Let's Be Done With "One-and-Done"

(7)

Guest Post by Leon Moore

“He’s not ready, but he has to come out. He has no choice. There’s too much money there for him and he can’t go back to college and then face his friends back home. It’s not right, it’s not fair, it just is.” - John Thompson (4)

Freshman Jabari Parker and Duke had just been upset in their first round matchup by Mercer University. Jakob Gollon, a senior for Mercer, went 5-9 from the field, and 9-9 from the free throw line to score 20 points. Jabari Parker scored 14 points on 4-14 shooting. (6)

For many fans of college basketball including myself, this game was beautiful, partly because Duke lost, but partly because of what the result represented. The senior Gollon had no chance at making the NBA. It was clear he played basketball for the joy of playing, and he was rewarded.

Now consider his high-profile opponent in the game, Jabari Parker. Parker was a lock to be drafted in the top five that june, with most people considering him one of the top two prospects. In college, like Gollon, Parker was playing for the joy of playing. Yet to fans like myself, there was a cloud over his college career. We all knew that he would be “one-and-done,” and leave college after just one year. He would not develop in college and play for four years in all of the rich traditions that define college basketball and college athletics more generally. In that game, Parker represented the trend towards leaving college early to make money in the NBA.
You cannot blame Parker or any of the other “one-and-done” players for making the decision to leave early though. As John Thompson said, “He has no choice.” Now, we will look at the impact economics have had in creating the NBA’s rules regarding when players can enter the draft.

The NBA would like to change the rule to require athletes to forgo the draft for two years after high school as opposed to the current minimum of one year (3). The NBA believes doing this would allow teams to better analyze talent and therefore make better, more informed, draft choices (3). Adam Silver said, “We feel that these players are better off having more time developing as players before they enter into this league.” (1) He added, “I’m making a business decision for the NBA, which is to the betterment of the league and the roughly 430 jobs we have in this league.” (1) NBA owners also would not have to pay for the development of these players if they stayed in college, and importantly, would not have to hold a roster spot for them (5).

However, the NBA Players’ Association is not on board. Michele Roberts, the executive director, in 2011, argued against an age limit, saying “You have a limited life to make money as a basketball player. Anything that limits those opportunities is distressing to me. I view [the age minimum] as just another device that serves to limit a players' ability to make a living." (5)

Some view the NBPA’s opposition as merely a way to create a bargaining chip with the NBA (4). In 2017, there is the possibility that a collective bargaining contract will be reopened between the NBA and the NBPA. The players would like a higher salary cap while the owners and league do not want to compromise, yet also want to reform the one-and-done rule. David Stern, before retiring, said “They see it as a negotiating chip, we aren’t willing to give up what they want in return for making the change.” (4)

It seems nothing will happen unless there is compromise from both sides. The NBA is seeing revenue increase greatly, so the players should be entitled to more money. The salary cap should increase some, but the players association needs to do what is right and change the one-and-done rule. Players feel incredible pressure to turn pro, as they ponder huge salaries, often being forced to disregard what might be in their best interest developmentally (2). Any number of systems should be looked at, including but not limited to what the NBA has proposed and what the MLB currently does. The point is that the current system is broken, and compromise will be the only way to fix it.

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1-http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-am-adam-silver-on-one-and-done-labor-relations/
2-http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/13923267/duke-blue-devils-coach-mike-krzyzewski-says-one-done-culture-not-going-away
3-http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2014/05/18/the-inevitable-death-of-nbas-one-and-done-rule/#1ef6f5416006
4-https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/college-basketballs-one-and-done-rule-must-be-done-with-immediately/2015/01/31/e465091e-a8e1-11e4-a2b2-776095f393b2_story.html
5-http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/3/2/8106965/nba-draft-reform-one-and-done-dleague-ncaa
6-http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400546931
7-https://deanondraft.com/2014/04/11/jabari-parker-is-he-the-next-melo-fellow/

Owner-Management Issues in the NBA

Guest Post by Kyle Artus

As NBA teams become more and more profitable, owners are wanting to have more and more control over the players they are putting out on the court. I can’t necessarily blame them, it is their money that is paying the players after all. However, more and more owners are stepping in player personnel decision that should probably be left up to the GM and the rest of the front office. Owners try to make their own decisions on who to draft, sign, or trade, hire a coach and then completely disagree with him on every major issue, and try to stop General Managers from doing their job.

