Search Term: nfl and extortion

• St. Louis v. NFL

  Interview with Bloomberg News Is this suit unique/unusual in the history of litigation over NFL franchise moves? No, the City of Cleveland successfully sued the NFL after the relocation of the relocation of the original Browns to Baltimore Ravens in 1996. In the relocation extortion case the NFL settled with the City of Cleveland by…

• Relocation-Extortion Game

  Interview with Bisnow / Noll & Zim What role does the league franchise system play in NFL team relocation? The important legal and economic question about the NFL ultimately reduces to whether the League is the single entity firm with teams as operational franchises or the teams are instead several and separate competing firms. The Supreme…

• NFL Secrets to Success

  Interview with Finanz und Wirtschaft.  What makes the NFL so successful as a business model? The NFL is a perfectly syndicated and fully diversified sports league cartel because of extensive revenue sharing among natural competitors. As a means for its own survival the NFL business model of “league think” was formed a half century ago…

• LA Extortion Triangle

  Interview with NY Times. NFL Stadium Package. Mostly what I wanted to ask John about is if it makes sense — given the role the TV deals play in NFL economics — for a team to move to Los Angeles if it will have to pay for construction of a new stadium, land, practice facility…

• Extortion Triangle in Toronto

  Interview with the Toronto Star. I’m doing a story about the sale of the Buffalo Bills, and was hoping you might have some time to chat today about what might be some motivating factors for the league, the Wilson estate, and the advantages/disadvantages of the various bidding groups. I’ve spent the last while reading your…

• Blind Sided

  Interview with Toronto Globe & Mail / Interview / NFL Revenue Growth / Economic Structure of NFL (PDF) I’m a regular reader of Prof. Vrooman’s blog and was wondering if he might have a few minutes today (Tuesday) or tomorrow to talk about the current state of the NFL from an economic perspective. I was hoping to get…

• Sketchy Business

  Interview with Fortune Magazine 1/30/20 / Interview with graphics. I’m a reporter for Fortune currently working on a story for our upcoming magazine issue that focuses on Major League Soccer’s rapid economic and geographical expansion in recent years. In particular, I’m focusing on the extent to which the league has grown its footprint, how team values have reportedly…

• Media Quotes

   “The spreading coronaviral pandemic is an Olympic game changer, and all of the available options are costly in the short run,  It is time to cancel the games.” “The uncertain future of the Tokyo 2020 Games is out of the IOC’s control and depends on the unpredictable course of the coronavirus and the guidelines of…

• Expansion Derby

  Interview with Charlotte Business Journal / Atlanta Business Chronicle / Expansion Derby. MLS is going to name Charlotte as its next expansion city with an announcement Tuesday. Carolina Panthers owner is expected to pay $300 million to $325 million for a team that will share the NFL stadium (with modifications) and likely begin playing in 2021. I’m hoping…

• Rival Leagues Rising

  Interview with TSN (The Sports Network) . What factors have led to the the creation/planning of at least three alternative professional football leagues — AAF, XFL, FFL? The NFL is a stone cold monopoly league (one seller) in the fans product market (gate and media) and monopsony (one buyer) cartel in the players’ labor market. The…

• Panther Power

  Interview with Charlotte Observer. -What would you say are the biggest advantages/opportunities of moving practice facilities (adjacent to BofA Stadium) and offices (inside stadium) to somewhere else offsite? The Panthers are simply keeping up with the Jonses by building separate practice facilities, which in this case probably involves a covered facility and offices exclusively controlled…

• Rays Ball Park Limbo

  Interview with Tampa Bay Times. Stadium deals in MLB and NFL.pdf I wondered if you would be willing to give some perspective on the collapse of the Rays deal. The questions I have are: Does this look like a play by the Rays to get a better deal? Yes. These moves/threats are all part of…

• Jerry’s World

  Interview with Bloomberg News. Cowboys Stadium 2010. Do you have any estimates on how much Arlington has spent on pro sports since first building the (first) Rangers stadium? My estimates show about $960 million, which include $135 million in bonds for the 1994 Rangers stadium, $325 million for the Cowboys stadium, and $500 million for…

• The Closing Window

  Interview with the New York Times. PDF and Images. Roger Noll of Stanford had some pretty good stuff today on how the Knights’ miraculous run “attenuates the honeymoon effect,” from the typical three-year window for expansion teams in non-traditional hockey markets. 1) Is that something you generally agree with? Yes I mentioned that in print…

• League of Ordinary Gentlemen

  Interview with Crains Business NY. NFL Economics Stat Pack.  Clearly there are threats to the NFL’s business model as it now stands. Rights costs are generally out of synch with ratings and ad revenue, and the dangers of CTE could push young players and their parents away from the game in the coming years. My…

• Goldman Goes Global

  Interview with Dutch Newspaper,  Algemeen Dagblad (AD Netherlands) Below is the Feyenoord Stadium deal as best I can gather from the internet compared to the most recent NFL stadium deal in Las Vegas for the Oakland Raiders. Goldman Sachs was also the original lead bank on the Raiders deal but pulled out probably due to internal…

