How the NFL used 'socialism' to get rich

That league discovered how to squeeze every dollar out of American football.
⚡️ Sign up and download for FREE using my link grammarly.com/searchparty.
The NFL makes far more money than every other sports league in the world and it's not even close. It’s all the more remarkable when you consider that American football is only played in one country. Soccer, basketball, and baseball have more fans worldwide but none of those leagues or teams make as much as the NFL. This video explains how the NFL created the perfect sports league for making money.
Welcome to Search Party!
Search Party is a new, independent, video news show that combines experienced journalism and visual design to decode the most complex stories in international sports and geopolitics.
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Check out our sources for this video: docs.google.com/document/d/1d...
About:
Search Party is led and produced by Sam Ellis, a journalist, director, editor, and animator based in New York City. For more than 6 years, Ellis produced the hugely popular video series, Vox Atlas, for which he earned an Emmy nomination. He specializes in breaking down the most complex new stories and presenting them with a refreshing, accessible, and engaging visual style.
He’s produced explainers on some of the world’s thorniest geopolitical stories; from corruption scandals in Latin America, conflict in the Middle East, and the rise of China, to the world of sports; the Monaco Grand Prix, the FIFA corruption scandal, and the 100-foot waves of Nazaré, Portugal. Ellis has also directed multiple episodes of TV; notably on Netflix’s ‘Explained’ and HBO Sport’s ‘Level Playing Field’.
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[@Search-Party]

🥳 Thank you for watching! Sign up and download for FREE using my link grammarly.com/searchparty.

[@kelsey_roy]

Why is every KZbin journalism is turning into a Johnny Harris clone

[@scyber_avatar]

PREDICTION: Few years later you will be making another video on similar topic .. this time instead of comparison to European "Soccer" Leagues ... you will be comparing IPL and you will be explaining why American Sport League growth slowed and meanwhile IPL saw exponential growth

[@maruf.ahmed6432]

@@scyber_avatar in terms of numbers, you can't beat Indian subcontinent cricket fans, though America is always the number 1 market.

[@tengille]

@@kelsey_roy You do know that they work WITH Johnny Harris, before they were KZbinrs, right? You wouldn't just say something without actually looking it up. You can also watch the whole video and see who the Executive Producers are.

[@at1724]

4:01 The Giants haven't won in the last decade. They last won in the 2011-2012 season. The Eagles have won in the last decade in the 2017-2018 season so you need to fix your graphic. 4:05 Video evidence of the Eagles Super Bowl.

[@certifiedfrogenjoyer1891]

The only problem I have with the NFL is that it constantly interrupts the advertisements I'm trying to watch.

[@_Amit_Sunil]

Ayylmao

[@SouvenTudu]

🤣😂

[@moises8war]

Omg, laughed so hard

[@forgetit__]

At the end of the day it's about business, that's why their industry is so big compare to european. It's crazy how 1 country can owned the whole continent.

[@261i7]

@@forgetit__ European leagues are way better and more entertaining

[@mattpytlak]

The 2 minute warning existed before television. It was created because in the early NFL, there was no game clock visible to the fans or players. The 2 minute warning was the only way for the teams to know if the half was almost over.

[@gregorymoisan6854]

Also I think it's very good for the game. Forced timeout at the end of the game or before the half is massive. College football doesn't have it and it's a shame imo

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

I was LITERALLY thinking of why the 2 minute warning exist in the nfl as I watched playoffs games this weekend. Thank you for answering my question!

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Also, the video didn’t say the 2 minute was created for commercials..it said it was maintained for the advertisement commercials. That makes sense, by that point the 2 minute warning wasn’t needed like it use to be needed but it was financially beneficial to keep it

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@gregorymoisan6854I don’t think that’s a good reason to have a 2 minute warning. Why not just have a 1 minute and 4 minute warning as well? It’s just a random rule when looking at it through todays context (in the past players couldn’t see the time left) but which serves as a financially beneficial rule to the nfl

[@gregorymoisan6854]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson cus 2 minutes is simply what works the best. 1 minute is too late and 4 minutes is too early. 2 min is the sweetspot. And yes it benefits the NFL but it also benefits the quality of the game so win win

[@frozzenwaterfall]

I feel a lot of this also applies to F1, and why the existing teams are so reluctant to let another new team enter

[@acswer]

ohhh I would love to see some video essay about the F1!!

[@maxafc4695]

A very interesting point he made though was that NFL is so popular because there aren't that many games a season. F1 needs to understand that and know that having 25+ races a season reduces the magic and spectacle of each race

[@Fractured_Unity]

@@maxafc4695^This

[@Fractured_Unity]

The NFL knew when to add new teams though. I believe F1 would benefit from 1-2 more teams.

[@NickyG_vz]

@@Fractured_Unity how? there are so many mediocre teams with no hope of wining already

[@johnl.7754]

Not rich enough to fund own stadiums though 😂

[@truejacksonveep]

Blame the locality's sheepish bureaucracies for that. If anything, good on the owners for finding a way to hold cities hostage for millions in funding and tax breaks.

[@stolenshortsword]

it wouldn't be american if it wasn't stealing from taxpayers for corporate gain!

[@MartyFox]

Actually, they’re so rich they don’t have to

[@AC-im4hi]

Have you ever seen an NFL stadium though? There are a few bad ones but the vast majority are world class.

[@Beautyaddixion]

​@@truejacksonveepwhat a shit take.

[@florisk.ios.6416]

Let me guess, because every game is 90% ads?

[@lukemurray4950]

Yeah yoru right and the fact they are a closed league which means they have no competition.

[@neoxyte]

It's one of the main reasons I don't watch football. I'll stick to UFC on my illegal streams

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

​@@lukemurray4950 Open vs closed league have no correlation between more or less competition.

[@MaksB.]

