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Comment: "Professional Team Sports Are Only a Game: The Walrasian Fixed-Supply Conjecture Model, Contest-Nash Equilibrium, and the Invariance Principle"

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  • E. Woodrow Eckard

    (University of Colorado at Denver)

Abstract

In a recent article in this journal, Stefan Szymanski develops a generalized version of the two-team diminishing marginal revenue model of win percentage determination and talent allocation. The standard version of this model assumes a fixed supply of talent for a given season, focusing on the allocation of players among teams. Szymanski claims that this assumption is inappropriate and offers his generalized model as a solution. This comment argues, on the contrary, that the fixed supply assumption underlying the standard model is appropriate for its usual applications, given the “peculiar economics†of sports labor markets.

Suggested Citation

  • E. Woodrow Eckard, 2006. "Comment: "Professional Team Sports Are Only a Game: The Walrasian Fixed-Supply Conjecture Model, Contest-Nash Equilibrium, and the Invariance Principle"," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 7(2), pages 234-239, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:7:y:2006:i:2:p:234-239
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002504272947
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Walter C. Neale, 1964. "The Peculiar Economics of Professional Sports," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 78(1), pages 1-14.
    2. Rodney Fort & James Quirk, 1995. "Cross-subsidization, Incentives, and Outcomes in Professional Team Sports Leagues," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 1265-1299, September.
    3. Stefan Szymanski, 2004. "Professional Team Sports Are Only a Game," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 5(2), pages 111-126, May.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Kesenne, 2009. "What’s the game team owners play?," Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, Centro di diritto e business dello Sport, vol. 5(1), pages 81-87, Maggio.
    2. Helmut M. Dietl & Martin Grossmann & Markus Lang, 2011. "Competitive Balance and Revenue Sharing in Sports Leagues With Utility-Maximizing Teams," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(3), pages 284-308, June.
    3. Jason Winfree & Rodney Fort, 2013. "Reply to Szymanski’s “Some Observations on Fort and Winfree ‘Nash Conjectures and Talent Supply in Sports League Modeling: A Comment on Current Modeling Disagreements.’â€," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(3), pages 327-329, June.
    4. Rodney Fort & Jason Winfree, 2009. "Sports Really are Different: The Contest Success Function and the Supply of Talent," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 34(1), pages 69-80, February.
    5. Markus LANG & Alexander RATHKE & Marco RUNKEL, 2010. "The Economic Consequences Of Foreigner Rules In National Sports Leagues," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 31, pages 47-64.
    6. Paul Madden, 2015. "“Walrasian Fixed Supply Conjecture†Versus “Contest-Nash†Solutions to Sports League Models," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(5), pages 540-551, June.
    7. Mongeon, Kevin & Winfree, Jason, 2012. "Cross-ownership, league policies and player investment across sports leagues," MPRA Paper 39218, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Marco Runkel, 2022. "Player Mobility and Competitive Balance Regulation in Professional Sports Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 23(4), pages 479-500, May.
    9. Markus Lang & Martin Grossmann & Philipp Theiler, 2011. "The Sugar Daddy Game: How Wealthy Investors Change Competition in Professional Team Sports," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 167(4), pages 557-577, December.
    10. Jason Winfree & Rodney Fort, 2012. "Nash Conjectures and Talent Supply in Sports League Modeling," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(3), pages 306-313, June.
    11. Wladimir Andreff, 2009. "Équilibre compétitif et contrainte budgétaire dans une ligue de sport professionnel," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 60(3), pages 591-633.
    12. Marco Runkel, 2011. "Revenue Sharing, Competitive Balance and the Contest Success Function," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(3), pages 256-273, August.
    13. Paul Madden, 2017. "Comment on Driskill and Vrooman," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(3), pages 271-281, April.
    14. Kevin Mongeon & Jason Winfree, 2013. "The Effects of Cross-Ownership and League Policies Across Sports Leagues Within a City," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 43(3), pages 145-162, November.
    15. Helmut Dietl & Egon Franck & Martin Grossmann & Markus Lang, 2009. "Contest Theory and its Applications in Sports," Working Papers 0105, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU).

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