This book takes an in-depth look at the economics and finance of professional team sports, with a strong focus on applied analysis and performance measurement, to enable students, researchers, and practitioners to develop their professional knowledge of contemporary sport business.

It examines the key themes that define professional team sports today, including the unique features of the team sport market place, the operation of leagues, competitive balance, salary caps, draft systems, income from broadcasting rights, the role of agents, and governance and financial regulation. It analyses the functional aspects of sport finance including where the money flows in and out, how to measure performance holistically, and how to interpret the financial performance of professional sport teams. It also covers emerging and disruptive forces that may shape the market in the future. It includes real- world cases and data in every chapter, including sports from football to Formula 1 and the NFL to the NBA, covering both established and emerging markets around the world. No other book offers such an up-to-date and practical guide to the most important sector of international sport business.

This book is essential reading for courses in sport finance and economics, sport business, sport media and marketing, international business, or the economics of service and entertainment industries, and invaluable reading for any sport business professional looking to improve their professional skills.

Daniel Plumley is Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance in the Department of Finance, Accounting and Business Systems in the Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. His research interests include performance measurement in professional team sports, the economics and finance of professional team sports, and competitive balance in professional team sports.

Rob Wilson is Head of Department in Sheffield Business School’s Department of Finance, Accounting and Business Systems, and member of the Social and Economic Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, UK specialising in the finance and economics of the sport business industry.