Monday, June 24, 2013

Sports Gini: Inequality within major sports leagues


The Gini coefficient is a way to measure the level of income equality in a country. It is calculated by plotting cumulative incomes in ascending order and measuring the gap between the resulting curve and the straight line that results from taking the average income in each instance. This sounds much more complicated than it is (but you can read more about it here).

Here is an example where total income is 100. The red area is the cumulative income. The blue area represents the gap between cumulative income and perfect equality of income.

A country with a Gini coefficient of 0 would have no blue area visible, as the income for each individual is the same so the cumulative income function looks the same as the straight line average income function. Perfect inequality, on the other hand, would have virtually no red visible as all but one of the people earns nothing and the other person earns something.

In the real world, countries tend to fall between 0.25 or so on the low (equal) side and 0.6-0.7 on the high (unequal) side. The lower countries tend to be Scandanavian or Eastern European while the highest are often African or Latin American countries.

Let’s take a look at the Gini for team revenue in the Big 4 US sports leagues[1]: NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL.




The four leagues have a striking amount of income equality between teams. Even the least equal of the group – the NHL, with Toronto, Montreal and New York on a different level – comes in at 0.14 while Norway, the country with the most equal distribution of income, has a coefficient of 0.24.


The numbers for the major European soccer leagues come out much more unequal. The Premier League has a clear upper class with Tottenham at £144m coming in 6th, more than 50% more than Newcastle United at £93m in 7th place. The £51m gap is greater than the distance between Newcastle and last place Wigan with £53m. The Bundesliga has a lower low end of the distribution, below even La Liga on the curve, but a stronger middle class relative to the few outliers at the high end. La Liga makes sense as the least equal of the group given their method of television revenue distribution (individual clubs negotiate deals rather than clubs collectively negotiating)[2]. Barcelona and Real Madrid together account for 43% of the revenue in the league.

Income distributions for individual players (sadly available only for the US leagues) skew even more unequal. Given the differences in distribution between owners and players it is likely that owners are more prone than players to share similar incentives in collective bargaining – played out in the form of big wins for NBA and NFL owners in the past few years.


Major League Baseball has the dubious honor of the greatest level of inequality, with rookie contracts and arbitration keeping salaries down on the low end and the Yankees and Angels keeping them up on the high end without a salary cap. Looking at MLB over time thanks to the invaluable Lahman database, the Gini was much lower in the 80s and early 90s before spiking to 0.68 in the mid-90s. The subsequent totals for MLB have settled into the 0.61 to 0.62 level – on par with a country like Botswana or South Africa.


Still, I don’t think any MLBPA members are getting too worked up over it – the minimum salary has gone from $60,000 (roughly 2.5x the median US household income) to over $400,000 (8x the median US household income) in the same period.

Data sources:
NBA Teams – http://www.forbes.com/nba-valuations/list/
NBA Players – http://www.draftexpress.com
NFL Teams – http://www.forbes.com/nfl-valuations/list/
NFL Players – http://www.usatoday.com
MLB Teams – http://www.forbes.com/mlb-valuations/list/
MLB Players – Lahman Database (
NHL Teams – http://www.forbes.com/nhl-valuations/list/
NHL Players – http://www.usatoday.com
Bundesliga – http://fussball-recht.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SportsLaw-ThesisMaxRanderath.pdf
Premier League – http://www guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/apr/18/premier-league-club-accounts-debt
La Liga – http://monchismen.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/la-liga-tv-revenue-distribution-2011-12/



[1] When Canada wins a Stanley Cup again or the Blue Jays start trotting out Jimmy Key, Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar, I’ll update.

[2] I had to use television revenue only as a proxy for team revenue in La Liga. To be honest I’m not sure it makes them look any worse. The Premier League – with admittedly more equal TV sharing – has a Gini of only 0.16 when TV revenue alone is considered. The inequality that pushes the total up to 0.32 comes from gameday revenue (tickets and food) and sponsorships.

34 comments:

  1. I'm interested in calculating the GINI index but for pure competing balance. Therefore, this is the stuff that always counts (regardless of money income/wealth).

    Give me some ideas for this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can calculate a Gini coefficient for other metrics - wins, points etc. - by the same method as is used for income. Order the totals from lowest to highest and then compare the resulting cumulative curve with the line that would result from equal totals of that metric. The ratio of the area under the actual curve to the area under the theoretical "equal" line is the Gini coefficient. ماکان باند

      Delete
  2. Ernesto,

    You can calculate a Gini coefficient for other metrics - wins, points etc. - by the same method as is used for income. Order the totals from lowest to highest and then compare the resulting cumulative curve with the line that would result from equal totals of that metric. The ratio of the area under the actual curve to the area under the theoretical "equal" line is the Gini coefficient.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Could you do an analysis to see if league inequality, perhaps at the individual level or at the team payroll level, is related to 'competitiveness.' What I mean is this: Do leagues with lower Gini coefficients see more variety in teams making the playoffs over a series of seasons?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Obviously they are currently going to have the best one two punch of any pivot in the alliance yet for meFree Articles, wellbeing among pitchers is substantially more of a worry than position players.안전놀이터