Indeed

[@samythel]

You said it all!

[@jacobringenwald]

The thing too is that college football is like the second or third most viewed sport in America, and that not even a professional league (yet)

[@NR-fd9wv]

i don't think it will become professional, it's too lucrative for the colleges.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

The game is built for tv. I would much rather watch an nfl game on tv than soccer but soccer live IMO tops football live. Hockey is similar to soccer in which I personally think suffers a bit on tv but makes for a great live entertainment..hockey might be the most fun I’ve had watching sports in person and I don’t even watch much hockey

[@JaKingScomez]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpsonobviously lying then. If you ever been to a college football game no shot you’re going hockey

[@nevilleachero8054]

College sports in America should basically be considered professional leagues. They have the revenue to challenge other European soccer sports divisions.

[@jacobringenwald]

@@nevilleachero8054 oh definitely, and it's only a matter of time before players are salaried employees

[@chad9971]

As a Chelsea fan, @7:09 hit a little bit too close to home...lol

[@oih8174]

lol considering how our season is going I got a little nervous

[@EvanSaltare]

For a second, I felt that jump in my stomach like the drop on a rollercoaster.

[@omarjobarteh3160]

I came here to express my shock but you beat me to it! 😂😂😂

[@eddyb2850]

The animations you and your team produce are second to none. Its so easy to understand

[@aaronhess]

I also think regional sports networks dominating NBA and MLB rights has hurt viewership and potential TV revenue. Most teams have an RSN that limits viewership to people with one or two cable companies or a dysfunctional streaming site with a high subscription fee. A lot of NFL games are on channels that both people with and without cable can watch because they're OTA, meaning more viewers and higher paying ad spots

[@ericnelson4761]

Very much this. MLB and NBA chased those RSN dollars thinking people would keep paying for cable to watch. Now the RSNs are going bankrupt and dragging them down with them.

[@aaronhess]

@ericnelson4761 Yeah I'm really hoping the Suns and Jazz broadcasting games OTA works out well. Seeing more teams go back to this would be great

[@Rextraordinaire]

It's a huge reason why viewership is so much higher in the NFL. A $10 antenna gives you access to a majority of NFL games at no monthly cost. In any other sport you miss most of it without a subscription of some kind

[@gibberish5388]

Imagine being an NHL fan where if you want to watch all leafs games you need 3 paid, expensive services.

[@Rextraordinaire]

@@gibberish5388 I'm pretty sure with what I pay for I actually have more access to college hockey

[@theneighborhoodmentors9347]

The IPL becoming so profitable in such a short time is amazing

[@akshit318]

2 min ad after every 5 min play also makes it good for advertisers

[@dym6464]

The IPL horrible for international standards though dropped off in last 10 years

[@AntiFurry_Jihad]

​@@dym6464 its a curse for cricket. Carribbean Cricketers are more interested in making money in IPL than to play with west indies Indian Audience have overhyped T20, making Indian team weak in other segments Other sports have no chance BCCI is even more corrupt I miss good old days, of ODI, Ashes, Test (Real Cricket)

[@AntiFurry_Jihad]

​@@akshit318 most hilarious thing is that even awards are commericalised Over ends --------> Ads began. Ceat tyres Strategic bs Upstox prayer of the match Old Yes Bank big sixes

[@pulkitkatara4564]

This is not our Problem that Is there's​@@AntiFurry_Jihad

[@isaacbaxter2045]

This is such a great video. I study Sports Economics, and the amount of times that I hear analysis mention anything other than competition it drives me mad. So great to see this kind of content.

[@Zelein]

It's the competetive nature of the NFL that's appealing to me as a European. Regardless of soccer league, you can always rank it by power: England #1, Spain #2, Italy or Germany #3 and so on. The big clubs are always competing for the biggest trophy, and the national leagues always gets won by the same 3 teams, or in some cases the same team. Over and over and over again. That's something extremely rare in the NFL. Patriots was a dynasty, but the last season they were awful. The Detroit Lions used to be the joke of the league, now they might go all the way to the Super Bowl for the first time in history. That's what's great about the NFL. Every season, every team has a shot. Every team has the same salary cap to work with, regardless of how much money they got in the bank. It's actually brilliant.

[@rogink]

Sure, but you are looking only at recent years. Chelsea dominated for 10 years, but now it looks like they are going back to their status as a 'middling' club. Man City have the money and the manager, but at some point Pep will go - will they sink like Man U? At the start of the Premier League there was talk of the 'big 5' dominating. That was Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Aston Villa. Two of those have never won the PL, and Villa went through a rough time until recently.

[@WillemV203]

You could wonder about how competitive it is as its still a closed league: there's no way any other than the 'monopoly' clubs can join. If you could make a distinction between 'entertainment and sports' and 'competition and sports', European leagues would more qualify for the latter than the former. The NFL is the other way around

[@joaofigueiras1106]

@@rogink Do you seriously believe Chelsea will become a midtable club? Two seasons from now they will be back on the Top 6 places. It's also hilarious when people mention the Premier League while completely ignoring that, for the majority of european leagues, it's always a fight between three teams at most. Just look at countries like Portugal, Spain, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Scotland... I could go on for days.

[@Hikayuhuy]

@@joaofigueiras1106my go to example is the Bundesliga. 11 years straight of domination and it was a crisis last year because Bayern wasn’t winning hard enough. Leverkusen is having a Cinderella run right now, but we all know the clock will strike twelves soon enough because the system is rigged against them from the very start.

[@joaofigueiras1106]

@@Hikayuhuy and its in germany, a country where the football pyramid should work perfectly since every team has huge support

[@willpickering5829]

I think the constant breaks in football make it conducive for tv ads, but soccer only really has halftime to air ads. Edit: by ads I’m talking about commercial breaks…

[@7FlyingPenguin]

The lack of add breaks is one of the best things about (real) football. Rugby too.

