Pay Dirt

In the 1990s, players are earning record salaries and owners are making record profits in each of the pro team sports. However, the unrest that has accompanied these windfalls is staggering. There was the cancellation of the 1994 World Series because of a players strike, and Art Modell's decision to move one of the most successful franchises in football history because he wanted a new stadium and that's just the beginning. Now available for the first time in paperback, this veritable bible of sports economics clearly explains the effects of salary caps, the reasons why owners fear antitrust hearings in Washington, why sweetheart deals for new stadiums are becoming the norm, and why everyone is making so much money in sports at the expense of the fan. Quirk demonstrates that decisions made in the executive offices of sports franchises can be as fascinating as, and can influence, what happens in the games. All Americans are involved in the sports business as ticket-buyers, tax- payers, and participants in the culture that shapes and is shaped by professional sports. So there should be a wide readership for this intelligent guide to reading newspapers' sports pages, which increasingly resemble business pages. George Will Call this volume 'The Wealth of Nations' of professional sports. Unrivaled in scope, the [book] should stand for quite some time as the basic work from which all descendants will spring. Steve Gietschier, The Sporting NewsJames Quirk is the author of 'Pay Dirt', published 1992 under ISBN 9780691042558 and ISBN 0691042551.