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The importance of sports agents and athletes to sports marketing
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Professional sports comprise of an enormous and complex industry. Subdivided into their respective sports and leagues, individual franchises act as independent businesses. The collective goal of these businesses is to provide a product that consumers will seek to purchase. In the case of a football team, for example, the Indianapolis Colts represent a business, and football is the product that they sell. Not all football, however, is so eagerly consumed. The Arena Football League recently disbanded after 21 years of selling its brand of football. Struggling to generate revenue, its teams were forced out of business. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Colts, a subsidiary of the thriving National Football League, are selling a product of immense popularity. Officially licensed Indianapolis Colts merchandise sells in abundance, and tickets to home games at Lucas Oil Stadium are sold out so media purchase broadcast rights and bring games directly to the televisions and radios of the consumers. The Colts’ popularity generates a seemingly endless stream of revenue, establishing theirs as a successful business, indeed. In essence an NFL franchise like the Indianapolis Colts and an AFL franchise like the former Chicago Rush sell the same product: football. The great disparity in success that exists between the two companies is explained simply by the quality of their respective products – the team and, more specifically, the players and coaches that make up the team.
Athletes are, in most cases, not business people. And yet they find themselves working in an extremely lucrative industry. Specific players are more important to a franchise’s product than others, but each component of a team deserves fair compensation. Greatly su...
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...public relations departments to bolster their image, teams of highly trained agents working together to solve problems or answer questions, and maybe even a ride on the agency’s private jet.
With such outstanding profits being accumulated at the heights of professional athletics, it makes sense to award those athletes who have helped generate such figures. And given the unusual nature of non-businesspeople holding such integral parts within an extremely lucrative business, the role of the sports agent has become necessary for the fair treatment and compensation of pro athletes. An athlete’s foremost job is to compete, but his responsibilities as a public figure and businessperson extend far beyond simply athletic competition. We ask a lot of our athletes, perhaps more than they can realistically handle by themselves. Therein lies the role of the sports agent.
Some of the most prolific franchises in sports, like the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Colts of the National Football League, have moved to other cities breaking off their loyalty to the hometown fans. More important than the actual moves are the more frequent threatened moves. When teams “play the field” and explore the option of playing in other cities they are able to lure interested cities into giving them just about any royalty they want. New stadiums are only the beginning. The willingness to threaten departure has secured for teams a variety of land deals, lower taxes, more revenues from parking and concessions, control of stadium operations, guaranteed ticket sales, renovation of stadiums with luxury seating, control over neighborhoods and transportation systems, and that’s only the beginning of the list.
The focus of professional sports has evolved from one of teamwork and camaraderie to one of avarice and greed. The specific problems in recent years that have stemmed off this overwhelming greed include exorbitant salaries, lockouts (or work stoppages) in professional sports, and the growing disparity among team payrolls. Most recognize these issues as major problems; however, others overlook the greed and see validity in the financial aspect of today's sports world. They argue that professional sports are thriving and should not be modified.
Division I intercollegiate athletic departments, especially those that are home to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, increasingly resemble front offices of professional sport organizations in regard to their mission and business operations. With huge operating budgets, state-of-the-art facilities, world-class athletes, and multinational corporate sponsors, these sport businesses strive to produce winning teams and profitable events every season. The outsourcing of marketing operations and rights is common practice in American college athletics today. According to Li and Burden (2002), more than one half of all NCAA Division I-A athletic programs have outsourced some or all of their marketing operations and rights to a growing number of nationally prominent outsourcing agencies. Among the operations commonly outsourced are the production of radio game broadcasts, production of radio call-in shows, coaches' television shows, sales of media and venue advertising, sales of "official sponsorship" rights to corporations, and production and management of Internet websites, etc. (Li & Burden, 2002).
Those who play popular and highly competitive college sports are treated unfairly. The colleges and universities with successful sports like football and basketball receive millions of dollars in television and ad space revenues, so do the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which is the governing body of big time college sports. Many coaches are also paid over $1 million per year. Meanwhile, the players that help the colleges receive these millions of dollars are forbidden to receive any gifts or money for their athletic achievements and performances. As a solution college athletes ...
