 (Feb., 2001), pp. F47-F68. Sherwin Rosen (September 29, 1938 – March 17, 2001) was an American labor economist. He had ties with many American universities and academic institutions including the University of Chicago, the University of Rochester, Stanford University and its Hoover Institute. Rosen was chair of the Economics department at the University of Chicago. Rosen was a pioneer in the study of wages and why they vary. Allen Sanderson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. A graduate of Brigham Young University and the University

This article supports the findings of my main article, however it is easier to read and understand. The author offers a better explanation and has graphs and data tables to provide secondary resources as you read through the article. Zimbalist stated “So as revenues rise, so will salaries” (26). This quote is very similar to what Rosen and Sanderson wrote in their article. Rosen and Sanderson’s article deals more on the economic theories and not the salary distribution to players as does Zimbalist does. When I was looking for a topic to write on I decided to look at if professional athletes are overpaid I had a hard time finding articles on this topic. The Rosen and Sanderson article intrigued me, but after reading, or trying to read, it I have to say it’s not what I was looking for. However, I feel that

My thesis would be “While some may believe professional athletes overpaid, I in fact say no they are not”. I would use these two articles in my body paragraphs to support that the revenues produced by major sporting leagues are so absurd that the players are not overpaid and that it is the owners make the lion’s share of the money. A player’s career is short by all standards and most do not play long enough to draw a pension so they need as much money as they can get. These two articles do a good job of explaining the economics of the sporting world especially the Rosen and Sanderson article. The Zimbalist article shows more of a breakdown of the revenues in each sport. Both articles however lack the revenue breakdown for individual players even though Zimbalist gives averages for salaries in each