ABSTRACT
Professional team sports have become a set of commodities to be bought and sold in the marketplace.1 The professional team sports industry is a complex micro-economy consisting of a set of interdependent markets. Teams buy the services of players and coaches. Fans buy game tickets, subscriptions to TV sports channels and team merchandising. TV companies buy sports broadcasting rights to deliver games to the stay-at-home fans. Big business buys executive suites, corporate hospitality and sponsorship opportunities. At the top end of the team sports hierarchy, it is a seller’s market. There is a limited supply of star players and top coaches. And there are relatively few big teams with large fan bases and valuable broadcasting and sponsorship rights. The star players, top coaches and big teams have considerable market power, and are able to extract high economic rents.