[@remodernist]

@@7FlyingPenguin agreed, the constant ad breaks in american sports is hugely frustrating

[@willpickering5829]

@@7FlyingPenguin I agree 100%. I think I read somewhere that an average (american) football game only has 12 minutes of actual play. Insane

[@mattpytlak]

Every time they show a soccer player’s shirt is an ad.

[@IamShemsAldin]

​@@mattpytlak Tbh the add breaks makes nfl almost impossible to watch. Reminds me of tiktok

[@OneUniti]

This video is the precise kind of video I love. Niche, interesting, and fun to watch. Great work!

[@AbdiHassan-uz3wg]

Closed leagues won’t work for us here in England. I want to see my Dog and duck team to one day be in the premier league. 😂

[@adrianoropeza2338]

I love these sport related videos you make. Please keep them coming

[@theopiel6654]

These videos are gold loving search party slowly becoming my favorite YT Channel keep it up love the sports content

[@Hokie11]

The addition of the salary cap has made American football much more entertaining to watch than European football in my opinion. I love my team (Bayern Munich). But man, it gets old watching them and other rich teams in other European leagues win the title every single year since they can just buy the best players and call it a day.

[@JMTemps]

I've been increasingly falling out of love with Association Football because of this uncompetitiveness and because of sportswashing. The sport desperately needs some sort of revenue sharing to ensure its long-term success. I'd love to see something like a soft salary cap where the richest Premier League teams, for example, send money down the pyramid. Unfortunately, it's likelier we'll see a closed super league where the richest teams just share money with each other. Indeed, the new Champions League format is basically the "super league by stealth", if not a completely closed league, yet.

[@Rextraordinaire]

Americans see this all the time in Baseball so we're familiar with the feeling. The MLB has no salary cap - it's not uncommon for one player on a wealthy team to have a salary higher than the entire payrolls of the poorest teams. The current largest contract outranks 8 team salaries

[@DIAC1987]

@@Rextraordinaire I'm gonna only half-agree on this, because MLB is chock-full of cheap ownership that is fine with coasting off the shared revenue generated by a successful sports league. The lack of a salary cap isn't the issue, its the lack of a salary base.

[@arkokibria1971]

This season Bayern won’t win 😉

[@Rextraordinaire]

@@DIAC1987 that's a good point and leagues with a salary floor use it to curb tanking. I remember a year or 2 ago the Chicago Bears were several million under the floor and were purposely giving players front-loaded contracts to get within range

Awesome video, nice touch explaining and building out the animation 🔥

[@danielobiagbaoso7676]

What I noticed is that in order for a sports league to completely get the kind of revenue results the NFL has gotten. The sport has to be insanely popular in the geographic area that the league is operating in. That is why the NFL has been booming. It is also a strong part of the reason the IPL has succeeded. Cricket is more or less a religion

[@kiweping5]

But Europeans and South Americans love football more than Americans could ever love nfl… literally all you need to do is watch some videos comparing fan chants and it becomes night and day

[@danielobiagbaoso7676]

@adamcolyer2799 my bad, bro. I didn't explain my point well. I meant that for the NFL’S kind of economic system to actually work, that extreme passion for the sport has to be there. An example of this is the U.S. actually, they don't love basketball, baseball, and hockey as much as American football. Hence, the ridiculous financial value of the NFL. India's IPL is also very valuable because of India's crazy love for Cricket .

[@Toasty2478]

@@kiweping5 I guess what he is saying, is you can really only have 1 wife Europeans love football to death. But because they love football to death, are they really going head over heels about handball, or waterpolo? Sure those are great sports, and its a great time to watch them. But are we going out in droves to buy handball jerseys?

[@andrasszabo1570]

@@danielobiagbaoso7676 You've got cause and effect the wrong way around. The NFL was a distant #2 behind the MLB, "America's pastime" before they went another way. It's only since the salary cap was introduced in 1995 did its popularity explode. Seems like people like unpredictabilty, excitement and every team having a chance to win. The way the NFL is run, its economic system created that extreme passion for the sport, not the other way around. It wasn't always used to be the most popular sport.

[@kingrazo10]

While the nfl is the most popular in America. Sports like baseball and basketball still compete with football in other aspects such as youth participation, regional viewing, salaries, etc. and it’s those other sports that have helped each other by consistently looking for improvement. If football was the only popular sport in America it would not be as entertaining, as they would not have any direct competitors. initially, the nfl was chasing mlb for Americas top sport and mlb did little to evolve. Now the nfl knows the threat that one day those sports could do the same. I believe they all work off each other to create a better product knowing that the other is working to get to that #1 spot. And the USA is so big that if you look at the countries geography there are states and regions where baseball and basketball are more popular than football. So while yes Americas love football, it’s can easily be swayed over time. Americans once loved baseball far more than they cared for football

[@OscarUnrated]

the salary cap and draft makes it much more compelling than pay-to-win European leagues

[@iluvmusicqwe]

Exactly this

[@catsfan6984]

Facts

[@Peterigepan]

Says the guy that hasnt ever followed an european league

[@catsfan6984]

@@Peterigepan I follow every top 5 European league and they are very entertaining. But none of them are as competitive and even as the NFL. Wayyy too top heavy and title races are rarely that exciting.

[@blazingbattlehawk9626]

As someone who loves baseball history it felt so good to hear someone point out how nearly all of American sports culture stems from baseballs methods

[@f_a_reid86]

Another great content! Job well done. Keep them coming.

[@joeym5243]

The NFL is also the most popular league in the richest country in the world, along with there being a relatively low amount of teams in it compared to the population. If the English premier league scaled up its teams up with its population to the USA, thered be close to 140 teams in it so each NFL team can command a higher population

[@jaco13chapman]

Very true. College football is probably the closest thing to an American equivalent. Especially with the addition of NIL. Would be interested in seeing a similar dissection.

