What would happen if, tomorrow, the sports industry keeled over and snuffed it? Just how much does the world of balls, pucks, and punches actually add to the country’s economy?
More than some might think, it turns out. The sports industry as a whole brings roughly $14.3 billion in earnings a year — and that’s not even counting the Niagara of indirect economic activity generated by Super Bowl Sunday (well-known for being the second foodiest day in the country, behind Thanksgiving). The industry also contributes 456,000 jobs with an average salary of $39,000 per job.
The sports sector, in other words, packs a wallop.
How Did We Get Here?
Now, to run this scenario, since there isn’t a ready-made sports sector, we analyzed the 15 industries that capture the majority of sports jobs. To determine those industries, we began with the following six sports occupations (focusing on spectator sports, not sports such as hunting or fishing), and then chose the 15 industries that contained at least 10,000 jobs from these occupations.
Sports Occupations:
Athletes & sports competitors (SOC 27-2021)
Coaches & scouts (27-2022)
Umpires, referees, and other sports officials (27-2023)
Entertainers & performers, sports & related workers, all other (27-2099)
Gaming & sports book writers and runners (39-3012)
Agents & business managers of artists, performers, and athletes (13-1011)
(Note: We realize that we probably captured some non-sports jobs in with the mix since the last two occupations are a little muddied, but we also inevitably had to leave out a few sports jobs, so in the end it balances out.)
The table below lists the 15 industries, the number of sports jobs they each contain, the percent of each sports occupation in each industry, and how great a percent of each industry is taken up by sports jobs.
NAICS
Industry
Occupation Group Jobs in Industry (2012)
% of Occupation Group in Industry (2013)
% of Total Jobs in Industry (2013)
611110
Elementary and Secondary Schools (Private)
16,652
2.9%
1.6%
611310
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (Private)
21,276
3.6%
1.2%
611610
Fine Arts Schools (Private)
18,781
3.3%
8.4%
611620
Sports and Recreation Instruction (Private)
22,874
4.1%
8.6%
611691
Exam Preparation and Tutoring (Private)
17,140
2.8%
9.4%
611699
All Other Miscellaneous Schools and Instruction (Private)
10,228
1.7%
8.7%
711211
Sports Teams and Clubs
15,588
2.7%
14.5%
711219
Other Spectator Sports
18,185
3.2%
9.5%
711410
Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures
13,662
2.4%
18.6%
711510
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers
96,297
16.5%
8.5%
713910
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
16,426
2.8%
4.3%
713940
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
48,781
8.4%
7.3%
713990
All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries
21,463
3.7%
8.8%
812990
All Other Personal Services
22,127
3.8%
1.8%
813410
Civic and Social Organizations
12,336
2.1%
3.0%
Taking the number of jobs contained by each industry (say, 15,588 jobs within the sports teams & clubs industry), we ran those numbers through the Input-Output in Analyst, EMSI’s web-based labor market analysis tool. The result? We got to see how much money these jobs contribute to the economy, as well as how many other jobs they create.
So, while this isn’t a hard-core economic analysis, we’re still able to get a pretty good idea of sports’ impact on the U.S. economy. Let’s take a closer look at what we found.
Effect on Earnings
The pie chart below shows the breakdown of the effect on earnings. Initial is simply the first stage of the contribution: the sports workers’ salaries. Direct gives the impact of the industries’ purchases from the first round of the supply chain (uniforms and shoes, for instance). Indirect shows the impact of the supply chain’s supply chain (textiles, rubber). The total impact equals $14.3 billion.
Occupation Growth
The six sports occupations are doing well, collectively growing 12% since 2009. Umpires, referees, and other sports officials and athletes & sports competitors have grown the most at 14% each. Gaming & sports book writers & runners have grown the least (6%). The athletes themselves, of course, taken in the best median hourly pay: $26.93. (Yes, we know that’s wildly off for the big-time athletes, but this figure is dragged down by the more humble wage-earners.) Sports jobs have a multiplier of 2.3, which means that for every job, another 1.3 is created through supply-chain effects.
