Why the Sports Industry Needs a New Box Score
- Steven Warshaw
- Feb 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 19
Statistics reign supreme in the world of sports. Batting averages, yards per carry, points, penalty minutes — these numbers tell the story of athletic performance. They’re plastered all over articles, sports betting apps, and social media as a way to tell the story. That’s great for the players, but what about the events themselves?
How do you measure and compare the business performance of sporting events? Attendance numbers hardly tell the total picture.
The truth is, there’s a whole other game being played off the field, and it’s just as competitive. While fans argue over MVP candidates, team owners and league executives are locked in a high-stakes battle of their own. To this crowd, the bottom line is the only line that matters. Sure, championships are nice, but have you seen the price tag on a new stadium lately? Owners aren’t in this for the love of the game – they’re in it for the love of their offshore bank accounts.
Unlike on-field performance, there’s no standardized way to measure this financial slugfest.
Sure, we hear about billion-dollar TV deals and record-breaking sponsorships, but these are just fragments of a much larger picture. It’s like trying to judge a basketball game by only watching the fourth quarter.
This lack of comprehensive financial metrics leaves us all in the dark. Fans have no idea if their team is an economic powerhouse or a money pit. Journalists are left to speculate based on incomplete data. Even within the industry, comparing the business performance of different events or franchises is like comparing apples to oranges – if those apples and oranges were hidden behind a curtain of corporate secrecy.
Think about it: We can tell you how fast the linebacker was running before he sacked the quarterback thanks to the league’s official cloud computing sponsor, but we can’t give you a clear picture of how much revenue that game actually generated. We know the batting average of every player down to the third decimal place, but we’re clueless about the real value of those overpriced hot dogs and beers.
This information gap is a missed opportunity. In an era where data drives decisions, the sports industry is operating with one hand tied behind its back. How can teams optimize their operations if they can’t benchmark against their peers? How can advertisers make informed decisions about sponsorships without a clear view of the financial landscape and how it compares to other markets?
It’s not just about competing with other sports anymore – it’s about competing with Netflix, TikTok, and whatever new distraction pops up next week.
The time has come for a new kind of box score — one that captures the financial play-by-play of sporting events, something that can turn the business of sports from a guessing game into a science.
Enter the Sports Business Box Score
Sports executives around the world would benefit greatly from a weekly box score just like the ones fans used to rush to their driveway every morning to see in a newspaper. The Sports Business Box Score is a comprehensive matrix designed to capture the complete economic picture of sporting events.
At its core, the Sports Business Box Score would compile key financial data points into a standardized, easy-to-understand format. Imagine a report that breaks down not just attendance but revenue streams across ticketing, concessions, merchandise, and broadcasting. It would factor in sponsorship deals, parking revenue, and even the economic impact on the surrounding community.
Leagues have all these numbers but don’t want them public so they can protect the underperforming franchises. Where does that leave a potential naming-right sponsor unsure which stadium to slap the company name on, or marketers who don’t fully understand how their efforts performed?
By standardizing this data across events, leagues, and even sports, we create a common language for discussing the business side of athletics. Suddenly, comparing the financial performance of a playoff hockey game to a regular-season baseball game becomes possible. We can start to answer questions like: Which events provide the best return on investment? How do sports stack up in terms of revenue per attendee? What’s the actual value of home-field advantage in financial terms?
It doesn’t take rocket science to put this together — just honesty and transparency, which are foreign concepts to sports team owners. Leagues and players’ associations could identify independent arbitrators to ensure revenue figures are totaled correctly so neither side gets hosed during the next collective bargaining session.
No more hiding behind vague statements about “record revenues” – the Sports Business Box Score would show exactly how you stack up against your peers. You couldn’t cherrypick attendance figures when Connor McDavid or Shohei Ohtani come to town or claim a record month for concessions just because you had a couple Dollar Dog Nights.
A Sports Business Box Score could drive innovation in event management, marketing strategies, and fan engagement initiatives. It could lead to more targeted, effective sponsorship deals that benefit both brands and sports organizations.
The game on the field will always be the heart of sports. But with the Sports Business Box Score, we can start to fully appreciate and understand the equally intense competition happening behind the scenes. It’s time to bring the business of sports out of the shadows and into the spotlight – where every other aspect of athletics already resides.