[@scyber_avatar]

hmm ... meanwhile India is now has 3rd largest GDP (PPP) and fastest growing .. and largest population (4.5x USA) and IPL has only 10 teams .. all games played within span of only 2 months approx. so imagine the scale of growth possibility

[@joeym5243]

@@scyber_avatar that is very true, especially because it is a developing country so many of it's citizens will be gaining disposable income which will really add value to the teams there

[@scyber_avatar]

@@joeym5243 Funny thing is .. now some Franchise team owners of IPL are so rich .. that they own franchise teams in leagues of other nations too ... including Major League Cricket (MLC) in USA 🙂

[@NR-fd9wv]

a big factor for the NFL's success is that there are no other professional leagues (at least none that matter). you have minor leagues in most other US sports, you have some popular baseball and basketball leagues outside of the US and in soccer you have multiple top tier national leagues in europe plus lower tier leagues that still draw lots of viewers. the 2nd league in german soccer has an average attendance of 28k, in england even 5th tier teams have thousands of fans at each game. meanwhile anybody in the world who wants to watch football goes for the NFL

[@masonmount17]

This was such a good video, definitely gained a subscriber here. Looking foward to what is coming in the future

[@tudor3232]

You forgot one thing,Premier league are selling it's tv rights globaly(in France,Italy,Germany,USA and so on) and there NFL dosen't have the same reach,but thanks to the streams I can watch NFL as well 😊

[@russelljones2281]

Still has more valuable teams and right

[@alieniverson8139]

What country are you from and which team are you a fan of

[@lefamakara2900]

This was a quality watch. Props to the efforts man

[@orangeocean13]

This was so interesting!! Love the unique content

[@southpaw0x1a]

Loved the video! Would appreciate if more geopolitical issues were covered in the future.

[@OGruurd]

Always America with the crazy money making strategies😂

[@nobodyslistening49]

Love the channel!!! Love the topics you choose to make videos on.

[@H.e.I.m.D.a.L.L]

I am just amazed by IPL looking at the stats, while NFL was started in 1920 103 years ago is at 17 Billion, IPL was started in 2008 still it managed 13 Billion very close.

[@lempereur1827]

India is quite a populated country

[@benedictcase4290]

Yes but it's not like cricket was introduced in India in 2008

[@scyber_avatar]

@@benedictcase4290 Its not like American Football introduced in US in 1920s either .. its there since 19th century ... infact Cricket has older history in USA than it

[@prasanthsagar8732]

It’s about technology. If our cricket league was started in 1947, we wouldn’t have grown this much until we got access to tv and internet. Due to this modern world benifits, ipl grew much faster

[@JaKingScomez]

@@scyber_avatarso since cricket is so much older especially in india then obviously. You made the ipl look so much worse

[@paulpeter8435]

One fun little fact is that all of this nearly didn't happen, as at the turn of the 20th centaury the most popular global sport was Rugby, and would remain so until after WW2. But as there was a factional divide over professionalism within the game it spilt, and the Union code would not 'open' their code until 1995, and so not really do anything to commercialese the sport. The other code, League, while professional, was the smaller of the two and was basically excluded from some places, like the south of England. If they had agreed on being professional instead of splitting over the issue, it is entirely likely that both Europe and North America could have had the same sport as the most popular.

[@insertnamehere9950]

nah the nfl was already becoming big in america in the 20's and 30's

[@fzuharamohusun]

dude love the cricket vid hope you do more like it

[@rohanmahesh]

favorite channel rn more vids would be amazing!

[@jamesmiller1137]

Awesome video. Love the mix up of sports and business. Few video suggestions: Maybe cover companies fighting for control in sport like Nike vs Adidas? Do a video on Tennis and how the top players dominate the earnings and why it’s incredibly hard to make it. Take about the atp tour redistributing prize money. Maybe do another video on Rugby and how it’s collapsing. Love the channel

[@OGruurd]

This was a really good video!

[@JoshCScott]

This video is incredible. Fantastic work.

[@DarkFriday1408]

Really great video! It was great to see an explanation of how the NFL became the more dominant sport in the US and how the NFL is the wealthiest sports league in the world. Is there any chance that you might do a video about hockey/NHL? It would be interesting to see how come it isn't more popular in the US and how come the NHL is the poorest sports league in the US. I would think that more people would like hockey, as it is fast paced and intense.

[@MoveOnUpMusicEvan]

The European Super League may still happen but i think the essence & excitement of soccer is that it has the danger of relegation. Yes it probably makes teams hold back to playing all out but it adds a whole other dimension & jeopardy that makes the league more exciting. As a leicester fan i certainly wish there were more spending restrictions, especially at the top & to restrict the gap between the various levels. But us winning the title and going down later is what makes soccer so great, it's a whole other form of anguish that you just don't necessarily get in american leagues tbh

[@cooperthomson5978]

The game design is what truly makes the NFL successful and all they’ve had to do over the past 50 years is keep there spots on top. Regular ad breaks, more frequent highlight plays, hidden strategies, more diverse play styles, easy to track stats, being a weekly activity and pacing allows the NFL to reach a wider audience with a better viewing experience.

[@ngmmngw9027]

But what’s the bigger sport ???

[@cooperthomson5978]

@@ngmmngw9027 What do you mean I'm only talking about football?

[@gmailalt6928]

Wider audience and better viewing experience 😂 Neither being true

[@cooperthomson5978]

@@gmailalt6928 Football is one of the few sports were you watch every down and is the largest sport in the 3rd largest country.

[@C-Thunder]

​@@gmailalt6928Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Brazil, Germany, England, Russia and Japan are now beginning to watch American football. You are just in denial.

