ERA, TDs, PPG and IPO: Would Fans Be Better Off If Sports Teams Were Publicly Owned?

2011 may be an exciting year for sports, but not necessarily for sports fans.

With MLB seizing control of the Dodgers finances and day-to-day operations, the Wilpons’ mismanagement of the Mets organization that included investing with Bernie Madoff, and NFL owners placing the future of the NFL in jeopardy, sports fans are left with little to root for on the field.

Even though I am a sport management major, I consider myself a fan first.  I’d much rather watch a game than write about CBAs, sponsorship deals or other topics regarding the sports industry.  Still, being a business student helps me see both sides of the equation and leads me to believe that if sports franchises were publicly owned, it would be better for keeping the integrity of the game intact, and ultimately benefit the fans.

Sports have become increasingly driven by revenue as the focus has drifted away from athletic skill and prowess and more toward financial expansion.  This trend has been increasing exponentially since the ‘50s, when televisions became a mainstay in the American household.  With an increasing accessibility to sports programming, teams sought to benefit from this untapped revenue.

When NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle received antitrust exemption in 1960 so that each team could pool together their broadcasting rights and collectively negotiate for a larger deal with networks, it was the unofficial birth of the sports industry.  Owners began to focus on the bottom line and never looked back.

Now, owners are more recognizable than some of the players.  Jerry Jones, who has owned the Dallas Cowboys since 1989, has become the poster child for the relatively recent wave of owners that interfere with the athletic operations of their teams. (Although, Red Sox fans might argue that Harry Frazee crossed that line decades ago when he supposedly traded the Bambino to finance his Broadway musical, No, No, Nanette.)

Errant decisions of franchise owners often come at the expense of the fans.  Once Dan Snyder took ownership of the Washington Redskins, fans have become more and more frustrated with the consistently disappointing performance of a once elite organization.  In the 2010 season alone, Snyder’s decisions, while well-intentioned, led to a team benching Donavan McNabb, a quarterback they had just traded for in the off-season, and suspending Albert Haynesworth, who, only a year before, had signed a seven-year $100 million contract. 

While not every owner tells a cautionary tale like Snyder, ultimately fans suffer from decisions that are made by someone who relies on his experience in the corporate world.  Sports may be an industry, but treating teams like corporations ultimately undermines the purpose of playing the game.

Perhaps owners should pick up a copy of Moneyball and learn from Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane who proved that a large payroll isn’t the key to producing a high-caliber team.

Even if teams maintain enormous payrolls and win championships, fans are still at a loss because the cost of actually attending games has become too expensive.  Attendance in Major League stadiums is decreasing, especially at newer stadiums like Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.

The NFL Lockout further illustrates how owners are more concerned with their egos than pleasing their customers. Gene Upshaw, former executive director of the NFLPA once iterated that “the owners will always take short-term loss for long-term gain.”  While players may be able to survive a lockout, will fans be willing to forgive owners once a deal is reached?

The owners’ attitude and unwillingness to compromise ultimately hurts the fans.  It’s this sort of arrogance and mismanagement that makes me wonder what sports would be like if teams were publicly owned.  (And, the analysis of how this would work financially and logistically needs to be addressed in another article.)

Would the success of a team be dependent on shareholder loyalty? Would cities with struggling franchises be moved in favor a city desperate for a home team to root for?

Before you dismiss the possibility, just consider this: the last team to win the Super Bowl is also the only remaining publicly owned sports franchise—the Green Bay Packers.