As a fan of basketball, the NBA has always been the center of every discussion I partake whenever basketball is involved. Since its inception in the late 70s and the popularity of the American National Basketball Association, basketball has been cemented as one of the most iconic games played today. Whether a fan or enthusiast watches the game live or on replay, the high-voltage intensity and addicting thrill of every turnover and every score made just makes the person go wild. Of course in every game, some people often wonder how much money the players have in each season. I am one of those people who often think about how wealthy these players are and the more I see advertisements and high profile appearances these players partake, the question just keeps on popping up in my head. Reading through discussion boards, articles and even editorial papers about the issue, I have found this to be an interesting topic to discuss and with these sources in mind, this will be my foundation for this topic. In this paper, I intend to prove through an intimate discussion and debate that the players of the NBA are overpaid with regards to how much their salary and contracts are worth.
Many people can easily picture this scene in their minds: the roaring crowds, the smell of easy- to-eat foods, and the thousands of people all dressed in the same colors. That’s a description of game day at a major college. College sports bring in a lot of money, yet their players don’t receive any money. Many people view this as something that needs to be changed while others believe that only professionals should be compensated. In the essays “Let Stars Get Paid” and “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid”, both authors give their opinions on whether or not college athletes should be paid. College athletes should not be paid because they already receive many benefits from being athletes.
Today there are over 450,000 college athletes and the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) faces a difficult decision on whether or not college athletes should be paid. Many people believe that they should and many believe they should not. There are several benefits that college’s athletes receive for being a student athlete. Why should they receive even more benefits than their scholarship and numerous perks?
Zimbalist, Andrew S. Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism And Conflict In Big-Time College Sports. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
6) Clark, Liz. “Athletes Say They Deserve to Be Paid.” Charlotte Observer. (Charlotte, N.C.). April 3, 1994: pg. 4G. Sports. Eleanor Goldstein. Vol. 4. Boca Raton: SIRS, 1994. Art. 65.
The controversy of athletes being overpaid dates back to 1922, when well-known baseball player George “Babe” Ruth received $50,000 within the first year of his career. Ruth’s extensive wealth was bolstered by dozens of endorsements (Saperecom). As it is shown in figure 1, in the Fortunate 50 Tiger Woods takes the number one spot for highest paid athlete. Tiger’s salary for 2011 is $2,294,116 and like Babe Ruth, his endorsements exceed his salary earning $60,000,000 making his total $62,294,116 (Freedman). It’s crazy to think that 89 years ago professional athletes scarcely made more than the average person today. This is of course not counting the inflation that has occurred since the years which Babe Ruth played baseball.
Ms. Jennifer Fontaine does not support the idea that athletes are overpaid. Ms. Fontaine suggests that athletes who are superior in their skills and talents associated with their respective sport should be duly compensated. Ms. Fontaine also states that the money earned by these athletes is justified because professional athletes work harder than people in almost any other profession. Last, it is her premise that the money earned by these highly talented athletes help to cover the high costs of medical treatment for serious, if not life-long, injuries such as knee, back/spinal, and head injuries.
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.
While sports for the spectators are merely entertainment, the economics of the industry are what drives businesses to become involved. Sports have become more of a business entity rather than an entertainment industry due to the strong economic perception of the over all industry. There are several instances in which economics may contribute to the effect on the sports industry, such as: the success of a team, the price of a ticket, the amount of money an athlete will make, and the amount of profit a team will make. The success of an...
Sports are one of the most profitable industries in the world. Everyone wants to get their hands on a piece of the action. Those individuals and industries that spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these sports teams are hoping to make a profit, but it may be an indirect profit. It could be a profit for the sports club, or it could be a promotion for another organization (i.e. Rupert Murdoch, FOX). The economics involved with sports have drastically changed over the last ten years.
In today’s society many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment. It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding such high salaries.