The implications of athlete freedom to contract: lessons from North America |
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| Authors: | Allen R Sanderson John J Siegfried |
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| Institution: | Allen Sanderson is Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Chicago and Senior Research Scientist at the National Opinion Research Center John Siegfried is Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University and Secretary of the American Economic Association |
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| Abstract: | The 1995 Bosman judgement by the European Court of Justice granted professional athletes in Europe inter-country freedom to contract and eased foreign-player restrictions. Based on two decades of free-agency experience in North America, we expect to see salaries of European players rise substantially, top players earn more while marginal players earn less, and players absorb more of their training costs. Ticket prices and competitive balance will be unaffected. Clubs and leagues will be likely to attempt to control player costs by instituting schemes such as payroll caps and increased revenue sharing. |
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