Fanalytics U Class 9: Competitive Balance & League Design

We conclude the first iteration of the Fanalytics University course on sports and fandom analytics with a class on league design. League design is a topic of critical importance that receives little attention. It receives little attention because it is a topic for unions, lawyers, and maybe economists.

The core of the class is a discussion of how leagues manage competition. The discussion starts with the role of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between leagues and players. These agreements, increasingly, dictate how teams choose to operate and compete. Of course, how teams choose to compete ultimately creates the product that attracts (or repels) fans. Within this discussion, we consider the role of amateur drafts, free agency, salary caps, and revenue sharing.

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