As 2022 comes to a close, Sports Illustrated looks back at the themes and teams, story lines and through lines that shaped the year.
As the tastemakers gathered to consider Sportsman of the Year for 2022, here’s one name that sure didn’t come up in conversation: Dustin Johnson. Competitively, the mid-career golfer has done well, winning an event in Boston and building himself into the top 10 on many leaderboards. But it was nothing out of the ordinary, as he himself quickly admitted. Summing up his ’22 campaign to The Palm Beach Post, Johnson said flatly: “I feel like it should have been a lot better. I played well. I didn’t play my best.”
The market suggested otherwise. By an order of magnitude, Johnson had the best year of his career, making enough money to make hedge fund managers salivate over their Château Margaux.
Johnson’s financial burden this year? He earned more than $36 million in prize money and bonuses. And then there was the $125 million shelled out to him when he left for a new golf circuit over four years. Prorated, that “signing bonus” equals more than $31 million a year. Add that to the on-course earnings and that’s nearly $70 million (before endorsements), about the same amount Johnson earned in prize money during his previous fifteen years on the PGA Tour.
Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images (Messi); Kyu Oh/Getty Images (Money)
Johnson, of course, was one of the many financial beneficiaries of LIV Golf, the breakaway Saudi-backed tour that used its petrodollars to shake the foundations of golf in 2022, preserving, as it were, the power structure and economics of the entire sport. Consider that in June, when South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel triumphed at the first LIV tournament, few fans were on hand, and there was no television coverage for the event’s three rounds—or 54 holes; hence the Roman numerals LIV—which streamed only on YouTube and Facebook Live.
However, Schwartzel received $4 million, then the highest winner’s purse ever paid out to the winner of a golf event. As no less than Tiger Woods—who resisted an offer of, reportedly, $700 million for removal—said of LIV, “It’s an endless pit of money.”
That might as well be the motto for all sports this year. We are, of course, long past the days when professional teams were owned by the local car dealers, ticket revenue mattered and the entire sports enterprise was simply a small corner of the culture where fans could lose themselves for a few weekend hours. But 2022 was the year when sports firmly established itself as a full-fledged economic sector. The trifecta of global recession, ongoing global pandemic and global conflict? Sports was immune to everything. The money pit is, officially, bottomless, endless.
The highest expression of this excess was perhaps the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, where this number hovered around: 220 billion USD. Two hundred and twenty billion dollars. That, we were told repeatedly, was what Qatar spent to stage this quadrennial event.
Dustin Johnson was one of the many financial beneficiaries of LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed tour that used its petrodollars to shake the foundations of golf in 2022.
Joe Scarnici/LIV Golf/Getty Images
Billions and millions are, for many, the new passer ratings or WHIP of sports coverage and sports fandom. We reflexively cite the figures, but they are often abstractions, easy to pass over without full consideration. But let’s pause and unpack that $220,000,000,000 figure from Qatar. Two hundred and twenty billion dollars? That’s more than double the combined spending that went into the previous eight World Cups. Two hundred and twenty billion dollars? For that price, the Qataris could have bought every NFL team … with, perhaps, enough funds left over to buy every NBA team as well.
That extrapolation is based on the $4.65 billion price paid in 2022 for the Denver Broncos and the $4 billion acquired for the Phoenix Suns and Mercury last week. A decade ago, a group of investors bought the Philadelphia 76ers for $290 million, their investment increased more than 10 times in 10 years. Again, this comes as the NBA’s upcoming media rights deal is expected to triple the current deal, landing in the $75 billion range.
Which would still put the NBA well behind the NFL, producing, tracking, as it is, for $25 billion in total revenue by 2027 – a figure that would stack up favorably against many publicly traded companies. Not that the NFL has a monopoly on football revenue. College football is on the rise as well, especially Power 5 programs, like those in the Big Ten, which is no longer a group of 10 teams but is bigger than ever. Once sent to the Midwest, the conference will soon be up to 16 member schools, its footprint spanning from New Jersey to Southern California, that’s after luring UCLA and USC. That’s what happens when the conference secures $1 billion from several networks in exchange for the rights to air games.
