Sitting Out Professional Sports

Sports in US is bigger in more ways than one. For starters, its not just about a single sport (cricket), as in the case of India, but is a buffet of sports with equal feeding frenzy such as Super Bowl, Baseball, Ice Hockey, NBA, NASCAR or Golf.

So even though teams such as the Yankees saying to Bobby Abreu that "We can't pay you as much" or The New York Giants telling Eli Manning that "You're too expensive", is clearly not an option, they still have to somehow manage all this with the sponsorships dwindling and no takers for the Corporate Boxes.

Take Fedex for example. It used to be one of the front runners for advertising spots in the Super Bowl but is sitting it out this year. Similarly, the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and New York Giants are still searching for corporations willing to pay to put their names on stadiums the teams are constructing. The hit expected for advertising and Corporate sponsorship is on an average of 2 per slot which earlier used to be at least 10. This means that contrary to common belief, Professional Sports are NOT immune to the economic slowdown. This year the auction prices of Sunday Night Football tickets on ebay will come down and the top teams in the league are expected to lose millions of dollars in sponsorships and the league overall will see companies sitting out the season. In fact, some sports are expected to cut staff by as much as 2000 or more this year.

You thought Professional Sports were immune to financial crisis? Think Again....