| The commercialization of sports is that aspect of the | | | | the early part of the 20th century 98 percent of the |
| sports enterprise that involves the sale, display, or use | | | | Games' amateur competitors made no money from |
| of sport or some aspect of sport so as to produce | | | | their participation. In contrast, today's Olympic athletes |
| income. Some experts prefer the term | | | | are far from amateurs. The International Olympic |
| "commodification of sport" as a label for the same | | | | Committee recognized the inevitable creep of |
| process. Interest in the commercialization of sport has | | | | commercialism and professionalism, and instead of |
| existed for several decades,but only in recent years | | | | requiring participants to be amateurs they merely ask |
| has the phenomenon has been taken seriously on a | | | | that participants have an "amateur spirit." |
| larger scale. The first attention came from a small | | | | Benifits |
| group of critical, mostly leftist writers, who have now | | | | India's biggest success in this concept is the IPL. With |
| been joined by people from all political and social | | | | millions of dollars being spent on players, management |
| perspectives. | | | | team, auctions, the cricket doesn't seem a sport any |
| The commercialization of sport is not a cultural | | | | more. Its business. New deals being struck in every |
| universal, but a product of unique technical, social, and | | | | match, some with players, some with business mens |
| economic circumstances. Sports in the colonial United | | | | and some with film stars. Profit making is the sole |
| States were usually unstructured, spontaneous | | | | purpose in every game with no or very little nationalist |
| activities that the participants initiated, coordinated, and | | | | or regional fever involved. |
| managed. Only in the latter part of the 19th century did | | | | At last it's not only that players gain from it. The sport |
| organized sport cross the ocean from Great Britain | | | | at whole are the gainers. Take for example the PHL |
| and arrive in America. At that time, urbanization forced | | | | hockey, which has, risen from ashes, just like the bird |
| a large number of people to live in new settings and to | | | | phoenix. Commercialization of games infuse money |
| abandon traditional leisure activities, which included | | | | into these sports and its cash starved associations |
| drinking, carousing, and gambling.The dominant class | | | | which altogether lead to improvement in the game as |
| sought to replace them with activities such as baseball, | | | | a whole. More money means a career opportunity for |
| horseracing, and boxing. | | | | players and thus sports being more professional. |
| | | | Gambling |
| Professionalism | | | | A rise in gambling on sporting events has been an |
| Professional sports, a big business that has grown | | | | indirect consequence of these phenomena.Great |
| rapidly over the last three decades, may be the | | | | Britain and Las Vegas permit some legal gambling. |
| epitome of commercialization, its influence pervasive | | | | However, it is likely that more money is bet on sports |
| throughout. Athletes, support personnel (managers, | | | | illegally.According to McPherson, Americans lose an |
| coaches, officials, media persons, lawyers, and agents), | | | | estimated $200 million on sports bets annually.The link |
| and sports team owners benefit handsomely from the | | | | between sports and gambling is complex. For example, |
| willingness of sports fans to pay to watch their | | | | the profits from legalized gambling are often used to |
| favorite sports and to purchase the commodities | | | | build sports facilities and to operate many youth sports |
| endorsed by sports personalities. Hundreds of | | | | programs. |
| professional athletes earn well over $1 million a year. | | | | |
| Before 1977, $1 million contracts did not exist.By 1994 | | | | Social Impact |
| there were well over 200 professional athletes who | | | | How does this commercialization affect the individual |
| earned salaries in excess of $1 million. In 1990, reported | | | | and society? Proponents of modern sport argue that |
| average 1989 salaries for athletes in four different | | | | capitalist systems have made more sports available to |
| professional sports stood at $577,200 in the National | | | | more people. They contend, too, that the owners, |
| Basketball Association, $490,000 in the national | | | | producers, and distributors of sports are simply |
| baseball leagues, $212,000 in the National Football | | | | responding to the demands of sports consumers. |
| League, and $156,000 in the National Hockey | | | | Critics of commercialization reject this view and argue |
| League.Forbes's 1994 list of the top-earning athletes | | | | that in reality only a small segment of society—the |
| included basketball stars Michael Jordan at $30 million | | | | wealthy—have access to many sports. In addition, |
| and Shaquille O'Neal at $17 million, golfers Jack Nicklaus | | | | some critics also argue that commercialization via |
| at $15 million and Arnold Palmer at $14 million, and | | | | television especially has turned sport yet another form |
| boxers Micheal Moore and Evander Holyfield at $12 | | | | of passive entertainment. In addition, it is argued that |
| million each. In most cases, athletes' endorsements | | | | commercialized sports, when used to display social |
| make up over 90 percent of their earnings. | | | | status, effectively divides society. Finally, critics |
| Olympics | | | | complain that commercialized sport is another way of |
| The ideal of the modern Olympic Games stands in | | | | defining life in terms of the purchase price rather than |
| stark opposition to the commercialism of sports. | | | | an inner sense of meaning and achievement. Despite |
| However, many commentators have argued that this | | | | these criticisms, there is little doubt that sports |
| idealism has been compromised to the point that the | | | | continues to become more and more commercial and |
| Olympics is currently the epitome of commercialism. In | | | | the process is spreading to the non-Western world. |
