Berri and Simmons (2009) investigate the relationship between the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft. They find that a quarterback’s performance in the Combine can have a significant impact on that player’s draft position. However, they find that no known aspect of a quarterback before they are drafted is an indicator of success in the NFL. I examine if these relationships exist for the Running Back position. I find similar results to Berri and Simmons: that performance in the Combine does have an effect on that player’s draft position, but that no aspect of a running back’s pre-draft characteristics can be seen as a sign of future NFL success.

This paper uses empirical analysis to value of each section of the NFL Draft relative to the others in order to establish which NFL draft picks are undervalued. We crafted a new performance metric that uses the size of a given draftee’s second contract relative to his peers to evaluate his performance over the course of his previous contract. Using two OLS regressions, we predict the level of performance, given by our metric score, for each section of the draft. We then use the residuals from these regressions to investigate which sections of the draft are undervalued. The results show that mid-3rd round picks and late 5th round picks are the best value per dollar in the draft.

This paper explores how changing various end game statistics effects a given teams probability of winning a game in the National Football League (NFL). Data from the 2000-2016 NFL seasons is split into two subsets, one for teams winning at halftime, another for losing teams. Using this data an empirical model is estimated to study how the determinants of a team’s success differ between the two sets of data. Overall, the factors which determine a team’s outcome are consistent between the two subsets, varying primarily by magnitude of the effect.

The article offers a dynamic approach for predicting the outcomes of NFL games using the NFL games from 2002-2005. A logistic regression model is used to predict the probability that one team defeats another. The parameters of this model are the strengths of the teams and a home field advantage factor. Since it assumed that a team's strength is time dependent, the strength parameters were assigned a seasonal time series process. The best model was selected using all the data from 2002 through the first seven weeks of 2005. The last weeks of 2005 were used for prediction estimates.

The popularity and economic strength of professional football is unsurpassed among other sports in the U.S. due in part to the ascendency of television as the most popular form of mass media. Though aided by the popularity of that medium, the National Football League's success is also tied to governmental favors, monopolistic practices, nonprofit tax status, complicated subsidiary structure and other factors forming a beneficial economic context. The structure of the league and its business ventures reflect the nature of these arrangements, all of which are borne out of the commodification of the game. This study examines the nature and structure of the political economy of the NFL. In particular, it focuses on the relationships among the NFL (including individual teams and subsidiary businesses), the government, and the media. Employing a political economic analysis of the policy and business agreements among these agents will further elaborate the structural dimensions of the NFL as well as the implications for other sports and media in the culture industries. / 10000-01-01

This thesis examines the impacts of four major negotiating elements in the 2011 NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. This first entails considering the financial impacts of the Collective Bargaining Agreement through adjustments to the salary cap and changes in the rookie pay scale in conjunction with the increase of the veteran minimum salary. Veteran players sought to improve their earnings potential through the creation of the rookie pay scale and increases in the veteran minimum salary, but research has shown that these policies may not have actually accomplished the goal. Next, I inspect the changes in preseason training rules, which were intended to keep players safer and fresher during the offseason. This also may not have had the anticipated result, since the incidences of players with conditioning related injuries has increased since the implementation of the new rules. Finally, the impact of increased punitive powers for Commissioner Goodell on the NFL presents one of the most interesting debates for the upcoming negotiations. While players strongly dislike Goodell’s level of influence over league discipline, they must be willing to sacrifice something significant in the next round of negotiations to initiate change. After careful consideration, it is evident that the players were the worst off from the 2011 Collective Bargaining negotiations because they were unable to accurately anticipate the impacts of their new policies.

With players in the National Football League (NFL) making what seems to be the most money out of any entry-level position, it might come as a shock to many people to hear that so many players end up in financial distress afterwards. Sports Illustrated has put this number at 78% of players filing for bankruptcy or are in serious financial trouble within only two years of leaving the league (Torre). The problems that the players run into are their short careers, which average 3 ½ years, their poor financial decisions and their very optimistic approach to life. The 3 ½ years means that they should approach their employment as more of a lottery winning than a long term career. With so much income, the players might want to take out large mortgages and could be in trouble. They would believe that they would be the exception and not the rule for this because they are constantly succeeding as well. The players should set up a budget to fix this. They should defer the maximum amount of compensation possible and invest most of the rest. The athletes should have enough still to have a comfortable few years in the NFL. The football players should also be smart and get a college degree while they can for free.

In 2011, National Football League (NFL) quarterback Tim Tebow gripped America when the Denver Broncos reeled off a series of thrilling wins in an unlikely playoff run. Surrounding this stretch of Bronco wins was a media frenzy popularly known as “Tebow Mania”. The media explosion around Tebow can be attributed to his perplexing character and the political, cultural and social circumstances in 2011. This thesis is a critical media discourse analysis of Tebow’s sport star identity. I analyze the ways in which Tebow was described during the heights of his popularity during the 2011 NFL season. I argue that Tebow’s sport star identity naturalized ideologies of rightwing conservatism, (rightwing) conservative Christian fundamentalism and white masculinity into “common sense” notions of social life. To accomplish this, I follow cultural studies methodologies that trace Tebow’s rise to prominence within the context of The Tea Party Movement. I outline two dominant narratives that emerged during Tebow Mania to fabricate an American Dream, underdog story. While the first narrative of polarization criticizes and contemplates Tebow’s muscular Christianity, the counter-narrative repackages the polarization of Tebow by celebrating his white racial identity and conservative American values. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-12-27 13:26:52.995

The National Football League’s salary cap constrains the available resources each franchise is allotted to spend on player personnel. I examine the effects of executive management’s compensation allocation strategies on team performance from 2006 to 2013. The findings suggest that spending more than the league-average on offensive lineman hurts overall team performance. Spending above the league average on both the offensive line and quarterback positions negatively affects offensive performance as well. This supports previous research stating that taking a superstar-approach to cap distribution negatively affects team performance. Furthermore, I find evidence of increased compensation inequality among players under the Collective Bargaining Agreement of 2011 compared to that of 1993.

This study examines the role of propaganda and popular culture in constituting the American political tradition through the study of NFL films by employing a decidedly overlooked theoretical conception of the American political tradition—the countersubversive tradition thesis. Originally put forth by Michael Rogin, the countersubversive tradition is defined as “the creation of monsters as a continuing feature of American politics by the inflation, stigmatization, and dehumanization of political foes.” It is my belief that in looking at what constitutes the individual characteristics of the countersubversive tradition in a text like a sports film it is easier to see how it fits into similar theories offered by political scientists and others about the intersections of pop culture, sport, propaganda, and political tradition.