Should I Still Watch Football?
We all know the mantra, because it’s true: baseball isn’t America’s favorite pastime anymore, that title belongs to (American) football. Based on the way it’s portrayed in our media and supported with larger and larger chunks of our collective incomes you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a national religion. But I’m having a harder time than ever justifying support of this sport. Between the insatiable greed present at its uppermost levels and an undercurrent of violence leading to an epidemic of brain injuries that has largely been swept under the rug, is supporting this sport moral?
Full disclosure: it may be easier for me to write pessimistically about football, as my favorite teams are hard to root for. My Houston Texans are mired in perpetual mediocrity thanks to a mixture of poor draft choices and bad luck (my hometown Colts aren’t any better). On the rare occasions I see them on TV it’s usually a massive disappointment. As for my Alma mater Purdue’s football program, well...the less said about them at the moment, the better.
The Insatiable Greed of the NFL
I repeat the following hyperbole because I believe that with every passing year it becomes closer and closer to the truth: if the NFL and its collective owners had all of the money in the world it still wouldn’t be enough. There is no scheme that they are unwilling to try, no loophole they aren’t willing to exploit, and no level of shame they are unwilling to breach in order to extract more money from the American public. Even as American (inflation-adjusted) median income has peaked and then declined over the last 15 years1, subsidies to professional sports teams in the form of extravagant stadiums have ballooned, spearheaded by greedy NFL owners. As Dieter Kurtenbach of Fox Sports compiles, American taxpayers have directly subsidized NFL owners to the tune of $7 Billion over the last 20 years2. It was outrageous when my hometown of Indianapolis agreed to pay (in a secret deal completed without a public referendum) almost entirely for the $700+ million cost of the Colts’ new football palace, constructed in 2008. To add insult to injury, the Colts (in addition to paying almost nothing to lease the stadium) receive a large portion of the revenue from non-football events (at least $3.5 million guaranteed per year), despite the fact these events take place in a 100% publicly funded stadium and have nothing to do with the Colts3. (Why? Because, “Fuck you, we’re the NFL!”, that’s why.)
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| A Rendering of the Proposed Raiders' Stadium in Las Vegas (Rendering by MANICA Architecture) |
Alas, amid a flurry of one-upsmanship in the race to build fancier, more ludicrous publicly financed stadiums, my adopted hometown of Las Vegas is poised to set a new record for fiscal irresponsibility in a misguided attempt to bring the Oakland Raiders to town. A $1.9 billion (!!) stadium will be paid for with a minimum of $750 million of direct taxpayer funding4, with zero profit sharing being routed to taxpayers5. After accounting for cost overruns and interest that total will almost certainly top $1 billion in taxes. This doesn’t even include the hundreds of millions of dollars in associated infrastructure improvements needed (our leaders are compounding the idiocy by placing the stadium right next to the famously crowded Las Vegas Strip). The deal is, of course, being approved by our legislature and governor without a public referendum, as they know the public would not approve it6. And never mind that the Las Vegas metro area is home to only around 2 million people (with no major surrounding population centers to draw from), relatively small as NFL markets go.
How did we get to this point? Putting aside the immorality of shunting taxpayer funds to billionaires, the rate of stadium cost inflation and escalation is insane. Houston’s NRG Stadium opened in 2002 featuring a seating capacity of almost 72,000 and features the NFL’s first retractable roof. It cost $352 million7 (keep in mind that Houston’s metro area is home to nearly 6 million people). Now in 2016, Las Vegas, with a metro area only slightly bigger than ⅓ of Houston’s is planning to fund a stadium that will cost almost 5 and a half times as much as the one the Texans play in! Insane. How long can this escalation of extortion continue?
How did we get to this point? Putting aside the immorality of shunting taxpayer funds to billionaires, the rate of stadium cost inflation and escalation is insane. Houston’s NRG Stadium opened in 2002 featuring a seating capacity of almost 72,000 and features the NFL’s first retractable roof. It cost $352 million7 (keep in mind that Houston’s metro area is home to nearly 6 million people). Now in 2016, Las Vegas, with a metro area only slightly bigger than ⅓ of Houston’s is planning to fund a stadium that will cost almost 5 and a half times as much as the one the Texans play in! Insane. How long can this escalation of extortion continue?