Air, as opposed to stream. Although that is also a possibility. This was the year Apple entered the sports game, agreeing to pay Major League Soccer $2.5 billion over 10 years to carry the entire regular season and Leagues Cup (MLS versus Liga MX competition). Amazon finished its first season as home of the NFL’s Thursday night games, an overall success despite no help from the league’s schedulers. (Netflix walked back its desire to get into the live sports game. The reason was simple: The rights are too expensive. “We’re not anti-sports,” CEO Ted Sarandos told investors, “we’re just for-profit..”)
With all this money floating around the sports space, it’s only right that some of it—in some cases, thanks to unions, half of it—flows back to the players. So it is that when the new media agreement of the NBA is signed, for example, Giannis Antetokounmpo, could presumably earn $ 100 million per season … which is more than what Michael Jordan ($ 94 million) earned in his entire career . With straight faces, we can debate whether Aaron Judge’s new deal with the Yankees is selling him short when he’s making “only” $360 million over nine years. Meanwhile, 2022 was the year an NFL team shamefully wasted a quarter of a billion dollars on Deshaun Watson.
Such spending is not just in the realm of American sports. (An example among many: In December, Cristiano Ronaldo turned down more than $100 million per season to play for a team in Saudi Arabia.) And it’s not just “professional” athletes. Because of name, image and likeness deals and the duty ship, the almighty transfer portal, quarterbacks and point guards and even some gymnasts can now generate income for themselves as well as their school.
Those who splash at the sports money trough aren’t just athletes and owners. Head coaches can earn more than $10 million per season. Coordinators in college football can earn more than $1 million. A top football broadcaster like Troy Aikman can make $1 million per game, more than he did 30 years ago when he was hounded by 300-pound opponents looking to drive him to the turf.
Late-stage capitalism being what it is, there are complicating factors, if not outright losers. Whether it’s paying for tickets or a quiver of streaming services, it’s never been more expensive to be a fan. College athletes are still outrageously underpaid – their ability to earn NIL income from third parties is a start but doesn’t address the fact that they go uncompensated for the valuable work they provide to their schools. Sports gambling, another revenue stream, may have moved from the margins and found social acceptability. But when colleges get paid to get students to sign up for accounts, it’s nothing short of a moral failure. Sports washing—using the allure of competition and events to wash and rehabilitate a country’s reputation externally, and distract internally from human rights abuses and other evil deeds—is a trend gaining traction.
Sports gambling, another revenue stream, may have moved from the margins and found social acceptability. But when colleges get paid to get students to sign up for accounts, it’s nothing short of a moral failure.
Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
However, sports should be the envy of so many other sectors. The consumer base is global, young and tribally loyal. The growth is uncontrolled. And there is room for much more. There are emerging markets only beginning to be explored – as the various American and European leagues opening offices in India and Africa suggest. There are still income streams that can become rivers. New economic models will help target new profit centers and find efficiencies. The dynamic pricing used so effectively (ruthlessly?) by brands from Ticketmaster to Uber? What if the leagues pivoted away from the certainty of TV contracts, and forced networks to simply bid week-to-week on individual games?
Perhaps most critically, all of this business benefits the underlying product. When, say, LeBron James has the means to spend $1.5 million, as he admits, “on my body” — all those nutritionists and trainers and massage therapists — everyone wins. He’s playing, undiminished, deep into his 30s making the most of all those years and supermax contracts and endorsements. Fans enjoy his services and form an attachment for all those more years. Teams and leagues get two decades, not one, of their top assets.
In 2022, Roger Federer and Serena Williams both retired. Both are 41 and already, reportedly, billionaires. Other peers played, encouraged by the keen sports market and taking advantage of the career extension that money can buy. Tom Brady, of course, has been on the planet for 45 years, and is a singular (and now, singular) quarterback. Justin Verlander just won the World Series at age 39. In hockey, Alex Ovechkin, 37, continues his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career goals, “The Gr8 Chase,” a term Ovechkin has, naturally, trademarked.