[@mthokozisimyende787]

I LOVE THIS CHANNEL!!!!! The Quality of production and Editing is Top Notch

[@internet_userr]

Featured on Johnny Harris's post 👍

[@TechnoBoy301]

Speaking of salary caps, I would love to see how the NHL having it harmed some smaller market teams or specifically, most Canadian teams. I’ve always heard that the weak Canadian dollar and implementing a salary cap typically doesn’t go well (I assume this is an exception with teams like the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens).

[@westcoastflyers144]

The main problem with Canadian NHL teams are that the owners have almost no incentives to be competitive. It’s not to say they don’t like winning, of course they do, but at the end of the day they win regardless of the standings. If you look at the average attendance when a Canadian team is bad compared to good, it’s almost the same. Compare that with a team like Carolina which struggled with attendance for years and only got it back with good play. The correlation between on-ice success and revenue increase only exists for less hockey-centric markets.

[@MrSteooo]

Im getting no notifications that these videos are out even though im a sub, great video 👍

[@thespaceageparty9577]

Can you cover the 2012 Football season? (The year of underdog comebacks) that saw Chelsea win the champions league, City win the Epl and Dortmund win the Bundesliga. How each of those teams had to overcome adversity and win at the very last minute in dramatic fashion. The journey they all took to get in that position. And the effects that season had on the footballing landscape going forward.

[@goat9295]

Chelsea were owned by an Russian oil oligarch that bought their way tp success. Manchester City did the exact same, but on a grander scale since they're owned by Qatar. Dortmund is now relegated to Bayern's youth academy, they can only sell players.

[@thespaceageparty9577]

@@goat9295 and all of those clubs rose to challenge the status quo. If it wasn't for them we'd be watching united win it's 30th Pl trophy and bayern... Well. Bayern would probably still be as dominant. But you get the idea. Plus it's not like the old big clubs weren't already using their wealth to dominate. These clubs just found ways to compete and win even when the whole system was set up to prevent newer teams for ever achieving more than just being also rans.

[@douevenlift9147]

Another phenomenal video, this channel has exactly zero misses

[@geoffvaderrandomshtservers3918]

You should do an episode on the fact that there's a Law in England that prohibits the live broadcasting of all Football matches between 2:45pm to 5:15pm on Saturdays. This time is considered the "Traditional Time Slot" as almost every game on a weekend amongst all tiers of English Football are played at 3pm. The thought being that TV audiences wouldn't attend games in person.

[@SB2023Chestnut]

Great video! Love the content. Please could you do a video on the Lionel Messi’s career ?

[@brandonpaetznick7962]

Great video. I wonder what the money would be like if u evaluated the whole FA Pyramid vs NFL, rather than Prem vs NFL. I think that would be more of an accurate comparison of the systems bc the Prem has to support the lower leagues w their revenue.

[@Wolky324]

Then you should include college football which also makes a ton of money

[@brandonpaetznick7962]

@@Wolky324 it’s not the same league system comparison (closed league vs merit-based league). While its not technically professional, adding CFB would definitely be interesting to see where it ranks

[@migueltmpereira]

The TV rights being equally split as well as the salary caps are a must for European soccer. The UK already has some sort of equal split of the TV revenue which enabled them to be the biggest and best football league. In Portugal we lack behind. Only 5 teams ever won the league and two of them only won once. The others won 19, 30 and 38 times. Sporting Porto and Benfica respectively

[@261i7]

Real football ⚽️ is the best and the most entertaining sport in the world ⚽️ ❤

[@261i7]

Nobody cares about NFL outside of America 😂

[@adrianpheiffer9960]

I don't think the NFL cares too much either, considering the money they generating @@261i7

[@C-Thunder]

​@@261i7false. Germany, England, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Japan are into American football. There is even a European American football league that is already catching steam.

[@261i7]

@@C-Thunder Nobody cares about American football outside of America 😂

[@RealWakeMusic]

What a wonderful video, with matching visuals. Thank you for your work.

[@earthlingsixbillionsomethi2486]

I say Johnny's poll about Search Party and I was like "Why is he asking this?" First off, I like the video. 2nd Off I probably wasn't going to look for Search Party until I saw the poll but I enjoy all your videos. 3rdly I can see from the fall off in the views why he was taking the poll. I hope you guys get more views. I like the channel.

[@Search-Party]

welcome!

[@stevenrose86]

Promotion/relegation is a part of football. It ensures the leagues are a meritocracy and stops teams, and owners, from coasting. You can't close a league with promotion and relegation as the fans won't accept it

[@epicow_1973]

Yeah, but a draft means that bad teams can become better, so you can always can compete. Look at the texans: Dead last for almost the entire season but got a new rookie QB and changed their coaching, won their division and beat the wild card.

[@MC-be5gg]

@@epicow_1973I don’t think an individual player in soccer is as valuable as quarterback is in football so a draft wouldn’t yield as big of a change for soccer teams. I actually think a draft for soccer would be more similar to baseball where there’s a lot more development needed for each player and even after all that the guy only pitches 1/5 days or only hits 3-4 times

[@iansteelmatheson]

nonsense. no teams can coast for more than half a season or so because it is very bad press and can lead to loss in revenue. yes, deliberately making your team bad to get a highly-rated young player in the upcoming draft is occasionally a problem, but it's better than having only 1-2 teams dominate a league indefinitely, which is what happens in most association football leagues around the world. it produces a much more boring product, as the outcome of any given game is usually not in much doubt. clinging to old rules simply because they've been around for a long time is stupid.