The Indentured Servitude of the NCAA
Cartman: You have some might strong-lookin' workers heah, sahr. I'd be willin' to offer you forty dollars for two of the white ones and fifty for the blacks!
Dean Howland: Are you referring to our student athletes?
Cartman: “Student ath-o-letes”. Hoho, that is brilliant sahr! Now, when we sell their likeness for video games, how do we get around payin' for our slaves, uh- "student ath-o-letes" then?
Dean Howland: Are you referring to our student athletes?
Cartman: “Student ath-o-letes”. Hoho, that is brilliant sahr! Now, when we sell their likeness for video games, how do we get around payin' for our slaves, uh- "student ath-o-letes" then?
That exchange is from the South Park episode “Crack Baby Athletic Association”, which brilliantly parodies the NCAA (and its constituent universities) and its use of student athletes as unpaid labor. The NCAA has been holding firm to its party line of non-payment of student athletes for years. They even refuse to grant a small stipend to struggling student athletes to cover expenses such as clothes and travel8. But is forcing student athletes to play in exchange for only a (sometimes partial) scholarship fair and moral?
The argument against paying NCAA athletes is that they are receiving a world class education in exchange for their sweat, something that costs most non-scholarship students tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition and fees (the insane inflation of college fees is a topic for another day). OK, let’s be generous and say that a typical 4-year college degree with room & board at a public in-state school costs $100k when all is said and done (and presume a full ride scholarship, which isn't nearly always what a student athlete receives). Is this a fair exchange?
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| Foreground: The NCAA's Headquarters and Shrine Unto Itself, in Indianapolis (Image from sportsplanningguide.com) |
First, let’s analyze the quality of the degree being earned. When I attended college at Purdue in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s it was an open secret that many football players weren’t lining up for engineering or science programs, if you know what I mean. We knew that most student athletes were enrolled in the easier degree programs and they have a lot of help along the way. Well, this open secret has recently received mainstream attention with lawsuits such as the one leveled against UNC that claims student athletes were given “paper classes” that didn’t exist in any sense other than that a grade was given at the end of the semester9. The typical student athlete degree wasn’t exactly considered “top tier” with regards to job placement in the first place, but given the now common knowledge that they've been awarded without the requisite educational work, are these degrees even worth the paper they’re printed on?
Even if you think this degree is a fair compensation for an athlete’s time (which is an understandable viewpoint, especially for someone struggling to work through college or saddled with student loans), let’s analyze the trade-off in terms of dollars earned. Using our $100k assumption for the value of the education, we’ll divide that by 4 years and say that a student athlete is receiving $25k worth of education and room & board per year. Sounds pretty sweet. However, many student athletes report that they have to endure 30-40 (or more) hours per week of practice10. That’s basically a full-time job. Keep in mind that football players (and probably lots of other NCAA athletes) practice nearly year round in one form or another11. Is 25 grand a year for a full-time job a good deal? Keep in mind that athletics, in particular football, are extremely strenuous and can and do lead to some serious injuries.
Even if you think this degree is a fair compensation for an athlete’s time (which is an understandable viewpoint, especially for someone struggling to work through college or saddled with student loans), let’s analyze the trade-off in terms of dollars earned. Using our $100k assumption for the value of the education, we’ll divide that by 4 years and say that a student athlete is receiving $25k worth of education and room & board per year. Sounds pretty sweet. However, many student athletes report that they have to endure 30-40 (or more) hours per week of practice10. That’s basically a full-time job. Keep in mind that football players (and probably lots of other NCAA athletes) practice nearly year round in one form or another11. Is 25 grand a year for a full-time job a good deal? Keep in mind that athletics, in particular football, are extremely strenuous and can and do lead to some serious injuries.