James Dolan, the owner of the New York Knicks, has historically been an owner who wants to get involved in every facet of the team. Two summers ago, he hired Phil Jackson to be the President of Basketball Operations. Phil Jackson has won 11 championships as a coach in the NBA and is widely considered as one of the greatest basketball minds of all time. When Jackson was hired, he was given responsibility over staff hirings/firings, free agent signings, trading players, and drafting players. One month after he was hired, Dolan had already tried to stop him from doing his job. According to the NY Daily News, Jackson had wanted to make some changes to the staff and was planning on firing some of the current members. Dolan came in and put a stop to that.[1] Dolan has a history of doing things like this. He did the same thing to the former GM Donnie Walsh when he was trying to trade for Carmelo Anthony. Walsh had every intention of pursuing a trade for Anthony, but Dolan came in, took over the negotiations, and traded for Anthony right away instead of waiting for a better deal as Walsh had suggested.[2] It is difficult for anyone in management, who are supposed to be the ones skilled in dealing with basketball transactions, to do their job the right way with an owner like that constantly interfering.

A similar story is transpiring in Sacramento with their new owner Vivek Ranadivé. Ranadivé’s came in as owner after an ownership family named the Maloofs sold the team. The Maloofs were generally disinterested in basketball and making the Kings a successful team. So all Ranadivé really had to do was try and he would look better. And he has. But perhaps too much. So far, he has hired Vlade Divac to perform the basketball operations of the team. Together, they hired George Karl to be the head coach. Since then, everything that has come out of Karl’s mouth seems to be the opposite of what comes from Divac’s and Ranadivé’s. Karl has been very verbal about the need to trade star player Demarcus Cousins. He has many times said that they have been looking to trade Cousins. Ranadivé has many times stepped in and said a complete different thing.[4] Reports surfaced that Ranadivé wanted to fire Karl merely four months after hiring him because they thought to have agreed that Karl would not be involved in personnel decisions.[3] Frankly, the personnel decisions should be left up to Vlade Divac since it is job, and both Ranadivé and Karl should stay out of it. However, overactive owners and coaches will always think that they know what is best for the team.

It is no coincidence that both the Knicks and the Kings are two of the teams with the bleakest outlook in the NBA. The Knicks have one aging superstar in Carmelo Anthony and a promising rookie with Kristaps Porzingis, but they also don’t have a draft pick this year and have no other real promising players. The Kings have a superstar in the midst of his prime in Demarcus Cousins, but have consistently failed to build around him. They tried this year by bringing pass-happy Rajon Rondo and sharpshooter Marco Belinelli, but they are still on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason.

Owners need to recognize that just because they are the ones with the money to pay the players and the staff, they are not the ones who know how to best run a basketball team. They need to let the people in charge of making personnel decisions actually make the personnel decisions. By having a little bit of trust in the people they hired to run the team, these teams could actually turn it around. The best owners are the ones who are willing to pay what is necessary and who stay out of the GM and the coaches’ way.

References:
1 http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/source-dolan-stop-jackson-knick-staff-firings-article-1.1765645
2 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2025630-report-james-dolan-stopped-steve-mills-from-firing-mike-woodson
3 https://mobile.twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/614167723929673728
4 http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/kings/2015/06/22/sacramento-kings-owner-vivek-ranadive-demarcus-cousins-trade/29143601/

A "Suite Deal" For Who?

