The Name of the Game: The Business of Sports

by Jerry Gorman, Kirk Calhoun

Overview

Combines the business acumen of Ernst & Young with the inside knowledge of renowned sports writer, Skip Rozin, for a unique behind-the-scenes look at how sports have evolved from games to big business. Explains the business reasons behind why popular players are traded, why teams move from cities full of loyal fans, the importance of TV in sports and the real value of advertising to sports teams.

Features interviews with sports enterprise figures including Victor Kiam, Jerry Jones and Red Auerbach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471594239
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/31/1994
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.35(h) x 1.16(d)

About the Author

Jerry Gorman is the author of The Name of the Game: The Business of Sports, published by Wiley.

Kirk Calhoun is the author of The Name of the Game: The Business of Sports, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

ROOTS OF THE SPORTS BUSINESS, OR HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARETODAY.

Baseball.

Football.

The Second Generation.

The Legacy.

WHAT PAYS THE BILLS?.

TV 1—Birth of a Giant.

TV 2—Growth to Success and Trouble.

Radio, First and Always.

Through the Turnstiles.

While the Games Play On.

Far from the Madding Crowd.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES.

Star Struck.

Building Blocks of Dreams.

The Nuts and Bolts of Sports.

EXPANSION.

Probing the X Factor.

FAN EQUITY.

A Business Lesson.

Bibliography.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

Partners in the accounting firm of Ernst and Young, Gorman and Calhoun have obviously done a prodigious amount of research and, aided by freelance sportswriter Rozin ( Garvey ), they make their points convincingly. Analyzing the balance sheets of major league teams individually and comparing the worth of various franchises, the authors of this enlightening study show sports as a profit-motive business with management decisions determined by their impact on P & L statements. The authors audit the sources of income (television, radio, gate receipts, concessions and product licensing), the principal expenses (players' salaries, financial support of minor leagues, stadiums and their upkeep), the economics of expansion and, finally, pressure from fans to retain popular players whose contracts may not be cost effective. The book covers baseball, football, basketball and hockey and the authors soberingly caution that if the forces of economics cannot coexist with fan equity, then sports will become another ``product'' of the mercantile system. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gorman and Calhoun, a pair of sports consultants, along with Rozin ( One Step from Glory , LJ 5/1/79), have written an informative and entertaining account of the financial side of U.S. professional football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. They stress that more than half of all league revenues come from television contracts (except for professional hockey) and that over half of all expenses go to player salaries (e.g., baseball salaries averaged about $800,000 in 1992). The most important factor for a successful team franchise is a loyal group of fans, the authors claim. At the same time, they point out that the mobility of players due to free agency means that fewer connections are made between players and fans. While they offer no solutions, the authors present the current problems in an interesting manner. This belongs in most sports collections.-- Terry Madden, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.

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