Occupation
2009 Jobs
2013 Jobs
Change
% Change
Total
324,344
351,137
26,793
8.3%
Athletes and Sports Competitors
17,858
19,158
1,300
7%
Gaming and Sports Book Writers and Runners
16,310
16,881
571
4%
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
20,754
23,531
2,777
13%
Coaches and Scouts
212,313
231,558
19,245
9%
Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other
37,014
38,503
1,489
4%
Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials
20,095
21,507
1,412
7%
Not surprisingly, there are nearly three times as many coaches and scouts as there are actual athletes. See the proportions below:
As of 2012, the MSAs with the greatest number of sports occupations are New York/Northern New Jersey/Long Island (41,365 jobs), Los Angeles-Long Beach/Santa Ana (37,227), and Chicago/Joliet/Naperville (15,755). But that is not where the sports industry is the most concentrated. Measured by location quotient (LQ), concentration or specialization tells us how unique and compelling an occupation is for a particular region. Edwards, Colo. (3.20 LQ), Lawrence, Kans. (2.95), Silverthorne, Colo. (2.59), and Pullman, Wash. (2.49) have the highest concentrations for sports jobs. In some cases, high concentration seems to measure enthusiasm per capita; it answers the question — where are the fans? But in others, as in Pullman, it might simply be the result of an export-serving industry — which Washington State University is.
See the map below for the MSAs that contain at least one team in any of the five big professional sports leagues, including Major League Soccer, ranked (in shades of green) according to their percentage growth since 2009:
Industry Patterns
Besides arts, entertainment, and recreation, the industries that benefit the most from the sports sector are educational services (private); other services; and health care & social assistance.
What’s even more interesting, however, is to trace the ripple effect that sports occupations have on these industries. Initial, direct, and indirect show the jobs multiplier at work:
NAICS
Name
Initial
Direct
Indirect
Total
371,816
55,348
27,382
11
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
0
87
813
21
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
0
49
252
22
Utilities
0
278
90
23
Construction
0
396
379
31-33
Manufacturing
0
1,930
1,487
42
Wholesale Trade
0
716
625
44-45
Retail Trade
0
1,032
430
48-49
Transportation and Warehousing
0
1,628
1,270
51
Information
0
1,377
998
52
Finance and Insurance
0
3,559
3,280
53
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
0
5,686
1,917
54
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
0
8,470
4,451
55
Management of Companies and Enterprises
0
1,302
678
56
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
0
9,539
5,077
61
Educational Services (Private)
106,951
1,365
265
62
Health Care and Social Assistance
0
149
47
71
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
230,402
13,371
2,876
72
Accommodation and Food Services
0
1,616
1,355
81
Other Services (except Public Administration)
34,463
2,512
899
90
Government
0
286
193
Check out the dollars side of things:
NAICS
Name
Initial
Direct
Indirect
Total
$10,284,591,093
$2,582,253,327
$1,395,994,375
11
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
$0
$2,545,109
$22,138,255
21
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
$0
$4,491,904
$20,215,260
22
Utilities
$0
$34,369,434
$11,577,920
23
Construction
$0
$19,464,760
$18,601,659
31-33
Manufacturing
$0
$109,007,942
$101,341,041
42
Wholesale Trade
$0
$53,594,251
$46,768,735
44-45
Retail Trade
$0
$31,536,892
$13,147,622
48-49
Transportation and Warehousing
$0
$70,830,867
$61,702,255
51
Information
$0
$103,949,788
$77,821,955
52
Finance and Insurance
$0
$262,213,758
$244,546,044
53
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
$0
$165,178,751
$57,272,526
54
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
$0
$544,312,680
$290,065,284
55
Management of Companies and Enterprises
$0
$151,490,910
$78,853,849
56
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
$0
$326,133,350
$173,118,810
61
Educational Services (Private)
$2,517,931,402
$34,383,750
$7,442,726
62
Health Care and Social Assistance
$0
$9,152,366
$2,805,055
71
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
$7,078,902,802
$527,694,932
$94,431,102
72
Accommodation and Food Services
$0
$34,483,431
$29,165,588
81
Other Services (except Public Administration)
$687,756,889
$76,227,057
$30,653,094
90
Government
$0
$21,191,395
$14,325,595
So even without an excessively rigorous study, at the end of the day we can feel more than a little justified about America’s obsession with sports. “Just a game”? Far from it. Who knew that when you took your kid out to the ballgame, you were doing your country so much good?
Opening image from WalesOnline.
If you have any questions or comments, email Rob Sentz (rob@economicmodeling.com) or call 208.883.3500.