Publications

28 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Football Stars Debate ‘The Social Capital of the Savvy Athlete’

Nobody understands the power of Twitter better than Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. In a now-infamous television interview in January after a National Football View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Sports

June 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

The National Hockey League's New Television Contract for 2004 and Beyond

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Elizabeth (Lisa) Smyth

The National Hockey League (NHL) has negotiated a new television contract at record rights-fee levels for hockey. The NHL will be shifting its principal television partner from Fox to ESPN/ABC. Students are asked to analyze the current and future contracts in terms of... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Television Entertainment; Contracts; Marketing Communications; Agreements and Arrangements; Partners and Partnerships; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

A Consistent Weighted Ranking Scheme with an Application to NCAA College Football Rankings (with Chaim Fershtman and Neil Gandal)

The NCAA college football ratings, in which the so-called national champion is determined, has been plagued by controversies the last few years. The difficulty arises because there is a need to make a complete ranking of teams even though each team has a different... View Details

September 2023
Supplement

David Beckham (B): Signing Lionel Messi to Inter Miami CF

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In June 2023, David Beckham, co-owner of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF, is hoping to find a way to bring Lionel Messi, widely regarded as one of the best players the world of soccer has ever seen, to his team. But Messi—a seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; General Management; Sports; Negotiation Offer; Competitive Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Entertainment; Media; Marketing; Sports Industry; Miami

September 2023 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Mohamed Salah

By: Anita Elberse and Taher El Moataz Bellah

In June 2022, Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s best soccer players, and his lawyer and advisor Ramy Abbas Issa were in ongoing discussions with top English Premier League club Liverpool FC about a new playing contract for Salah. Arguably the Arab world’s biggest... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Marketing; Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Process; Sports Industry; England

July 2020 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In March 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (‘PSG’) sees his team clinch a spot among the last eight clubs to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Established in 1970 and initially a club with only moderate success, PSG’s... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Strategy; Sports Industry; Europe

18 Apr 2005
Lessons from the Classroom

NFL Players Touch Down at HBS

Jones. That's why he and twenty-nine fellow players from around the National Football League have exchanged play books for business books this spring at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

January 2025
Case

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

By: Anita Elberse, Juan Pasquín and Íñigo Pasquín

On June 1, 2024, Spanish soccer club Real Madrid captures its fifteenth Champions League title—more than double the tally of the nearest competitor. Under Florentino Pérez’s leadership, the club has now won six of the last eleven UEFA Champions League titles, and has... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Entertainment; Media; Talent Management; Superstars; General Management; Sports; Marketing; Recruitment; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

03 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

NFL Black Monday: How Much Do Coaches Really Matter?

turns out that these research findings hold value not only for football teams, but for any organization that depends on leadership for success. An empirical study of coaching ability In 2009, scholars Tim R. Holcomb, R. Michael Holmes... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg & Abhijit Naik; Sports

January 2016
Case

Die Mannschaft: How Germany Won the 2014 FIFA World Cup

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, Arjun Thomke, Kerry Herman and Michael Norris

After years of ups and downs, Germany won its fourth World Cup Championship in 2014. This case examines the national team's recent history and the changes they made to set themselves up for success. View Details

Keywords: Football; Soccer; ＂World Cup,＂ Germany; Germany; Organizational Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Success; Sports; Sports Industry; Germany; Brazil

04 Apr 2016
Book

How to Negotiate Situations That Feel Hopeless

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

24 Apr 2020
Op-Ed

Lessons from the NFL: Virtual Hiring, Leadership, Building Teams and COVID-19

iPhoto This weekend the NFL is concluding its annual draft. Up to 255 college football players will be distributed over three days across the 32 NFL teams. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Abbott , Boris Groysberg, Tali Groysberg, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

January 2023 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Nick Saban: Embracing 'The Process' of Sustaining Success

By: Ranjay Gulati and Eppa Rixey

Nick Saban, head coach of the University of Alabama football team from 2007-2022, fielded teams that won 183 of 208 games (88%), including a record-tying six national championships. Saban’s approach to coaching, known to many as “The Process,” and the consistent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Leadership And Managing People; Football; Recruiting; Talent Acquisition; Talent And Talent Management; Talent Development And Retention; Organization Change And Adaptation; Organizational Behavior; Sports; Leadership; Leadership Development; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports Industry; United States

25 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Is Baseball Ready to Compete for the Next Generation of Fans?

While football and basketball are now the most popular and financially successful of the four major professional sports leagues, Major League Baseball appears to be rallying. Last week, MLB said revenue for... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Media & Broadcasting; Sports

January 2011 (Revised September 2024)
Case

The Globalization of the NFL

By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Noah Roberson

By 2010, the National Football League (NFL) was still having trouble attracting both a global roster and fan base despite systemized attempts at internationalizing since 1989. Why? Was it simply a bad idea to try to export football, a sport that many considered... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Sports; Failure; Sports Industry; United States

January 2002
Background Note

A Note on Incentives in the NFL

By: Brian J. Hall and Jonathan Lim

This case describes compensation and incentive issues in one of the major U.S. professional sports leagues, the National Football League (NFL). It first provides some background information on the labor market for players and the salary cap and then describes incentive... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Motivation and Incentives; Sports; Sports Industry; United States

December 2008
Background Note

Incentives in the NFL (Abridged)

By: Brian J. Hall, Andrew Wasynczuk, Jonathan Paul Lim, Sara del Nido and Katherine Dowd

This note briefly describes compensation and incentive issues in one of the major US professional sports leagues, the National Football League (NFL). It first provides some background information on the labor market for players and the salary cap, and then describes... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Wages; Groups and Teams; Conflict of Interests; Motivation and Incentives; Sports Industry; United States