Tailgating, Sacks, and Salary Caps/Mark Yost Interview

One of my favorite sites is 800-CEO-READ... I ran across this interview with Mark Yost talking about his new book, Tailgating, Sacks, and Salary Caps: How The NFL Became The Most Successful Sports League In History.



"Journalist Mark Yost has written a great book on the business of the NFL. He makes sense of the salary cap. He describes how football is the perfect match for television. He talks about how revenue sharing has been the key to the league's success. He also talks about how merchandise went from an over-distributed sideline to a $3.5 billion business.

If you are a fan of football or a fan of business, this one is worth a listen."

I found his analysis of why Monday Night Football moved from ABC to ESPN, brand management of the NFL, public funding of NFL stadiums and the differences between the economic models between baseball and football and the perceived upside of cities like Jacksonville, Green Bay and Nashville being a "major league" city.

Here's the MP3: listen here

Buy the book here at 800-CEO-READ

Nice tidbits: In November 1999, FedEx entered into a multi-year naming rights agreement with the National Football League Washington Redskins professional football team. Under this agreement, FedEx has certain marketing rights, including the right to name the Redskins' stadium "FedExField." In August 2003, Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx, personally acquired an approximate 10% ownership interest in the Washington Redskins and joined its board of directors.

From MSNBC: The Washington Redskins, the National Football League's richest franchise, are even wealthier than people thought.

The Redskins' gross revenue reached $300 million last year, well above published estimates and nearly double the $162 million that the franchise grossed before Daniel Snyder bought it in 1999, according to a document Snyder filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of his attempt to take control of Six Flags amusement parks.

The Redskins' revenue is more than that of the rival Dallas Cowboys and approaches the annual gross revenue of the New York Yankees.