Finally, let’s put this all in the context of the money being shuffled around to everyone but the athletes. The NCAA - which is nothing more than a supposedly not-for-profit regulatory agency - makes more and more money each year, closing in on the one billion dollar annual revenue target (as of 2013 its total revenue had already topped $912 million12). Close to 60% of this revenue is distributed to its constituent Division I schools13. And of course, the member universities are raking in massive receipts, as well. As of 2008, the top 10 Division I university athletic departments took in total revenues of over $90 million each. The top 50 schools each topped the $50 million revenue mark14. To be fair, high revenues do not necessarily equal a profit. In fact, USA Today reported that “Just 23 of 228 athletics departments at NCAA Division I public schools generated enough money on their own to cover their expenses in 2012.”15 But even if that’s true, sports programs (in particular football) mean a lot to Universities in terms of prestige and student recruitment. They mean enough that universities all across the U.S. are willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new or renovated stadiums. They mean enough to justify paying football coaches millions of dollars of guaranteed salary, regardless of whether they make it to the end of their contract. One would think that if these universities are willing to throw around Scrooge McDuck levels of cash for their athletic departments to be used for anything and everything but paying their student athletes, then they could find a place in their budget to augment their athletes' “education” with a modest salary.
The argument could be made that no one is putting a gun to the head of a college football player and forcing him to play for no salary. But that doesn’t make it right, especially when you consider that these young men with significant and unique talents have no reasonable chance of making it to the pros without first donating their best years to a university’s program. If you still think this is acceptable, I ask this of you: name another organization or group of organizations that pulls in billions of dollars in revenue each year, which makes this revenue from selling a sport that is played by 18-22 year-olds and often leads to serious injuries (including brain trauma), which pays their bosses (the head coaches) an average of $1.64 million dollars per year as of 2012 (a figure that has almost certainly risen substantially since then)16, which until recently has sold these young athletes’ names and likenesses to video game companies like EA for millions of dollars without compensating the athletes at all17, which imposes a 1-year suspension on athletes who have the gall to transfer to a different school and which can end a student’s scholarship at any time, which is not required to provide health care for injuries incurred in their workplace (playing field)17, and pays them zero dollars. I’ll wait.
The argument could be made that no one is putting a gun to the head of a college football player and forcing him to play for no salary. But that doesn’t make it right, especially when you consider that these young men with significant and unique talents have no reasonable chance of making it to the pros without first donating their best years to a university’s program. If you still think this is acceptable, I ask this of you: name another organization or group of organizations that pulls in billions of dollars in revenue each year, which makes this revenue from selling a sport that is played by 18-22 year-olds and often leads to serious injuries (including brain trauma), which pays their bosses (the head coaches) an average of $1.64 million dollars per year as of 2012 (a figure that has almost certainly risen substantially since then)16, which until recently has sold these young athletes’ names and likenesses to video game companies like EA for millions of dollars without compensating the athletes at all17, which imposes a 1-year suspension on athletes who have the gall to transfer to a different school and which can end a student’s scholarship at any time, which is not required to provide health care for injuries incurred in their workplace (playing field)17, and pays them zero dollars. I’ll wait.
A History of Violence
Football players serve as our modern gladiators. They pound each other, running full speed into massive collisions of mass and energy that would crumple normal humans. They get injured. A lot. But besides all the torn muscles and broken bones (which create a lifetime of pain for many retired pro athletes), we have only recently begun to take notice of the epidemic of horrific cumulative brain injuries suffered by football players. We’ve all read the articles. Pro players suffering personality changes and committing murder and suicide. Dead athletes’ brains have been sliced up and examined, showing a swiss cheese-like series of voids. A recent study showed chronic traumatic encephalopathy present in 96% of deceased NFL players’ brains18.
But as worrisome as the NFL studies are, it is becoming more and more apparent that these chronic brain injuries are not limited to the pros. A recent Boston University study found that among NFL players suffering from brain-related illnesses, those who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 performed significantly worse in cognition tests19, indicating brain damage (or at least the conditions which will lead to it) occur even in youth football. Given the fragile and still-growing nature of children, this should hardly come as a surprise.
But as worrisome as the NFL studies are, it is becoming more and more apparent that these chronic brain injuries are not limited to the pros. A recent Boston University study found that among NFL players suffering from brain-related illnesses, those who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 performed significantly worse in cognition tests19, indicating brain damage (or at least the conditions which will lead to it) occur even in youth football. Given the fragile and still-growing nature of children, this should hardly come as a surprise.
Yet, despite these horrific consequences staring us in the face, we still not only celebrate this blood-sport but encourage many of our children to play it at a highly competitive level, allowing them to spend obscene amounts of time training and practicing to smash each others’ brains against the insides of their skulls when they should be studying for their high school midterms. Is this acceptable? Is this moral?