[@epicow_1973]

@@MC-be5gg the MLS has a draft and it works big time. Also, I think that an individual soccer player is more valuable than a football player. A QB doesnt play for the defense or the special teams, and for a really good portion of those plays they just handoff to a Running back. Not to mention they have to be backed up by a legion of coaches, playcallers, and Offense linemen, every single play. Meanwhile an Association football player plays usually for offense and defense, and doesnt have a whole team & coaching staff backing them up (at least not like it is in the NFL), and his individual effort is generally more backed up.

[@Alieth]

European football leagues are far from meritocracies, that why a handful of teams can dominate for years. And why big teams that are trash are saved from relegation because of their deep pockets.

[@startobyman]

Personally I think the closed league system is bad for fans. Sports should be about the fans not the money

[@epicow_1973]

The closed league system makes it about the fans lol. The Prem & other leagues are a whole lot more about the money.

[@remodernist]

@@epicow_1973 you think the clubs that wanted a closed european super league were doing it for the fans rather than money?

[@epicow_1973]

@@remodernist Its all about money. no matter how you look at it. Open or closed its all money. Unlike Association Football, every team in the NFL is worth billions, and has the money to be able to participate on an equal level. Chelsea and Manchester united buy ever good player and never get relegated, Manchester city bought their way to a champions cup, Munich has been 1st in Bundesliga for over a Decade, Real Madrid and Barcelona own LaLiga. Meanwhile lower teams have to suffer through relegation to these absolute giants. Meanwhile the NFL draft allows teams like the Houston Texans to go from dead last to being one of the best teams, winning their division and beating the wild card game. Also, you lose drafting position if you purposely throw the game, so it's not that easy to get 1st draft.

[@Pesso86]

True, but this is first and foremost entertainment. Sport is just a minor detail in this industry

[@scyber_avatar]

@@remodernist.. at the end fans want high-skilled play and entertainment high-skilled play happens when there is players get access to good salary, modern training and infra ... all of that possible only when more money in sport high entertainment also possible when more money in sport

[@ronaldmadziro5679]

Good article and thanks for breaking it down for us.

[@mikovij]

Please upload more frequently this might be one of the best content on YT right now

[@jonathanlogan3060]

This was a great video that shifted my perspective as a lifelong soccer player/fan. I would still like to burrow down and explore some of the more nuanced implications of the European clubs being so intertwined with their communities and how something that is supposed to be so community-driven can become "hyper-capitalist." I think maybe the socialist vs capitalist narrative paints over the more human aspects of what is happening. What I mean by this is, I wonder if their ought to be some analysis of the influx of capital into these European leagues and how maybe it is a problem of incompatibility and poor regulation?.. hence the massive protests in response to the Super League. And what role does television play in the destruction of amateurism? You could tie in college football and the paying of college athletes into that question. To me, it's no longer open vs closed because those small clubs in Europe already existed. There was nothing comparable in the history of the NFL (I don't think). So the more powerful analysis might be on the death of amateurism and how that plays into narratives of capitalism vs socialism and community vs franchise and the nature of spectacular television vs supporting your local club? Follow the money, sure. But what are the broader structures feeding into people's perception. On a personal level, professionalism makes me feel like there is no point in personally progressing through my sport because I can't be paid for it, therefore it is not worth my time. Just some thoughts.

[@gibbsey111]

Fantastic video Sam! If you’re looking for content for future videos, it might be worth investigating WHY EPL fans revolted against the super league. The idea of a meritocracy is really important to PL fans and having no relegation was a big deal for us!

[@truejacksonveep]

Yet how many of the truly wealthy clubs are facing a relegation battle across the continent in any given season? I'll hang up and listen...

[@krystofhavir7593]

British fans were against Superleague because they are dumb. They don't know what is best for their sport

[@rafaelsanchez6697]

Love this episode. Very interesting and revealing.

[@thomashoskins8817]

very interesting and thanks for the video 🥰 thing I find facinating is the country which very much has a philosophy of strongest will survive has a built in safety net for the so called weaker teams. this is not a critism of the USA at all but just a way of showing that by cooperating it means that a lot more sports teams can get a share of the same pie and even demand bigger and more juicy pies 😁 the two ways of running sports are so very different between Euro and USA - end of the day who benefits the most....fans or clubs? or perhaps both. my team maybe garbage but at least it ain't gonna go bankrupt. thanks again 🙂

[@JonathanEdwardsOlympian]

I always find the discussion about “which is sport is bigger” very interesting. People tend to focus on viewership, and yet American football is far more profitable than other sports with far more viewers.

[@261i7]

The reason why American football is making more money is because of ads 😂

[@261i7]

The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes, with a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people

[@niphotwala188]

Lol, that's not how it works, buddy. The NFL literally has a monopoly. There's no other competitive league to watch, so they have high revenue as a league. But as a sport it is low compared to football (soccer) which has a lot of competing leagues splitting the revenue but overall the sport is the highest revenue generating by far.

[@albinjohnsson2511]

We don't want sports to be profitable lol. Commercialization ruins everything. European football supporters are actively working against the Americanization of the sport.

[@sadsam225]

@@albinjohnsson2511and yet American sports leagues are more interesting than the premier league. The amount of parity is insane. Anyone can win it on any given year. Not just the same 4 teams

[@clubbizarre]

This is very educational and about sports. So you can still tell your friends about it over a bottle of cold one

[@kareemhd1749]

Wow!! That's a very detailed explanation on why the NFL and the Indian IPL earn more than the soccer leagues. Thank you for sharing this crucial information brother.

[@citizen4472]

new subscriber, awesome video!