    ReplyDelete
  5. There's lots of dissertation web-sites on line while you find needless to say recognized in your own webpage. 메이저사이트

    ReplyDelete
  6. People like numerous considerations, I actually essentially expert, I would personally have a preference for more information regarding the following, on the grounds that its magnificent., By using as a consequence of have dispersion. custom engagement rings

    ReplyDelete
  7. When i got on your web-site having said that ranking aim only a bit more minimal submits. Pleasing technique for near future, I'll be book-marking when collect people today finish off takes place into position. 메이저사이트

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am very much pleased with the contents you have mentioned. I wanted to thank you for this great article. حوامل

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a thrilling post, you have pointed out some excellent points, I as well believe this is a superb website. I have planned to visit it again and again. a course in miracles

    ReplyDelete
  10. While the gaming machines themselves are comparable, in that you embed the coin and pull the handle 꽁머니환전

    ReplyDelete
  11. This amazing is very much unquestionably great. All these smaller fact is manufactured working with number with credentials know-how. I actually enjoy the reasoning the best value. https://reeljackpot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Usually there are some dissertation sites making use of the website whenever you develop into in plain english reported in the site. https://gamepangpang.com/

    ReplyDelete
  13. A lot of dissertation webpages on line as you may get hold of secured in a dark listed during the webpage. https://reelpolice.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. If more people that write articles involved themselves with writing great content like you, more readers would be interested in their writings. I have learned too many things from your article. https://bettingtipinfo.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bạn hiểu các dự án của mình nổi bật giữa đám đông. Có một cái gì đó độc đáo về họ. Đối với tôi, dường như tất cả chúng đều rực rỡ. kubetcomvn

    ReplyDelete
  16. Bài báo đáng chú ý, nó đặc biệt hữu ích! Tôi đã lặng lẽ bắt đầu việc này, và tôi đang trở nên quen thuộc hơn với nó tốt hơn! Vui vẻ, tiếp tục làm nhiều hơn và ấn tượng hơn! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvwurylApXm1u5YdElQJDQ

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your blog provided us with valuable information to work with. Each & every tips of your post are awesome. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep blogging.. Radiologie Paris

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your blog provided us with valuable information to work with. Each & every tips of your post are awesome. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep blogging.. エンゲージリング

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers! 婚約指輪 福岡

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great blog, I am going to spend more time reading about this subject biscotti strain

    ReplyDelete
  21. Right humans speeches must seat as well as memorialize around the groom and bride. Beginer sound system around rowdy locations should always not forget currently the glowing leadership of a speaking, which is one’s boat. best man speeches brother gushers strain

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers! Slot Online24Jam

    ReplyDelete
  23. Its in the same way an excellent write-up that i unquestionably appreciated studying. It's actually not essentially day-to-day that i grow a chance to uncover nearly anything. UFABET

    ReplyDelete
  24. That would seem wholly great. Every one compact info are designed coupled with number of track record comprehension. Everyone loves the following a lot. Slot Online24Jam

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi there! Nice post! Please tell us when I will see a follow up! casino USA

    ReplyDelete
  26. Internet search engine optimization experts apply the modern analytics service, which has a positive affect a website. SEO companies are facing great competition in the SEO field. However, they introduce guaranteed SEO services to manage with the competition.
    เว็บข่าวกีฬา

    ReplyDelete
  27. Most of the time I don’t make comments on websites, but I'd like to say that this article really forced me to do so. Really nice post!
    เว็บข่าวกีฬา

    ReplyDelete
  28. You made such an interesting piece to read, giving every subject enlightenment for us to gain knowledge. Thanks for sharing the such information with us to read this.
    เว็บข่าวกีฬา

    ReplyDelete
  29. It turns out that even the hottest port has a few places where you can get off the beaten path. Here are some recommendations that will make you feel like you're in the know
    เว็บข่าวกีฬา

    ReplyDelete
  30. Should there be another persuasive post you can share next time, I’ll be surely waiting for it. ข่าวกีฬาวันนี้

    ReplyDelete
  31. I feel a lot more people need to read this, very good info!
    เว็บข่าวกีฬา

    ReplyDelete
  32. I read this article. I think You put a lot of effort to create this article. I appreciate your work.
    เว็บข่าวกีฬา

    ReplyDelete
  33. Consequently, starting in the amount of electronic marketing strategy, is whenever a company's existing website, which will be to review the present site and its purpose is to improve the potency of the future. There is no evidence that the development an TS911

    ReplyDelete