Category / Sports

by Hoosier Econ

2015 Super Bowl TV Ad Costs

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America is passionate about not only watching the end of the year contest between the top two NFL teams, but also the commercials. But how much does it cost the companies to get their ads placed during the game?

Yahoo Sports has the breakdown:

The Super Bowl ads, and presumably the Super Bowl as well, will be on NBC next year, and hoo boy, is the Peacock Network looking to cash in. Variety reports that NBC is asking $4.5 million for 30-second spots, obviously a record and a 12.5 percent increase over Fox’s rate just this past year.
Why on earth would anyone pay this much money for a single commercial? Because the Super Bowl is the most-watched television program of the year; Super Bowl XLVIII was the most-watched show in human history with 111.5 viewers.

Just ten years ago a Super Bowl ad spot ran for $2.4 Million

by Hoosier Econ

Final TV Ratings for College Football Bowl Games

Sports Media Watch released the final TV ratings for college football. Click here to read their more complete breakdown. But here is a snapshot of the games and how many watched.
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by Hoosier Econ

Rose and Sugar Bowl TV Ratings Blow Up

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TV ratings are in for the first year playoff system games and there were a lot of people who tuned in. Here are the latest numbers from TVline.com:

At 5 pm, the match-up between Oregon and Florida State — despite being the most lopsided Rose Bowl contest since 1948, with a final score of 59-20 — drew 28.16 million total viewers, up 51 percent from last year.

Then at 9 pm, O-H-I-O State’s 42-35 victory over Alabama drew 28.27 million viewers, surging 150 percent from last year’s Sugar Bowl.

This is good news for ESPN who is reportedly paying $470 million annually to host the semifinal games of the College Football Playoffs.

by Hoosier Econ

2015 NFL Playoffs: How Much Do the Players Make?

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The NFL playoffs are about to begin and what people do not know is how players are paid for their appearance in these games. Players contracts are set up to pay throughout the season for the sixteen games they play. If they make the playoffs then they are paid the same as every other player on the team.

Here is a breakdown of the last years 2014 Playoffs/Super Bowl payouts. I would expect these numbers to increase for this years by a small amount:

• Wild-card game (division winners): $23,000

• Wild-card game (non-division winners): $21,000

• Divisional playoff game: $23,000

• Conference championship game: $42,000

• Super Bowl winners: $92,000

• Super Bowl losers: $46,000

A player on a division winner that plays in a wild-card game and goes on to win the Super Bowl would receive $180,000 (or $45,000 per game), the largest possible share.

H\T Kevin Manahan

by Hoosier Econ

How Much Food Does it Take to Feed 2 College Football Teams

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Outback Steakhouse sponsors the college football bowl game “Outback Bowl”. The Aubrun Tigers take on the Wisconsin Badgers and will be played on January 1, 2015. The two teams meet for dinner sponsored by Outback Steakhouse and here is how much food was there via the Bleacher Report:

Outback Bowl dinner for Auburn & Wisconsin: 750 pounds of steak, 900 lbs. of ribs, 750 lbs. of chicken, 1,600 shrimp, 1,200 lbs. cheese cake.

by Hoosier Econ

Tim Tebow Raking in Major Speaking Fees

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Like him or not, Tim Tebow is making a better financial living in appearance and speaking engagements than actually playing football. Some figures I pulled in how much he is getting on the circuit.

Celebrity Talent International has his fees ranging from $75k-$100k.

Christian Speakers 360 has him listed for $50,000.

Athlete Promotions has him listed for $50-$100k.

Side note, speaking fees usually do not cover travel and lodging expenses which are also picked up by the event sponsor.

by Hoosier Econ

Mayweather/Pacquiao Fight Projected to Gross $250 Million

It has been years in the making but the much anticipated Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight may happen this year according to the Associated Press.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he’s ready to fight Manny Pacquiao next May in a long anticipated bout that would be the richest ever in boxing. In an interview on the Showtime network from a fight card he was promoting in San Antonio, Mayweather for the first time called for the fight to happen and even gave a date – May 2. It would likely gross at least $250 million, and Mayweather’s purse alone would be more than $100 million.

by Hoosier Econ

NASCAR Fan Base is Shrinking

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SportingNews.com has come out with a report showing the sad state of affairs for auto racing. Here are the somber numbers:

Alterations announced this week are in line with a trend of tracks removing seats. Charlotte, after removing 41,000 seats this winter, will be down to permanent seating of 89,000 in 2015, a startlingly low capacity considering its location in NASCAR’s epicenter.

But it’s par for the course. Atlanta is removing 17,000 seats to get down to 75,000; Dover is removing 17,500 seats to get down to 95,500; and Daytona is removing its backstretch grandstands of 46,500 next spring to go to 101,500 seats.

In 2013 alone, the following ISC tracks cut seats: Talladega (from 108,000 to 78,000), Richmond (91,000 to 71,000), Chicagoland (69,000 to 55,500), Michigan (84,000 to 71,000), California (81,000 to 68,000), Darlington (60,000 to 58,000) and Homestead (56,000 to 46,000). Any additional cuts likely will be revealed when its annual report comes out in January.

This is a very loaded story. You can read the rest here.

by Hoosier Econ

How the Wealthy Write Off Taxes

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Whenever I see someone famous on TV talking about the need for higher taxes or claiming they enjoy paying taxes I always say, “Their accountant is laughing”.
Senator Tom Coburn issued a report showing exactly what I mean.

The tax code is so peppered with special giveaways that companies such as Facebook end up getting refunds, and high-profile athletes and artists use their tax-free foundations to give friends jobs while avoiding taxes — all leading to higher income tax rates for the rest of us, Sen. Tom Coburn charges in a new report being released Tuesday.

Here is a snapshot of what was found by his staff:

-Baseball owners are able to claim their players “depreciate” over time, the same way farms are able to claim their tractors depreciate
– Athletes and Hollywood stars who form tax-exempt organizations that they then use as tax shelters, throwing parties or paying employees’ salaries from the tax-exempt accounts while dedicating almost no money to charitable works.
-Kanye West’s foundation spent more than $1 million in 2009 and 2010 but “gave virtually nothing” to charity. Fellow performer Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation raised $2.6 million but only gave away $5,000 in grants

You can read more via Washington Times