I don’t mean to judge those who watch and support football, as doing so would make me a total hypocrite. Even if I don’t buy tickets, I still support this reckless national pastime directly with my TV viewing and indirectly (and begrudgingly) with my tax dollars. But we need to start asking ourselves hard questions about what this does to a large percentage of our population, especially our youth. I’m struggling in my head to justify continued fandom of this sport. How many others are thinking the same thing?
Notes:
- Short, Doug. Advisor Perspectives, “Median Household Income Growth: Deflating the American Dream”. 23 September, 2015.
https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2015/09/23/median-household-income-growth-deflating-the-american-dream - Kurtenbach, Dieter. “Taxpayers have spent a staggering amount of money on NFL stadiums in the last 20 years”. Fox Sports. 31 March, 2016.
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-new-stadiums-public-funding-how-much-atlanta-san-diego-minnesota-los-angeles-033116 - King, Mason. “Lucas Oil Stadium meeting revenue expectations”. Indianapolis Business Journal. 22 September, 2012.
http://www.ibj.com/articles/36743-lucas-oil-stadium-meeting-revenue-expectations - Perez, A.J. “Committee OKs $750 million in public funding for potential Raiders stadium in Las Vegas”. USA Today. 15 September, 2016.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/raiders/2016/09/15/las-vegas-raiders-stadium-plan-public-funding/90422394/ - Valley, Jackie. “Stadium plan to lure Raiders to Las Vegas passes major vote”. Las Vegas Sun. 15 September 2016.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/sep/15/panel-votes-to-recommend-las-vegas-nfl-stadium-pla/ - Snyder, Riley. “KTNV/RASMUSSEN POLL: Voters opposed to putting taxpayer money up on potential Raiders stadium”. KTNV 13 Action News. 27 July, 2016.
http://www.ktnv.com/news/political/ktnvrasmussen-poll-voters-opposed-to-putting-taxpayer-money-up-on-potential-raiders-stadium - Associated Press. “NCAA president: Not a good idea”. ESPN. 17 September, 2013.
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9682086/ncaa-budge-paying-college-athletes - Jacobs, Peter and Associated Press. “ Here's How UNC's Massive Fake-Class Scandal Worked”. Business Insider. 23 October, 2014. http://www.businessinsider.com/unc-fake-class-scandal-details-2014-10
- Jacobs, Peter. “ Here's The Insane Amount Of Time Student-Athletes Spend On Practice”. Business Insider. 27 January, 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/college-student-athletes-spend-40-hours-a-week-practicing-2015-1
- Lutzenkirchen, Phil. “What do college football players do between spring and fall practice?”. SB Nation. 24 April, 2014.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/4/24/5647466/college-football-offseason-schedule - Haoyun, Su, & Alesia, Mark. “NCAA approaching $1 billion per year amid challenges by players”. Indianapolis Star. 27 March, 2014. http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/03/27/ncaa-approaching-billion-per-year-amid-challenges-players/6973767/
- Schlabach, Mark. “NCAA: Where does the money go?” ESPN. 12 July, 2011. http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6756472/following-ncaa-money
- “College Athletics Revenues and Expenses - 2008”. ESPN. http://www.espn.com/ncaa/revenue/_/page/1
- Berkowitz, Steve, Upton, Jodi, & Brady, Erik. USA Today. 1 July, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2013/05/07/ncaa-finances-subsidies/2142443/
- Brady, Erik, Berkowitz, Steve, & Upton, Jodi. “College football coaches continue to see salary explosion”. USA Today. 20 November, 2012 http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2012/11/19/college-football-coaches-contracts-analysis-pay-increase/1715435/
- Walsh, Meghan. “ 'I Trusted 'Em': When NCAA Schools Abandon Their Injured Athletes”. The Atlantic. 1 May, 2013. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/i-trusted-em-when-ncaa-schools-abandon-their-injured-athletes/275407/
- Breslow, Jason. “New: 87 Deceased NFL Players Test Positive for Brain Disease”. PBS. 18 September, 2015.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/new-87-deceased-nfl-players-test-positive-for-brain-disease/ - Neuhauser, Alan. “Youth Football Linked to Long-Term Brain Damage in NFL Players”. U.S. News & World Report. 28 January, 2015. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/28/youth-football-linked-to-long-term-brain-damage-in-nfl-players
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