Guest post by Leon Moore


During the industrial revolution, working people began to attend sporting events. The increase in real wages created a middle class and people with disposable income. This extra money could be spent on a ticket to a ball game and maybe a hot dog. Sports belonged to the everyday person. (6)

With this in mind, I looked on the Boston Celtics website at ticket prices. Single person tickets ranged anywhere from $25 to $300.(3) This to me seemed like a natural range, one in which the common person could find an affordable ticket. Then I saw the cost of renting a luxury suite for one game. It ranged from about $3000 to $5000.(2) The consumer of this did not fit with my image of the middle class sports fan.

What a person gets when they rent a luxury suite at the TD Garden includes 18 tickets, theatre-style seating, catering options, several televisions, and a private restroom. (2) The average fan would never buy this, so who is?

According to Chad Estes, the president of a premium ticket sales company that does business with the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys, the consumers are “corporations and high net-worth individuals.”(1) He says that people buy suites with an aim towards building relationships with clients and sometimes as a way to create family time.

Suites are a great deal for owners as they provide steady cash flow throughout the season, and can be counted as Stadium Income, which in many cases is not subject to league revenue sharing operations. (1) In some cases, a suite can cost up to $900,000 for a year. (1)

With premium seating being great for owners, it surprised me to find that they only became mainstream in stadiums in the last 20 years. According to Emily Sparvero, assistant professor at the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple University, "Luxury suites have been growing in importance since the 1990s and are an essential part of any new stadium being built." (1) The two owners credited with starting the premium seating trend are Jerry Jones, of the Dallas Cowboys, and Joe Robbie of the Miami Dolphins. (4) Joe Robbie Stadium opened in 1987, and the debt incurred building the stadium was paid off in 10 years from luxury seat revenue at $16 million a year. (4) This success and other successes lead to the creation of many new stadiums, all built with premium seating included.

Yet the question of why these luxury seats began to be built in the 1990’s still remains. Almost certainly it involved a change in the consumer market. As previously mentioned, the consumers of premium seating are mostly corporations and high net-worth individuals. So in the 1990’s was there a change in this group’s resources?

From 1950 until 1980, corporate profits after tax increased from about $20 billion to to about $200 billion. From 1980 to 2000, the number increased $300 billion to $500 billion total. And in the second quarter of 2015, the profit was up all the way to $1,844 billion. (5) I cannot claim to fully understand what these numbers mean, but I do think I can say that they mean corporations today have more money to spend on things like luxury boxes. This could possibly explain why in the 1990’s many stadiums were built to include premium seating.

Another factor that could be creating a consumer market for premium seating is the increase in the wealth at the top of society. Political campaign’s today, like that of Bernie Sanders, are gaining traction because of the populus’ anger at the wealth inequality. This wealth inequality could be creating a market for premium seats. Stadiums at most only have a couple hundred luxury boxes that they need to sell for a season. When wealth is concentrated, the people with it can afford to buy an expensive entertainment item, like a luxury box. And because the owners only need to sell a relatively few amount of these boxes, it is not a problem that the wealthy people are so few in number.

But how will this change sports? I do not think luxury seats by themselves will change sports. A regular fan can still have a regular sports experience with a hotdog and beer even if someone is drinking fine wine eating smoked gouda in a luxury box above them. I believe what could change sports however is increased corporate profits and wealth inequality. This could and is helping to shrink the middle class, which could then decrease the number of fans in regular seats. This would harm the atmosphere of being in a raucous and wild arena or stadium.

To preserve the middle class fan base and therefore the sports experience, fans should do their research and support political campaigns that help foster a strong middle class. It is a shame that a fun thing, sports, should be tied to something which has such a negative connotation, like politics. But maybe we will lose our fun thing if we cannot do the unpleasant thing.