[@rohitfrancis4483]

0:54 Point to note .. in the chart, IPL looks to be the second 2nd highest revenue generating sports despite it was started in 2008

[@adrianpheiffer9960]

you mean 2nd highest revenue generating league.. IPL is not a sport

[@SanjitT]

Bro just confused every foot ball fan with that first graphic by not saying soccer lol

[@DinethDharmasena]

love this channel , pls make a vid about f1

[@balajiv5016]

Great video 🙌

[@jmsa2760]

I enjoyed your video but would like to point out some things which did not get enough emphasis (in my opinion): 1. Soccer did not come out of the owners themselves per se. They were heavily local clubs with very strong community grassroot support. Even today, they were never as owner-dominated as american teams are (NFL, NBA, etc). Furthermore, even that is mostly valid for british soccer clubs. Other European clubs are even less beholden to owners (when they even exist) and more dependent on their members. 2. The size of the league is important but it seems to me you don't really give it the importance it needs. 16 games (previously 15, if I am not mistaken) is a factor of 5 less than what the NBA offers. Same goes for the playoffs. An NBA team needs to win 16 games to be champion. An NFL team can make do with 3. The stakes are higher. 3. I don't particularly enjoy the comment that american leagues are more "socialist". That's like calling the medieval courts "socialist" and saying the dukes and counts and so on were "equals". Or that the members of an exclusive club with 100kUSD entry fee are socialist because they have equal standing. They may be equal, but you have to be rich to enter and the barrier is quite high. I cannot create a club with my friends and slowly climb the ranks. I can only be very rich, get a city to pay for a stadium for me and then apply to enter, moment when the league will decide if I am rich enough and if they will get rich enough by allowing me. European leagues are therefore more akin to a free market where few restrictions exist but the barriers to entry are few. You just have to start at the bottom.

[@HenriqueOz]

Yep, that's not socialism, that's a cartel

[@remodernist]

yeah i really struggled with the comment that the NFL is socialist, and the european leagues as hyper capitalist. The plans for the european super league had absolutely nothing to do with socialism, and far more to do with hyper capitalism. The NFL and proposed ESL are hyper capitalist with a rigged market, the european leagues are more like free market capitalism.

[@devoarco5084]

Regarding your third point: I think he was trying to say that the Nfl as a closed system has socialist parts. They all work together towards a common goal and split their rewards evenly. Of course the gatekeeping plays a huge role in this success but if you just focus on the already active players you could say the NFL is a socialist construct.

[@jmsa2760]

@@devoarco5084 absolutely. But it looks socialist only when inside the club. Well, we both agree. And in any case looks like the socialist countries built before. They are like USSR's Politburo, the elite where they are equals, but much above anyone else. So in that sense... yeah, socialist 🤣

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@devoarco5084Yup they have socialist traits from revenue sharing to a salary cap (which was created to *reduce* labour costs and not *improve* the competitiveness of the league) very socialist principles for the most capitalistic country in the world And this is even before what they do to states when they decide after 25 years they want a new shiny stadium

[@user-ei7ed6zy9k]

As a season ticket holder of a major PL club and a diehard NFL fan, i have to admit the NFL puts out a far better product for fans. Set backs like ads and timeouts no longer effect me. The only thing stopping me from calling the NFL my #1 sport is if the off season wasnt so long.

[@gmailalt6928]

No it doesn’t put out a better product at all? Could you imagine if every time the ball goes out of play a short advert plays, or a full ad break happens every time a goal is scored. You disgust me and you’re clearly not s season ticket holder

[@samuelyoelisliko5070]

@@gmailalt6928 Most commercial breaks are placed during timeouts, in between quarters, or when there's a change of possession. There's no such thing as getting a short ad each time the ball goes out of play. You've clearly never watched a full NFL game lol

[@mech-x-xavious]

​@gmailalt6928 which isn't that accurate to the nfl. Ads will not play simply whenever the ball goes out of play, only when a long period of time goes by, which only really happens during scoring plays, timeouts and injuries. You guys always exaggerate the amount of ads in the nfl, it really isn't bad at all and football in the end is a way better product than soccer

[@gmailalt6928]

@@mech-x-xavious What you on about, I’ve tried multiple times to get into the NFL and it is almost every time a play is made it cuts to adverts 😂 in actual football this only happens at half time, and never after a goal is scored. How on earth is it a better product to? Do you not think it wouldn’t be far less popular than actual football if it was a better product😂

[@mech-x-xavious]

@gmailalt6928 that's ridiculous. A play is a single down. It's impossible that they play an ad after every down. Maybe you're watching bad games where the teams are constantly punting on 4th down, but a decent football game has solid 7-12 minute intervals of uninterrupted action. It really isn't bad at all. As for why it isn't more popular, the rest of the world simply hasnt grown up with it and thus doesn't appreciate it. I didn't grow up with soccer, so I don't see how 90 minutes of aimless running with occasional scoring attempts is any fun. If anything, I'd appreciate commercials in soccer to give a break from the nothingness that constantly goes on. But in football, every play is crucial, every play can lead to a great loss or gain of yards, every play could lead to a score. Football is simply a superior sport to soccer as a spectator.

[@charlychai]

great video... make a similar one to how fighters are paid (i.e. boxing vs MMA)

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Happy New Year! Here’s to more fun video essays 👏🏽

[@ljmastro]

I loved seeing Chelsea relegated. This is outstanding stuff, such a concise explanation.

[@W_CPT]

It’s an ominous and prophetic omen.

[@ExplainosphereChannel]

Well, it's great for the owners. Also, it is interesting how a lot of owners (mostly NFL owners) are purchasing European football teams backing up the European Superleague thing, to enforce American sports ideas into European football.

[@mktf5582]

EXACTLY, my worries/concern is all these American owners trying to Americanize European Football,must never be allowed to happen.

[@unspecifiedvirusofunknownr2931]

​@@mktf5582 well let's not pretend that european football is really that good now.

[@mktf5582]

@@unspecifiedvirusofunknownr2931 It is always better than the NFL that's for sure.

[@unspecifiedvirusofunknownr2931]

@@mktf5582 I'm talking about leagues. You need to think about that again when clubs like City, Bayern and others always dominate leagues. You can have your own biases, but stop saying current europeans leagues are that better than americans leagues.

