Billy Cullen
Staff Writer
Professional sports have been around for over a century in America, but why is there such a recent financial increase in revenue for each sporting league?
Many people wonder how all of the professional sports teams acquire so much money every single year. Leagues make the majority of their money by sales of tickets, concessions, sponsorships, merchandise, and national and local media rights. All American professional sport leagues bring in their own value of revenue.
Starting with the NFL, the pinnacle of all of the professional sports leagues in America. The average NFL franchise is worth around 6.5 billion dollars. The NFL saw an increase of about 25 million dollars in the Salary Cap, which is a main indicator to know if the league is making a positive net in revenue.
The NBA has seen a slight decrease in ratings this year, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, “There was a competitive World Series, presidential election, there were a bunch of factors to why our ratings were down,” on the Pat McAfee Show. Later, he went on to say, “Post all-star break, the ratings picked up a lot, for the ratings to be down just two percent for the season means it had to pick up a whole lot after the all-star break.”
The MLB has seen a jump in viewership in their games as this past world series is the most viewers they have had in seven years. Baseball has become gaining much popularity after huge free agent signings like Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Juan Soto to the New York Mets, and Aaron Judge signing back with the New York Yankees. Superstar players going to huge markets have been a main reason for the improvement of ratings and ticket sales for the league.
The NHL has seen a large increase in viewership, especially after the all-star break. The league decided to try something different with the All-Star break, and instead of the players representing their divisions in the league, they represented the country that they were from. The “4 Nations Face-Off” was a huge success as the championship game between Canada and the United States reached over 10.4 million viewers at its peak, which is the largest audience for a non-NFL event on ESPN+.
The role the media has in sports leagues in today’s society is essential. Not only with the live sports shows on cable, streaming services, but also on social media. Many fans are now able to watch games from their phones at any time they want. With that being said, media outlets have to decide what should be posted and what is most important to the viewer.
Zach Humphries, producer of the MUTV’s “In the Zone,” was asked if he feels that it is important to discuss topics that will most likely grab people’s attention. He said, “100%, especially on TV, the name of the game is marketability. We could talk about anything we wanted to, but our job as producers is to give the people what they want to see.”
On a similar note, I asked Rhea Hughes, voice of the morning show for 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia, what is this process that takes place to decide what stories are more important than others. She said, “collaboration with other members of the production team, including the anchors who will be going on desk to discuss what are some of the stories we must discuss vs want to discuss.”
Going to a professional sporting event is an entire day’s trip. Whether you are with your family or friends, you have high expectations for the experience, and it is not just about the game. The look of the stadium, location, and other factors play a part in the experience of games and what puts people in seats at different stadiums and arenas.
I interviewed Dr. Cuthbert of Millersville University, and she said, “While new stadiums help generate more revenue for the franchise because of subsidies, more luxury seating, etc, the casual fan can also benefit from the state-of-the-art amenities. Going to a new stadium is a trip in and of itself, and the game is secondary. New stadiums are more than just a sports field. They have shops, art, bars, and restaurants. They are a destination.”
Notable new stadiums are the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, who share the same stadium, the Texas Rangers, and the Los Angeles Clippers. All of these organizations have seen much improvement in financial and team success.
All four leagues are looking to promising futures as viewership, ticket sales, and all sorts of revenue look to continue to increase for years to come.
