Fraud In The Sports Industry

Football is America’s go to entertainment sport. The NFL hit its peak in 2015, with an average of 114.1 million television viewers throughout the year (“Statista,” 2017). This sport is loved by all, the players, parents, coaches, and fans. But, is football merely entertainment? Is it just a simple game, teaching young boys the value of teamwork, dedication, and discipline? Are parents spending their Friday nights to support their boys, or is there something bigger happening? In H.G Bissinger’s novel, Friday Night Lights, one can see the true effects of this toxic drug through the mindset of the players and the actions of the coaches. While society sees football as entertainment, it actually functions more like a drug.

Even though football players are aware of the dangers the game can bring upon them, they take part despite it. The passion, the joy it creates; for professionals it’s also the devoted fans and compensation they receive is what keeps the players motivated. Today players are much bigger, faster, smarter, bigger, better. The game is more physical. The sport has never been so competitive. The popularity has reached new peaks, as much that the NFL has thoughts of moving a team to London, England. Additionally, Super Bowl XLVII (47) was one of the most watched television events of all time; an astonishing 108.4 million viewers (The Associated Press). Fans worship their teams and love to see big hits. Football is a contact sport; injuries are no

Football remains the most popular sport in America and the ninth most popular sport in the world for a reason. Since its creation in 1869, football has played a fundamental part of American society. Every Sunday, my family along with millions of other Americans turn the television to CBS, NBC or FOX to watch their favorite football team go to battle. My family and I bleed burgundy and gold and root for the home team the Washington Redskins. Americans including myself display great intensity and passion for the game of football and the result of the game often changes my attitude for the better or worse. Watching the game on television may come as exhilarating and entertaining, but playing the game creates the best times. Overall football has made a severe impact on many people’s lives. Football teaches unique lessons in a hands on manner which helps athletes like myself sustain a much more adventurous life. Football has made an immeasurably positive influence upon my life, but the sport has its dangers. Football changes lives.

EBay has paved the wave in this industry and being in a billion dollar industry making things happen to benefit consumers in many ways.[5]

Multiple deaths from a degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is what the true culprit of the NFL is. This disease is caused from repetitive blunt force trauma to the head, leading those who are effected to struggle later in life and even turn to suicide. People are writing about these safety concerns in football nowadays because of the multitude of deaths related to this disease and the way the NFL choses to deal with it. The NFL disregarding its players is a subject at hand currently because people continue to suffer from CTE without even confirming they have it before they have already deteriorated. “Football Has Become Too Real to Watch” by television writer, Eric Buchman, describes these realities of the NFL and how it went from being a safe haven to a place where the NFL pretends to be oblivious to the realities of the game. Buchman’s argument is that the joy of football is gone due to the reality of current issues within the NFL. The NFL getting away with awful things is what Buchman wants the reader to take away from this article. His contribution to this debate is that he offers a perspective of the fans for why this issue is important without any biases towards the NFL.

The NFL benefits from having football being a common conversation point in schools and workplaces. From fantasy football leagues to highly intricate betting in Las Vegas. There is not just passion, but dollars and time being invested by the end consumer. The NFL saturates Thanksgiving television, it’s players are often celebrities, its story lines are on the tip the American male. Knowing the game of football is often a rite of passage. Football is American tradition. The NFL clearly has it’s place in American culture. It is evident in the outpouring of corporate sponsors into the league. Companies recognize the visibility NFL players offer to their products and the NFL leverages that back into its brand. All aspects surrounding the sport are sponsored. From the sports drink the players slurp then dump on their coaches after victories—to the on-the-field tablets branded with the iconic window for drawing up plays. The jerseys, cleats, gloves, hats, helmets, pads—and that is just on the field. There’s food, cars, watches, headphones—it seems everything that scrapes past the NFL becomes sponsored in some way. Backing from the NFL appears to currently have exponential upside increasing brand awareness.

While growing up in the state of Texas I was introduced to National Football League (NFL) at a very young age. Not only was I obsessed with great players like Emmitt Smith and Michael Irving, I had a more finical appreciation for the lucrativeness associated with the NFL. My young adulthood as well as my teenage years was spent playing and learning football with the aspirations of hopefully making it to the NFL. Unfortunately, my playing days ended with tryouts at Texas Tech University, but my love for the game has remained stagnant over the years even till this day. The NFL today is Americas most watched sports league and has taken the crown as the most lucrative and unique economic force in sports. Forbes offered approximations stating that on average, the NFL generates more than $6-9 billion a year in revenues alone. A third of the individual franchises in the league were appraised at over more than $1 billion while the other franchises average nine figures or higher. The NFL as an organization generates its revenues through a multitude of ways ranging from huge television contracts, in-stadium ticket sales, advertising ads paid for by sponsors and merchandise. Their business model unlike most other leagues, is centered on a hard salary cap on player contracts which provides cost certainty with its sponsors. In this paper, I will examine the economic and historical narrative associated with the growth of the NFL’s

