NBA Owners on Player Pay

NBA GM´s on Player Pay

Source: NBA

 The economic principle I’m exploring is because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost. My research question to help me study the economic principle is how do NBA GM´s determine how much to pay their players. This principle is demonstrated In Dr. Robert Lyons Jr. in an article titled ¨Determinants of NBA Salaries from The Sport Journal, ¨by explaining the various different factors involved in determining a players pay.

 The average NBA salaries along with other sports have significantly increased over the years. The average NBA salary of the 2014 season was about 5 million which is higher than salaries of the NFL, NHL and MLB. Some of the top paid players in the league like Stephen Curry, Russel Westbrook, Lebron James and Chris Paul are all getting paid over 35 million. But arguably the best player in the NBA right now Giannis Antetekumpo isn´t even in the top 25 for highest paid players. So what determines an NBA players salry you may ask? The answer isn´t as complicated as it seems.

 Similar to common businesses, the more money a company makes, the more money they can pay their workers. The same concept applies for NBA teams. As Dr. Lyons puts it, ¨ As capital increases, so do worker raises.¨ So the revenue a team generates from ticket sales, broadcast deals, merchandise sold, concessions, signage etc is directly correlated with how much pay a player can receive. The limit for how much a team can spend on players salaries is called a salary cap. GMs and owners have a scarcity of money, so they must choose wisely on how to spend it. So, the more revenue a team generates, the more player pay they can give out. Obviously the better more effective players are going to get paid more which leads me to my next topic of the factors considered when paying players.

 The factors involved in player pay are pretty straight forward. The better player, the better pay they will receive. Some statistics considered when evaluating player pay are points per game, rebounds, assists, turnovers, and efficiency percentages for field goals and 3 pointers. This is why there is a lot of NBA players who are selfish because they only focus on their stats. This is also why some players are overpaid because defense isn´t really a measurable statistic. But why is Giannis not getting paid as much as others? Because the determined salary is from a players past performance not there current performance. Giannis is having a breakout year putting up phenomenal numbers and leading his team through the playoffs. However, his contract which was 4 years was signed back in the 2017 season, where he was still a great player, but certainly wasn´t putting up the same numbers that he is now.

 In my next blog post, I will recap how NBA GM´s decide how to acquire players.

How Baseball Has Changed Over Time

The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.

My research question to help me study my economic principle is how has baseball changed over time?

Overall I have found out that many things have affected baseball and have made it change over time. It has changed because of various rule changes that make the game more competitive and exciting. Another thing that changed the game is all of the players and the different eras that they all played in. All of the players impacted the game in a certain way. Lastly the fans changed the game of baseball, because of the fans there are new rules set in place to speed up the game and make it more exciting to watch and to play.

Overall Effectiveness of Music in Advertisements

SOURCE: Pitchfork

     The economic principle I researched was “People generally respond to incentives in predictable ways”. My overall research question was “How is music used in advertisements to offer incentives to people?”.  Overall, I found that through popular songs and evoking an emotional response, music can encourage a customer to buy an advertised product. 

     Through my research, I quickly discovered that a popular song can have a great influence on the sales success of a product. This was evident through Window’s “Start Me Up” ad, where a popular Rolling Stones song titled “Start Me Up” was used in an ad for the sake of a good pun. Due to the song’s immense popularity, the ad was extremely successful.

     Another big factor that influences the success of advertisements is evoking an emotional response. The classic example of this is the sad puppy ad. Whenever people see this ad, they can’t help but feel sympathy for these dogs. It immediately makes people want to adopt a puppy, successfully drawing them into their “product”. This is also seen with car commercials, when fast, exciting songs are used. The emotional response it garners is different than the puppy one, but arguably just as effective. 

      In general, utilizing popular songs and emotional content creates a successful advertisement.

Most Inspirational Players in Baseball History

The economic principle I’m exploring is Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices.

My research question to help me study my economic principle is who were the most

influential players of all time?

The article Most Inspirational players in baseball history demonstrates what players are inspirational and their effects on the game.

First I am going to name the 4 most influential players of all time in my opinion. Starting at 4 I believe that Derek Jeter was one of the most influential players of all time because of the way he played the game. He always respected the game and he was one of the best leaders to ever play. He will go down as one of the best if not the best shortstops in MLB history.

At 3 I have Roberto Clemente, I think that he is very influential because of everything he did on and off the field. He was a great player but even more well known for helping his home country of Nicaragua. Unfortunately he passed away in a tragic plane crash when he was helping out bringing supplies back to his country to help out after a earthquake.