1 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-02-04/cnbc-super-bowl-suites/52948968/1

2 http://www.nba.com/celtics/tickets/premium/bb-luxury-suite-rental-pricing-schedule.html

3 http://www.nba.com/celtics/tickets/individual-game-tickets?cfc=TICKETS_INDEX

4 http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/faculty/Vrooman/VROOMAN-NFL.pdf

5 https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CP

6 http://www.bostonfed.org/peanuts/sptspage/inning2a.htm

The Sports Industry and Television Rights

Guest Post by Kyle Artus
The average American will spend 9 years of their life watching television. [1] Months, or perhaps years, will be spent watching sports. Sports are becoming a bigger and bigger part of everyday life in America. Parents bring their kids to practice or games, athletes play, train, or practice, and fans will watch games and support their team every day. Due to the huge businesses that both sports and television have become, they now have a huge overlap. Sports teams and leagues make billions of dollars just by selling the right to play their games on television. Television stations engage in bidding wars to get these rights. More and more every year, the biggest product coming out of the sports industry is their television rights.

Television networks spend a tremendous amount of money every year to put major league sports on their network. For example, Fox, CBS, and NBC combined pay upwards of 2 billion dollars a year to broadcast NFL games. [2] ESPN and TNT pay about $2.66 billion every year for NBA games. [3] Fox and Turner Sports pay about $800 million annually for MLB games. [4] This is a huge source of revenue for teams and sports leagues. As this revenue source increases, it becomes more and more of a focus for the team owners. Teams and leagues are going to want to make their sports more TV friendly in order to maximize their potential for TV money. This is becoming evident in many professional sports leagues in America. The NFL has more stoppage of plays and commercial breaks than ever before, with an average of 20 commercial breaks and over 100 total advertisements. [5] The NFL game is prime for television, and this is one of the reasons that their TV rights cost so much. Millions of people watch every game and there is plenty of time for the television stations to make money by selling commercial slots.

In the NBA, the league is considering placing advertisements on their jerseys. [6] Now this is not directly related to their TV rights, but it could affect them in the future. With advertisements on the jerseys, and millions of people watching the games on television, the price for a company to place an ad on jersey could be astronomical. It is being reported that these ads would bring in approximately $100 million. [6] This could impact future deals with the NBA’s TV rights. If they get a new deal that expands their TV presence, more games on more nights on a more nationwide basis, these ads could become even more valuable. More people will see them and therefore, the NBA could charge more for them. In the not-so-distant future, I believe seeing jerseys like the one in the picture below will be unavoidable.

Major League Baseball has started experimenting with ways to speed up their games and make it more TV friendly. They have implemented rules such as strictly timed commercial breaks, requiring batters to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box between pitches, and making the managers stay in the dugout during replay reviews. Additionally, they implemented a pitch clock in the minor leagues to ensure that a pitch is throw in a reasonable amount of time. [8] This comes as perhaps a way to make the game more exciting and quick to appeal to a new generation of fans. This will make it easier for people to sit down and watch a game on television as a large complaint against baseball was the pace and how long games can be. This can only increase their appeal to television stations and could increase the value of the MLB’s television rights.

As teams and leagues make more money off of television, the games change to reflect this. It is smart business to try and make your product more appealing. As TV rights become a larger part of the revenue stream, the product that the sports industry is selling becomes more about the appeal the sport has for television. This could be great for sports fans as they could have a more accessible game to watch on TV. But it could also cause problems for traditionalists and sports purists. As the game is changed to becoming more appealing for television, some of the culture and what made the game so popular to begin with could be lost. It will be important for professional sports leagues to try and balance the changes that they do or do not make. They will need to consider how much they can change before the game becomes unrecognizable. They need to find a balance between making small changes that may help the game, and selling out to advertisers and wherever the money is coming from.




References
[1] http://www.statisticbrain.com/television-watching-statistics/
[2] http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7353238/nfl-re-ups-tv-pacts-expand-thursday-schedule
[3] http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11652297/nba-extends-television-deals-espn-tnt
[4] http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8453054/major-league-baseball-completes-eight-year-deal-fox-turner-sports
[5] http://qz.com/150577/an-average-nfl-game-more-than-100-commercials-and-just-11-minutes-of-play/
[6] http://www.forbes.com/sites/mattpowell/2014/06/20/sneakernomics-coming-soon-ads-on-nba-jerseys/#76998712263e
[7] http://phillysportslive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nba-jerseys.jpg (PHOTO CREDIT)
[8] http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12351883/major-league-baseball-announce-pace-play-rules

