Excerpt

01 The Dash of Cash: The Business End of Sports

There are two reasons for professional sports. The first is it makes money. And the second is it makes money.

That pro sports is primarily a major profit (and loss) industry has not been news for 15 years. Players first rate themselves on their salary. Then, their scoring average. Franchises have become blockbuster capital gains investments. And sports broadcasting rights can make or break networks.

Two of the most dynamic growth industries of the past 25 years have been computer science and sports administration. From a standing start, they are now both multi-billion-dollar giants.

No one can doubt their impact. Today, American industry is programmed by computers and American leisure time is programmed by sports.

The Greening of the American Dream

In a field where insignias are traditional, the most universal sports logo today is $ - the dollar sign. That is why the name of the game is not "sports", it's "$port$ - with $ signs from beginning to end.

For those administrators hoping to enter the field, the answer to the question, "Why do you want a job in sports?" is never "Because I love sports." The right answer is "I know the sports business and I know how to make money at it." The dash for cash makes a lot of cents.

This is the best of times for sports. It is already the 22nd largest industry in the U.S. It ranks ahead of autos, lumber and air transportation. By 1995 total sports revenue had exceeded the $100 billion mark. Those figures may be fly droppings compared with the next 20 years.

For glory and cash. A major sports team - college or professional - must be as successful at the bank as they are at the stadium. This has been a mind-boggling development. For over 150 years sports were hobbies. They promoted exercise, fun and, in athletic competition, amateur purity. But in the past 50 years, sports have turned from lily white to professional green. That's not the green on the playing field. Athletes no longer run for their health. They run for the green because that's their life.