One of most dangerous sports in the world is also one of the most loved. Professional football has been America’s favorite sport since the NFL was founded on August 20th, 1920 and, its popularity is growing with Super Bowl XLIX raking in 114.4 million viewers to become the most watched telecast in U.S. history. The record they broke was previously owned by the 2014 Super Bowl, which received 112.2 million viewers. It also is one of the biggest markets with players, owners, general managers and TV networks, making millions of dollars each time a game is aired. But with this comes a consequence, something millions of American and international viewers are willing to ignore, the physical and mental health of the athletes that play the sport. Professional

According to the Harris poll of 2015 35% of Americans say the NFL is their favourite sport, this has been the case since 1985. Baseball referred to as ‘America’s game’ came in being in second despite the NFL being two and half times more popular, showing that ‘America’s game’ is an incorrect reference as it does not reflect American society. Therefore it is no surprise that the NFL has significant cultural status within American society and history.

Every fall a majority of Americans count down the days to the start of every NFL season. It is the time of the year when people look forward to traveling to their favorite team’s stadium, or powering up the big screen to watch the game. The NFL provides an outlet every Sunday for people to relax and enjoy exciting entertainment. Everyone looks forward. So many people have invested themselves into their favorite team by purchasing season tickets, sporting countless items of team gear, devoting many hours to fantasy football, and gambling. It is no secret the level of impact that the NFL has on so many people of all ages and genders. The NFL does a great job marketing their product

When preparing for this big event, there are certain rituals performed. Some rituals include pre-game talk from sport anchors, buying of apparel, and Super Bowl parties. Sport Anchors go all day discussing other teams that had chances to make it, but most importantly they discuss the two teams playing, their key players, and players that once played for them. At this point, the sport anchors are getting everyone involved with the history of the teams as well as current information about the teams and players to remind fans and viewers. One thing that stood out to me about the preparation of the Super Bowl and the sport anchors were the discussion of Stuart Scott. Stuart Scott was a well-known sport anchor that recently died of cancer. They brought him up and became emotional because of his debt to society, sport, and the cultural of the sport. He was an inspiration to individuals who didn't engage or watch sport on the regular. Even some of the players of the Super Bowl teams discussed how much he had impacted their lives. This shows another level of cultural unity among players and individuals who analyze the sport. Fans are also getting involved by pulling from their closets throwback Jerseys and current player jerseys that contain players of them team they adore. Another activity that everyone can partake in that is performed often are Super Bowl parties. Individuals get together to watch the game and eat typical food such as wings, chips & dip, and drinking beer. Those particular rituals are what brings society together to come and watch the big game. Rituals that bring cultures and people from all walks of life together through the avenue of sports. Sports is one of the greatest platforms in the world. Not only can it can be used for entertainment, but it can also be used to bring cultures together and to unify them into one. Without sports the world would be more divided than ever,

It's football season, grab your shirt and support your team. Another blind strategy by the NFL to undefined the cost of football. In an interview between Steve Almond “The Church Of The Gridiron: Steve Almond On How He Lost His Faith In Football,” by David Cook. Almond was born in Palo Alto, California in 1966. But an Oklahoma Raiders fan consuming everything football threw at him for four decades. “Then, in 2014, he did the unthinkable: he stopped. No more games. No more listening to sports talk radio” (Cook). Therefore, becoming a “football fandom's conscientious objector” (Cook ). In addition, David Cook asks: “What role does football play in the U.S. today?” (Cook). Making, Steve Almond's share his opinions. Furthermore, questioning a particular American Value of “openness,” from the article “The Values Americans Live By”, by Robert Kohls. Unveiling the truth about the untold cost of former football players that the NFL reflects.

The NFL has been the most popular sport in America for several years now. Even when there are scandals such as ray rice domestic violence incident, deflate gate or concussions the league seems to get stronger and stronger without the league losing popularity. Michael Lewis of Emory University agrees, "Just the strength of that product and fan loyalty and fan interest is so great that it's really kind of bulletproof at this point". Its astonishing to think that with all these scandals facing the league viewership continues to rise year after year, and the league grows financially every year as well. The NFL has been able to establish such a strong brand image to its fans that when a shot is fired at them, it seems just to bounce of them.

Arguably football is one of the most popular sports across the world. Forty three percent of Americans say that football is their favorite sport to watch, more than three times any other sport”,according to (“Should College Football Replace the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)”) with a playoff system” 1). The fans feel as if a playoff system would be the

In today’s world of big time professional sports there are the two major players and they are football represented by the National Football League (NFL) and baseball represented by Major League Baseball (MLB). Now there are other sports that the American public enjoys watching, however the argument generally boils down to which sport is the true favorite of the American people: baseball or football. In this paper I will attempt to examine both sports from several different angles to include attendance, television revenue, ticket costs, venues, salaries, entertainment value, and athlete perception. The goal of this exercise will be to determine, once and for all, which sport is the American