Mr. Reuter
Economics
30 September 2014
The Americanism of NonAmerican Football
In today’s world of sports, there is a dichotomy between the two separate world of football: American and European. Too often I hear people bashing the European sport, because they think of it as some game for wusses, while, conversely, American football is fueled by grit and the American spirit. But really how American is our version of football? And more importantly, is soccer really all that unAmerican?
It is an undeniable fact that America collectively prides itself on its capitalistic values and democratic systems. In contrast, Europe is often (incorrectly) viewed as a socialist cesspool where the free market is a myth. And both identify intensely with their respective versions of football. So, it would be logical to think that the professional leagues, in which the sports are played, would follow suit. This, however, would be a misconception. The people who run the NFL see the league purely as an avenue for entertainment, so they ensure that it stays competitive, often at the cost of capitalistic values. For example, it is logical that a team who wins a lot will receive more money from fans. The more money you have, the better you can make your team. Well, if this was the case, it would be a travesty for the NFL, as a select few teams would ascend to ProBowlesque quality, while the rest of the franchises would be left to try to scrape together a few points every once in a while. So, the NFL has implemented various measures to prevent this economic spread from occurring. Let’s go through a few. First, there is shared revenue, which takes the extra cash the top teams earns and redistributes that to the poorer teams to provide them with the necessary funds to find new players. Then, there is a salary cap, which prevents the richest of the rich from just throwing money at all the top players to get them to play for their team. Lastly, there is the draft, which gives the worst teams first dibs and the best and brightest incoming talent.
For a sport that is considered truly American, it doesn’t seem all that American. On the other hand, you have the world of European topflight football. If there was ever a prime example of laissezfaire economic systems, this would be it. There is no salary cap, no draft, and by no means is there any redistribution of wealth. In fact, if a team is so bad that they finish in the bottom three, then they are relegated, meaning they are kicked out of the league and are placed in a lower, less talented league, only to be replaced by the best teams of that lower league. In European football, money is everything. If a club has the money to spend, then they are free to spend it as they choose. And they have no financial responsibility to help out the little guys. If they see a player they like, they just pay the player’s club anagreed upon fee, which can often reach incredible values, and then they have the right to tempt the player to join by offering however high of a wage that they feel is necessary. The table below shows Premier League spending in the 2014 summer transfer window. Pay note to the disparity between the top and bottom teams in terms of spending.
In terms of the distribution of new talent, youth players are similar to free agents. Any kid is subject to being courted by a club and placed in their youth academy which will take these prospects and look to polish them into world class talents. Once again, there are no parameters which look to help out the lower quality clubs and capitalist values ring true.
Ultimately, there is a great irony in the general perceptions of both American and European football. With American football being regarded as an American icon, it should be reconsidered if it really is a true parallel to our country which savors its economic freedom and capitalism. When compared to the free market of European football, American football looks like a communist, centrally planned economy which ensures only the equality of all involved.
Works cited
"Football capitalism is functioning well."Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.<http://www.forbes.com/sites/stefanszymanski/2012/09/02/footballcapitalismisfunctioningwell/>MailOnline, Nick. "Transfer deadline day in numbers: Your ultimate guide to the money being spent by thePremier League clubs." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 1 Sept. 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article2739255/TransferdeadlinedaynumbersAllstat
sfactsfiguresneedknow.html>.
"Revenue sharing splits up $6 billion in 2013." ProFootballTalk. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.
<http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/11/revenuesharingsplitsup6billionin2013/>.
American Football is considered to be America's past time. It rakes in big money on television and the stadiums as well. However you are right in saying that this is not representing our government properly. The players really have little say in what team they are on, they are traded like post cards. I never really thought about European football (soccer) truly demonstrates capitalism and democracy with the players getting to choose their teams, obviously they have to get an offer first. I completely agree with your statement and I agree that we should start paying more attention to the ways of European football.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison between the economics of the National Football League and the English Premier League is a very interesting one. I agree with your stand on how the Premier League runs a true free market style system. For the United States, does the centrally planned style economy of the NFL affect the political views of the United States?
ReplyDeleteColin Marks
ReplyDeleteYou raised some good points here, as it is quite ironic how the American Football is vastly different from what we stand for and the European Football is a total free market. I wouldn't say people consider European football un-American but rather less popular.
Hey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you got to write about something you enjoy a lot! It was interesting to learn that aside from earning top dollar for the success they have, football teams in America are subject to a leavening of the dollar amounts that they can receive based on the regulations of the NFL. This was something that I wasn't previously aware of but that makes sense based on the quality of each team in the league. In addition, it seems crazy to fathom the amount of money the top teams in the European soccer league pay in one year to better their standings and skills.
American football is still a bit of a free market however due to the certain people who are known earning more than those who don't see playing time. European football is more of a free market since there is no salary cap. European football does have a lot more freedoms in how they spend their money and how much money they keep but what would happen if one of them ran out of money.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWOW what a great post, I am literally mind blown by the enthusiasm and information you have provided in this post. I really didn't have a clear understanding on the marketing side of the NFL. You sir, really nailed it on the head with this post by throwing out vital information. This post really brought joy to my day, so for that I thank you
ReplyDeleteJake, please move the discussion forward; build on the ideas being discussed if you want to earn credit for your comments.
DeleteYour post just has so many points that I can't help but agree with. American football has been transformed from a best-of-the-best, leatherheads and pigskin tossing determiner of sportsmanship into an economically opportunistic cash grab for those who know how to manipulate the rules in a series of ways, and I can't say I'm a fan of the immense commercialization of American football. To be fair, though, it would be a boring sport if only the highest paid teams were the ones that did well; I can understand some form of regulation within the leagues. Even then, though, we're left with what appears to be re-run after re-run of J.J. Watt advertising men's shampoo or McDonald's products. As American as that may be, I fear it's TOO American. Similar to your stance on European football, both societies take their respective sports too seriously in the fashion of dollars rather than the value of the entertainment. If they aren't directly entertaining, even, they're inadvertently spending millions on what appears to only be more profit. People will continue to pour hundreds of millions into these sports, and it only means that those at the top of the ladder will make a larger salary, while simultaneously kicking each inferior rung off the ladder. Nice analyses you made.
ReplyDeleteRyan, a very interesting topic! It's clear that in these nationalistic sports which teams the nation or states favor the most as seen by the materials, jerseys, and equipment they use. It's also clear from your blog that Americans are very competitive with wanting the best players on a single club or team, as does Europe which shows the nation's or company's want to show off the very best and supposedly make an income from it. Also, good job comparing and contrasting the two and backing up your idea with statistics to match.
ReplyDeleteA very good piece. Do you think that the socialist ideas presented in the American football are reflective of how America is trying to go towards and vice versa to the countries in Europe? Which method of sport economics do you think are better the American Socialist or the Europe way? Is any of those ways the wrong way?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this as I am interested in both these sports as well. I find it very interesting that the NFL has a salary cap yet European football does not. In the NBA they have a salary cap too but the MLB does not and MLB teams with not as much money still make it work. In Moneyball, that was a true story and the teams had huge differences in the amount of money to spend. This year the royals have made it to the ALCS despite not spending a lot of money on players.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post Ryan as it is something that has never come to my attention, yet makes so much sense. It's actually quite comical if you really think about it considering how much soccer and football bash each other. One point that came to my mind though is that the NFL doesn’t have nearly as many teams to implement such a system as European soccer. This being said, I feel as though the NFL does what is necessary to keep the money flowing, which in the end, is both leagues end goal anyways.
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