On December 13, he scored a hat trick that included his 800th career goal. That night, fans, worldwide, watched live, something that would have been unthinkable when he started his career. Many have seen their sports betting accounts go up and down. Ovechkin earned his eight-figure salary. In celebration of the milestone, he peeled off his helmet, revealing a shock of gray hair, and pointed to his jersey. Appropriately, it read “Capitals.”
What does the sports industry include?
The sports industry includes three organizational sectors: public, non-profit and commercial. Read also : Amazon Prime Video hires Michael Smith as TNF news analyst. These are important categories for the different types of organizations involved in sport and are central to the creation and production of sports products, services, programs, and facilities.
What are the 5 categories of sports? Sports Categories
- Mainly physical (e.g. rugby, athletics)
- Mainly mind (eg chess, go)
- Primarily motorized (e.g. car racing, motor boating)
- Mainly coordination (e.g. billiards)
- Primarily animal-supported (e.g. horseman)
What do you know about the sports industry?
The sports franchise industry generates $39 billion in revenue, according to market research group IBISWorld. The franchises that contribute most of the income are the National Football League (NFL), Major Leagues of Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL).
What sports business include?
Sports business is more about the actual business activities that make sports e. To see also : Louisville Bats Partner with Louisville Sports Commission to Collect Sports Equipment | Leather Wings.g. sponsor a team, manage an athlete, sell TV rights, host an event, market to fans.
Why is age 55 considered a senior?
Categorically, elderly is a social demographic based on age. Someone who is 35, for example, cannot be an old man. Read also : Fanatics is in talks to buy sports betting company Tipico, sources say. Being elderly usually means that a person is at the age where they retire from work. They are transitioning from working adult to retiree.
What are people who are 55 called? Expressions and euphemisms for people in this age range include old people, old people (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage meaning Old Age Pensioner), old people, old people (American usage), older adults (in the social sciences), and the elderly ( in many cultures).
What age is considered elderly in 2022?
According to the US Social Security Administration, anyone age 65 or older is elderly.
What city has all 4 major sports?
New York and Los Angeles are the only two metropolitan areas with two or more teams in all four major sports (New York has the Yankees and Mets of MLB, the Knicks and Nets of the NBA, the Giants and Jets of the NFL, and the Rangers, Islanders, and of the NHL. Devils.
How many cities have all 4 major sports? Ranking Boston, Massachusetts and the 11 Other Four-Sport Cities in the United States There are 12 cities in the United States that have the honor of hosting a professional sports team from each of the four major sports (baseball, basketball, hockey, football) within. their city limits or distinct metropolitan area.
What cities have the Big 4 sports?
Ranking the 115 US-based franchises in the “Big Four” professional sports leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball) by Nielsen TV market size. As of 2022, the top five markets remain the same as in previous years – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas-Ft.
Has any city won all 4 major sports in the same year?
New York is the only city to win multiple titles in back-to-back seasons, doing so in 1926–1927 and 1927–1928. No city has ever won more than two championships in the four major sports in the same season.
What is the third sector in sport?
Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) are based in each of the 32 council areas across Scotland and provide a range of services to sports clubs as part of their remit to support community groups, voluntary organisations, charities, social enterprises, co-operatives and individuals. volunteers
What is voluntary and third sector? The “voluntary sector” refers to organizations whose primary purpose is to create social impact rather than profit. It is often called the third sector, civil society or the non-profit sector.
What is the first second and third sector?
The three-sector model in economics divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials (primary), manufacturing (secondary), and service industries that exist to facilitate the transport, distribution and sale of goods produced in the secondary sector (tertiary) . ).
What is working in the third sector?
The term “third sector” refers to organizations that are non-profit and non-governmental, as opposed to the public and private sectors. The terms “voluntary and community sector”, “civil society” and “charities” are also sometimes used.
What is the third sector known as?
What are third sector organizations? “Third sector organisations” is a term used to describe the range of organizations which are neither public sector nor private sector.
