OPINION:
Perhaps Stephen Moore is unaware that the NFL has one of the most robust revenue-sharing programs in America — in the name of building a more equitable, competitive professional league (“Don’t let socialism ruin college sports,” Web, March 4).
Last year, the NFL sent each of its 32 teams a record $432.6 million from its revenue sharing pool. The NFL is the most profitable sports league in the world, with national revenue sharing making up 62% of all NFL income, according to Sports Pro. Even the Green Bay Packers, one of the league’s most high-profile teams, reported that national revenue sharing made up about 60% of their total income.
“The concept of revenue sharing, a cornerstone of the NFL’s strategy, emerges as a potentially transformative approach for elevating team values across the board,” reads a report by financial and risk advisory firm Kroll. “The NFL’s operating model relies heavily on national revenue … [promoting] financial parity among teams, contrasting with the MLB’s and NBA’s heavier reliance on local market revenues, which can lead to greater disparities in team values.”
Cody Campbell, the Texas oil billionaire, former offensive lineman for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and founder of the Save College Sports movement, reportedly wants Congress to amend the Sports Broadcasting Act. He wants to allow college sports to negotiate TV contracts as a group rather than as individual conferences, which would favor power conferences and give media executives more bargaining leverage.
Mr. Campbell argues that the move would nearly double the worth of media rights to $7 billion, which would be shared across the board, as is done in the NFL. This, he points out, would reduce the likelihood of colleges and universities hollowing out or eliminating smaller, less profitable sports to maintain the budgets of more popular sports. It’s to “protect all sports at all schools,” Mr. Campbell says.
Sen. Bernard Sanders and the billionaires would probably agree that’s not such a terrible goal.
JODY JENKINS
Florence, Massachusetts
Please read our comment policy before commenting.