The Socio-Cultural Triumph of Mike

Guest Post by Nicholas Constantilos

If I were to ask you “Who is the most popular basketball star ever?” who do you think of? Soaring slam from the free throw line, which person comes to mind? It’s hard to come across someone who does not instantly think of the legendary Michael Jordan. The late basketball star Elgin Baylor once stated… “If you look up the definition of greatness in the dictionary, it will say Michael Jordan.” What this iconic man did for not only the game of basketball but for society is untouchable. He developed one of the most popular brands in the world, left a lasting imprint on popular culture, and forever remains a living role model. I am going to explain why Michael Jordan is a cultural and social legend.

Jordan Brand Significance

I can confidently say that if someone hasn’t owned one pair of Air Jordan’s in their life time, they have at least heard of the shoe brand. In fact, Michael Jordan was the first athlete to ever have his own shoe brand and from this he helped put the Nike brand on the map for sports shoes and apparel. Nike was initially a brand made for runners until Jordan’s fame started following him off the court and gave Nike a claim on basketball. What makes basketball and shoes so intertwined is how much people reflect their game on the type of shoes they wear. Basketball is the only sport where the shoe get most of the credit for one’s success; at least that’s what we all like to think is the reason. ESPN sports writer, Scoop Jackson, stated “Basketball shoes helped define who our hero’s were”. So when Michael Jordan took to the “Air”, he became defined. A large reason why the Jordan brand is so popular is due to Michael’s outstanding performance on the basketball court and with that he created an essentially flawless basketball career. When someone wears Jordan’s shoes they are wearing Michael’s spirit and carrying on his legacy. The shoe give people a sense of comfort because wearing Jordan’s means “success”. Speaking of success, when comparing the Jordan brand to the modern world wide brand “Apple”, a quote that stood out to me was “Apple is still 21 years and 18 iphone models away from being where Jordan is with its signature sneaker.” Now put that into perspective…


Popular Culture

Just when you thought Michael could only impact people on the court and with his shoes, he didn’t stop there. He changed culture itself by his starring in the movie Space Jam. Space Jam was so appealing because it tied together the culture of sports to other areas of pop culture such as the Looney Toons, popular Comedians, and popular musicians. No movie before Space Jam combined real life people and animation the way this movie did. During 1996 some of the most popular rappers at the time such as LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, and Coolio were featured in the movie, Space Jam got them all on one song, which was never done before. Famous R&B singer R. Kelly also made a song for the movie called “I Believe I Can Fly”. What other movie can you say did that before Space Jam? This all was made possible due to the fact that Michael Jordan was the pumping heart of the movie making all these stars want to be a part of it, giving the movie a true purpose.

A Cultural and Social Hero

What came after Michael Jordan’s outstanding accomplishments and almost unbelievable transcript was the inspiration he gave everyone with his success making them want to be “Just like Mike”. If you ever see someone with bald head and hoop earrings…Michael is responsible for setting that trend. For the youths watching his finals moments, there is no better belief that anything is possible when watching Michael Jordan’s moments. Hall of fame writer, Sam Smith, emphasized “As kids it seemed like the ultimate hero story. No matter how much he’s down or what the odds were, he would find a way to win.” This amazing talent was echoed so loudly to the public that most people did not see “black or white” but a basketball player they enjoy watching, who gave them endless pleasure. By becoming this person it helped cross racial barriers which was and still is extremely impactful. The unique value this man brought to society as a whole will forever live on in history, inspiring people of all ages and ethnicities, including myself.
If you want to experience Jordan’s claim to fame and feel his legacy, check out his brand of apparel and shoes at http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/jordan


References: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/11/25/basketball/nba/jordans-global-impact-transcended-racial-economic-boundaries/
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14760324/cultural-impact-jordan-sneakers-goes-far-basketball
http://thegboat.net/2011/12/07/space-jam/