At 2 I have Babe Ruth. Babe was very influential because of how he played the game, he is one of the best hitters of all time and has over 700 home runs in his career. All of the fans seemed to love him and everything he did on and off the field.

At 1 I have Jackie Robinson, he was influential because he changed the game forever because he was the first african american player to play in the MLB. He was also a very good and successful player. He won NL rookie of the year, NL MVP, and even won the world series once with the Dodgers. His number is retired by every team in the league and there is a game every year where all teams and players wear 42 on their jerseys. This just shows how he was the most influential player of all time.

The Afghanistan War: Conclusion

Source: Britanica 

The economic principle I will explore is All choices have an opportunity cost. The question that will help me study this principle will be "What were the positives and consequences the United States faced so far during the Afghanistan War?"

After researching this question, I found that there were many fators that highlighted the rise and falls of the United States fighting in the Afghanistan War. When understanding the origin of the war and how the United States got involved in it, it allowed me to understand more about the war on terror and that it has helped fight against terrorists and their organization. However, when learning more about the costs of entering the war in Afghanistan, I found that the United States suffered the most economically, with spending billions of dollars on military spending, and along with loosing millions of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. 

Finally, I was able to undertsand more clearly on how the Afghanistan War shapes America's view of its involvement in foriegn affairs. With contrasting beliefs existing about the United States' role in affairs, I also learned that our country was able in reconstructing the Afghan government and policies as well as providing aid towards those in need. 

The War and its Impact on America's role in Forigen Affairs

Source: Iran Review 

The economic principle I will explore is All choices have an opportunity cost. The question that will help me study this principle will be "What are the costs of the United States being in Afghanistan?"

The article titiled "How Do Americans feel about U.S. Involvement in Foriegn Crises" by Jake Miller goes in depth about the United States' further involvement in forign affiars and crisises as well as the people's opinion of it.

First, with multiple problems occuring in the Middle East, the United States has been extremely involved in other countries' foriegn affair, which includes the Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen. Because of this and the number of years spent in the Middle East, Americans feel reluctant in further engaging other globa affairs. In a study conducted by the Chicago Council, 41% of responders believe that it is best to stay out of other countries' affairs and problems. However, 58% believe that America should still play an important role for global affairs. 

Secondly, it is not just the people that have different views of America enteracting in forign affairs. Politicans also have contrasting beliefs about the role the United States shoud potray in the world. Miller includes that 40% of Republicans, and 35% of Democrats, firmly believe that the United States should keep to itself and to distance itself from any global conflict. Because of contrasting opinions of wether or not to distance ourselves from global affairs, the United States is still reprensented as an active member in current events. 

The Afghanistan War plays a huge role in globalization for the United States. Having fighting the war for over a decade now, many believe that it is time for the United States to begin focusing more on the issues on our homeland. This is a question that we try to resolve each day. 

Which is Better?

The economic principle I’m exploring is the difference between electric cars such as Tesla in comparison to another competing gas powered car. In this I will be reviewing the specific stats of a My research question to help me study the economic principle is Does the electric car out perform an ordinary gas powered competitor? The article/video/etc published in [name of publication] titled “..[name of article with link embedded here]...” demonstrates this economic principle by arguing/showing ….. , ……, and…...
 First, we take a look at the performance aspect. From the line, also known as the acceleration, the Tesla in this car will accelerate faster than any other competitor in that class. Because the Tesla has a electric engine, it instantly responds when there is contact with the throttle. The gas powered car, however, takes off fast, but does not have an instant response, because of the engine it contains.

 Second, for long distances, assuming the same class of cars are being raced, the gas powered car will most likely take if not tie with the Tesla. The reason for this is because after the engine gets more accustomed to the higher speeds, it is no different from the Tesla. By having a faster acceleration, however, can severely impact the race conditions.

 Third, but certainly not least, is the handling. Like the high speeds, the handling is similar to same class competitors. As an example, the Tesla model T would be categorized in the same category as a M5 BMW. These sedans both have very good handling and maneuvering abilities. Comparing the Model X is a completely different story, however. The model X is one of voted the best handling suv/hatchback up to date. An example of a car in the same category would be a Porsche cayenne. Although it handles well, it still cannot compete with the ability of the Tesla Model X. In my next blog post I will research the question: How do the prices differ, and are these cars even worth it?