In 2017, the National Football League’s (NFL) payroll was capped at $167 million, a $12 million increase in funds from the year prior (NFL Enterprises, 2017). This trend is not new, as the cap has risen by over $10 million each of the past four years, and by $47 million since 2012 (NFL Enterprises, 2017). While this study does not seek to answer why this is the case, it is clear to see that the amount of spending on player salaries is increasing drastically.
The way a society chooses to allocate funds and engage in transactions speaks volumes about its values, and the field of sports is no exception. As domestic and world relations revolve largely around monetary relationships, it is important to study the influence money has on behavior within
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This strategy is known in the baseball world as Moneyball, coined by author Michael Lewis. The Moneyball strategy changed the methods of scouting and the expectations on the relationship between good teams (more wins) and big money (higher payroll) in the baseball world by using statistics to evaluate and select players and build winning teams with a significantly lower budget (Cowen, 2011). While the Moneyball strategy is complex and specific to the MLB it shows that a higher payroll is not always an indicator of a better team. In congruence with the Moneyball theory and its effect on the MLB, we predict that NFL payroll is not a statistically significant indicator of the number of team wins in the regular …show more content…
Each conference is comprised of 16 teams, which are further separated into divisions in which teams play each other to compete for a spot in the NFL playoffs. Since 1978 each team plays 16 regular season games in their conference (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2005). Teams with more wins in their win-loss record are ranked higher in the standings for the playoffs. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament to determine the best team in the NFL for a given season in which the championship game is known as the Super Bowl. The playoffs pit the AFC against the NFC and are a widely televised and celebrated competition in the