• Checkers or Chess

  Interview with Arizona Republic. A state bill here in AZ that would have Arizona join a national compact forbidding the use of taxpayer money for new professional sports facilities or renovations to existing ones. The compact would not take effect until 24 other states adopted it, the goal being that sports teams could no longer…

• Keep Pounding Carolina

  Interview with Charlotte Observer. Keep pounding, Carolina. Given the current ownership structure of the Panthers and ongoing renovations (and lease agreements) at BOA, the new majority ownership partner will probably be from or have strong financial ties to sweet home Carolina, and the Panthers are not likely to engage a credible franchise-relocation stadium-extortion game for…

• Too Much TV

  Interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentenel.   Why have NFL revenues increased so much faster than those of the corporate sector as a whole? The NFL is a natural cartel that exerts major monopoly power over its die-hard fans, media outlets and general taxpayers. By artificially limiting the number of franchises the League is able to maximize…

• Great Divide

  Interview with Deadspin.  Deadspin XL / Deadspin growth / Growth XL The Brown family and the Bengals have long made it well-known that there’s a revenue divide between the NFL’s large-market and small-market teams. Even now, when revenues are through the roof thanks to the league’s national TV-rights deal, Troy Blackburn says the smaller markets have a…

• Desert Locked

  Interview with ESPN. What kind of impact can the Raiders’ move to Vegas have on the Cardinals – whether it be taking away fan interest or travelers who visit Phoenix for games? With the opportunistic, public money-grabbing relocation of the Oakland/LA/Oakland Raiders to Sin City, the Southwest desert is about to get real crowded with…

• Big Gamble in Vegas

  Interview series on Vegas as NHL expansion market. Vegas Review Journal  Preds v Titans comparison Initially the NHL Nashville Preds surprisingly held their own against the NFL Tennessee Titans, but it soon became apparent that the novelty of hockey in a non-traditional sun-belt hockey market was risky business. Both NFL and NHL teams rely heavily…

• Stay or Go in San Diego

  Interview with San Diego Times Union. I’m researching a column about the state of play facing Dean Spanos as he decides among three options: 1) Forego or seek to extend the L.A. option and stay in San Diego, under the Qualcomm lease that expires in 2020. 2) Stay in San Diego, pursue stadium deal for…

• Real Sports

  Interview with HBO Real Sports  HBO Package  PSL’s: Can you give me a quick background on the PSL’s vis-à-vis taxes. I have a sense (but not sure if I’m right) that a team sells these PSL’s  but then doesn’t pay any taxes on them because technically they’re PSL’s for a public entity. So if the…

• Deep in the Heart

  Interview with San Antonio Biz Journal. I have been covering for more than two years the Oakland Raiders’ interest in San Antonio, which has waned of late because of Mark Davis’ infatuation with Las Vegas. I have included other sports economists in previous reporting and wanted to get your insight for my next story. The…

• Tax Man Cometh

  Interview with the Street.  Can you explain some of the real economic factors the league SHOULD be looking at in determining how much to charge the Rams for moving to LA? Ironically the empty LA market has probably been more valuable to the NFL as the 3rd leg in a public stadium funding extortion triangle…

• Rams to LA

  Interview with CNN. NFL Stadium Pack I am doing a story today about the Rams move to LA and would love to get your thoughts on why this ultimately wound up being the decision that the NFL owners approved. Would also love your perspective on Kroenke. The City of Angels is obviously valuable as the…

• City of Angels

  Interview International Business Times. (See the xl attachments for all images) -Why does it seem teams want to go to LA in 2016, compared with recent years and two decades ago? What are the major selling points? -What are the economic benefits or drawbacks of a move to LA for the three franchises and the…

• Future Fading Fast In Toronto

  Interview with the Toronto Star.  – With the momentum in Los Angeles, and with the seeming excitement around London, is there any way to assess where Toronto might stand as it relates to the queue for an NFL franchise? LA and GTA are the two major elephant-in-the-room missing pieces in the NFL expansion-relocation-extortion game that…

• Size of the Fight in the Dog

  Interview with the AP. I’m working on a story about the Rams’ effort to move to LA. The team’s relocation application was made available and it is very critical of the economic viability of the St. Louis market. I’m hoping you can tell me if this might have ramifications for St. Louis down the road…

• LA Triplets

  Interview with NBC. What addressable market does Los Angeles have for NFL football, both in terms of viewership and attendance? Attachments: Market size. Alternative futures. LA is obviously valuable as the second largest TV market in North America, but TV ratings and viewership for sporting events is typically lower in LA compared to other mega-markets…

• 3 Futures for the Bolts

  Interview with San Diego Union-Tribune.  I’m researching a column about the state of play facing Dean Spanos as he decides among three options: 1) Forego or seek to extend the L.A. option and stay in San Diego, under the Qualcomm lease that expires in 2020. 2) Stay in San Diego, pursue stadium deal for another…

• Panthers Price

  Interview with Charlotte Observer. – The Bills recently sold for $1.4 billion. How much could a franchise like the Panthers go for? I pegged the final auction prices of $1.4 billion for the Buffalo Bills last month and $2 billion for the LA Clippers 2 months ago by using the following fool-proof blind-squirrel-finding-acorn method. Annual…