Case Study

Chapter 1

Case # 1

Professional athlete A is a star. And professional athlete B is an average player. How has the globalization of professional sports affected each of these both positively and negatively?

Back in the bad old days before World War II, there were a lot more positions available for professional athletes of all types. Pretty much everyone was poorly paid, but the lack of television meant there was a great appetite for local entertainment. People playing D class baseball in the United States might have made enough to live on, and many were able to stay in these leagues for years without having to worry about younger players or having to make it to the majors. The same was true of a lot of things, like live entertainment. Vaudeville performers may have made only a few bucks a performance, but it was enough to live on.

However, television and satellites changed all that. Why go to the stadium when there's a better game on TV? The "D leagues" of many sports started to close down. In addition, there was no longer really a difference in pay when you moved up in the minors. The only big payoff was when you moved from AAA to the Majors.

In practice, what this means is that teams and players in the "Majors" (NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, Premier Soccer, etc.) make infinitely more money than those in the next tier. The minimum pay for an NFL player in any position on the practice squad is $290,000. That's more than most starting quarterbacks in the CFL make. When Newcastle moved down to the Championship from the Premiere League, it had to cut 50 million pounds off of its budget that it would have received from the Premiere league TV rights.

In addition, the attitude in most of the second tier and lower leagues is "move up or get out". If, for example, you are a competent A league baseball player but have no chance to move up to AA, you will be cut to make room for someone who might have a chance. There are exceptions (The CFL and minor league...