Speech: Economic Realities and Legal Issues of Professional Athletes

Abstract:     
This speech discusses the life and financial status of the typical professional athlete − illustrating how multimillionaire celebrity athletes are the exception to the rule, and how even the wealthiest of professional athletes have made big sacrifices to earn their paychecks. The speech then explains how the U.S. legal system, over the second half of last century, has played an important role in improving the living conditions for professional athletes of all economic statuses. Finally, the speech concludes by discussing how during the past several years there have been some new legal challenges for professional athletes that threaten to reverse the trend of their improving financial conditions.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 10

Keywords: sports, law, economics, athletes, celebrities, antitrust, labor law, collective bargaining, right of publicity, Jeremy Lin, market power, decertification, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA

JEL Classification: D23, D31, D42, D63, H24, J22, J41, J44, J51, K11, K12, K21, K31, l40, l83, l84, Z1

Accepted Paper Series