[@mktf5582]

@@unspecifiedvirusofunknownr2931 But current European teams are better than American teams.

[@RenameUranus2Caelus]

Great stuff. Keep it coming.

[@JamesMadiganmadda]

You have got to make a video about how the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association - Ireland's Gaelic Sports) became the largest amateur sporting organisation in the world. Originally it came from people who wanted to revive these sports while under British rule, and it became a central part of restoring Irish heritage and the independence movement. They are now the most popular sports in the country and with Ireland's large diaspora, it is played across the world by people of all backgrounds. Just last week in the Connacht Football Championship, New York hosted Mayo while London played at home to Galway. Many of those players are American or English-born. Now the GAA is a national institution used to spread Irish soft power in a cultural and political context. You're wearing a Lahinch Surf top from County Clare, as a Clareman all I can say is - take a look at the GAA, it's going to surprise you.

[@tomp4416]

What animation and editing software do you use? Is it just premiere pro and after effects?

[@Search-Party]

That's mostly it. A lot of work in Illustrator and Photoshop prepping for After Effects

[@charliesmith-hu5mp]

All those rules have one thing in common, good for owner, bad for players and fans

[@AC-im4hi]

Bad for players maybe but it's great for fans. As a small market fan myself, it's awesome that my team isn't just trampled every year by the richest teams

[@NR-fd9wv]

@@AC-im4hi until your team leaves for another city. and fans need to pay much more. also, i don't think you can get tickets for less than 20$ in any NFL stadium, but you can get them at most european soccer clubs (unless it's the premier league)

[@AC-im4hi]

@NR-fd9wv If your team is bad then you definitely can. My team had tickets for $4 this year because they're ass

[@epicow_1973]

@@NR-fd9wv you can at some stadiums. And so what? theres only 17 nfl games in a regular season, compared to the hundreds that soccer or baseball teams play per year. Thats why baseball tickers are also so cheap.

[@NR-fd9wv]

@@AC-im4hi well, here you get them for any game even when the best team is playing the 2nd best team. and it's even cheaper for students

[@ElBison86]

Just had this suggested, such a high quality video, thanks

[@Search-Party]

Welcome!

[@abdullahsiddiqui89]

Love the video. Kindly make a video on the Rise of T20 Leagues in the World. Now Every major Cricket playing Country has it's own T20 League. IPL, PSL ,BBL , SA20, BPL etc. How these leagues make money. Are their teams Profitable. As Recently CVC Capital bought an IPL Team & Glazers of Manchester United bought a Cricket Team in UAE T20 League (ILT20). PSL 🇵🇰 will also sell two new teams in 2025.

[@LawAndBedlum]

12:43 "Protest" is a mild way of saying what happened 😂

[@DallasCowboyFan95]

Not socialism but a monopoly.

[@matts5247]

Why is everyone in comments talking about ads when that’s the networks in charge of ads not the NFL. People just don’t use their brains… 🤦‍♂️

[@krazyyyklipsss6195]

Love the video great work

[@Privateryannnn]

Do a video on NIL & college sports !!!

[@michaelbarber9998]

Thank u Samuel

[@Arrow12892]

Can you make a video on Alpine Skiing or Winter Sports for that matter?

[@suhas670]

Nice video. There’s an error in the graph at 1:20. The y axis has 10 twice😅

[@robzielinski7861]

4:02 the Philadelphia Eagles won the championship in 2018

[@epicow_1973]

It was the 2017-2018 season.

[@batscherMCtittis]

I think in this video the economics are explained. But there’s a reason why soccer is still the most popular sport. Every team in Europe has the chance to create their own miracle. By having investors stepping in with financial help, this chance get decreased year by year and thus soccer losses its magic for the fans. Economically the nfl followed the most capitalistic path and created an product, that’s surrounded by rules creating even more value for this product.

[@theniallofella]

Sam, you truly are a master of your craft!

[@flottdog]

I totally thought this was going to be about how teams pressure cities to build them stadiums. But interesting as always

[@harvey.c]

I think it would be interesting if you looked into Australian football. (It's a completely different sport! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5C2opmEg8ubo68 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Football_League ) Our major league, the AFL, has been around longer than the NFL, and it's system is very similar to the NFL, with a fixed amount of teams in the league, the player draft based on how a team finished the previous season, and so many more elements of the league. I would love to see your take on the changes of the league over time, and compare it to other sporting leagues, too!

[@jonathansivahera3886]

🦶 ⚽️: Football 🏃🏽 🏈: Runball

[@ftmws293]

There’s no one sport called “football”. Theres different types of football. American football, Rugby football, Gaelic football.

[@KasperTex]

and sometimes in American football@@ftmws293 we do use our feet. Sometimes for 3 points, sometimes for 1! It's all very clear once you dig a little deeper! /s

[@radidov5333]

🏃🏽 🏈 murican rugby

[@Redmenace96]

Have read a lot of books on the founding of the NFL. A lot of brilliant decisions that had long term goals. Commissioner Pete Rozelle was also the perfect man, at the perfect time. TV contract put the league into orbit.

[@Privateryannnn]

Man I wish you guys dropped videos more often

[@pyrho1]

It's obvious when you watch American sports because there are sooo many ads. It's really frustrating.

[@cmalh]

lol at 7:08 having chelsea drop out of the premier league. honestly with the direction they're going it's not impossible in the next decade

[@hybrid5774]

Thanks Sam for another great video. You didn’t express an opinion but really really do not want football (the real one) following the way of NFL. I have never been more bored watching something for 3 hours where less than 15 mins of actual sport happens!

[@mech-x-xavious]

But man City winning the Premier League 5 out of the last 6 years is exciting?