Overview of the Organization
The NFL’s overall goal is to provide football fans with quality tasteful sports entertainment. The produce seasons that consist of 32 professional football teams playing against each other in a pre-season, regular season, playoff tournament and a champion ship game. The pre-season games are games that are like practice games so teams can see a preview of how well their team is and see if any adjustment are needed before the regular season begins. It’s described as a scrimmage or practice run. The regular season (post season game) is where the teams compete against each other for 16 games played in 17 weeks. The teams with the most division victories advance to the playoffs. The Playoffs usually consist of 8 final of the 32 teams playing in an elimination-type tournament to see the top two teams compete in a championship game. This championship game has become known as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl has become so popular that it generates millions of dollars is advertising as well as millions of viewers worldwide.
MISSION AND VALUES
To present the National Football League and its teams at a level that attracts the broadest audience and makes NFL football the best sports entertainment in the world. To achieve our mission, we will constantly challenge ourselves to improve and be guided by these values (NFL, 2010):
• INTEGRITY
• PERFORMANCE AND TEAMWORK
• TRADITION AND INNOVATION
• DIVERSITY
• LEARNING
Background and History
The history of the National Football League began in 1920, as representatives of several professional American football leagues and independent teams met at a dealership in Canton, Ohio. The league they formed would be mostly an informal agreement to play a common schedule and name a champion at the end of each season of play. Teams were allowed to play games outside of their league, and membership was fluid in the early years. The league renamed itself the National Football League. Only two teams, the Decatur Staleys, currently the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Cardinals, currently the Arizona Cardinals were members of the league in 1920.
In the 20s and 30s the league adopted a more formal organization. The first official championship game was held in 1933. The office of league President evolved into the more powerful Commissioner post, similar to Major League Baseball. Teams became more financially viable, the last team folding in 1952. The NFL championship game became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", the NFL was on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States.
A rival league, known as the American Football League, was founded in 1959. It was highly successful, and forced a merger with the older NFL that resulted in a greatly expanded league and the formation of the Super Bowl, which has become, annually, the most watched sporting event in the United States. The NFL continued to expand throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s to its current size of 32 teams. (NFL, 2010)
The Business Model
The NFL has developed a genius way to monetize the sport of football. The majority of revenue comes from television broadcasts. The majority of NFL games are broadcast on a regional or national basis through major television networks such as Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN. The networks negotiate contracts with the NFL, paying the league for the right to televise games. Networks will have fixed costs for the life of the contract and can rely on the NFL to bring a large viewing audience and create high ad revenue. With all their television agreements, the NFL earns close to $4 billion per season. The remainder of the league’s $7.6 billion in revenue comes from the sale of luxury suites, tickets, merchandise and sponsorships. Luxury suite sales are a huge revenue boost for the majority of teams. Finally, sales of jerseys, hats, mugs and just about anything else that can be associated with the NFL brand, is a major source of revenue (Futterman, 2009).
Because of the complex economic structure of the NFL, they use an economic system know as the oligopoly model. An oligopoly market structure is a system where an industry is dominated by a fairly minimal number of firms. With an oligopoly, each firm must take into account the actions of its competitors when making strategic decisions. One network does not want to make a dramatic change, because if the networks competition does not follow they could be left out in the cold. Instead, each firm would rather slowly fight for more market share within a stable environment. To ensure stability they work together in setting prices or with other strategic initiatives.
In professional football each team represents a separate firm and has its own individual ownership and management structure. Teams compete both for sports-related accolades and financial and market gains. Teams that are more popular and successful can leverage their power in the form of higher ticket prices, merchandise sales, and ability to attract more talented players. However, the teams must operate as a group. They compete within the same league that has its own governing body and uniform set of rules. Teams employ players that are members of a single labor union. Two systems that help keep the league operating in a stable environment are the concept of revenue sharing and the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Types of Jobs Within the Organization
The two biggest job categories that exist in he NFL are jobs in media and marketing. Both departments are equally important when it comes to generating revenue for the leagues. Other jobs that exist in the NFL are lawyers, accountants, IT department, and human resources. These departments can also be found in the individual teams. Opportunities also exist for college student trying to gain some experiences through the NFL’s internship programs. Each team also has additional job positions that include players and coaches. Teams also feature operations positions, to oversee their stadium and practice facilities. Teams have superintendents that maintain the practice and game fields. Teams also typically have a travel department. The possibilities are endless and the NFL has many career opportunities for those interested in a career in the sports industry. (NFL, 2010)
Major Positions and Responsibilities
The most important position in the NFL is the commissioner. The owners of the league choose the commissioner. The commissioner keeps the league fair and handles the major disputes between the organizations. The next important position in the league is the team owners. The team owner’s work together in the NFL to keep the playing field, mostly financial, fair and competitive. When you break into the teams individually the most important position after the team owner is the general manager, which in some cases can be the team owner or head coach. Then there is the head coach who comes next in control of the team. Finally there come the players on the team. Without the players there is no team to showcase to the fans.
Entry-Level Positions and Current Opportunities
When it comes to entry-level positions in the NFL, the best way is to get an internship through the NFL’s internship program. This program is usually offered to students during the summer. The NFL allows students to gain experience in areas that include Communications & Public Affairs, Community Affairs, Consumer Products, Events, Finance & Accounting, Football Operations, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internal Audit, International, Labor & Legal, Marketing & Sales, and Media. The NFL also includes an alternate program called the Junior Rotational Program. This program is a series of work assignments that will provide participants with an opportunity to contribute to the organization's success while receiving an unparalleled learning experience. (NFL, 2010)
If you are not in college positions in sales and marketing are other forms of entry-level positions within the NFL. With the rise of technology in the sports industry the future of the NFL may fall in the hands of tech savvy college graduates. Technologies such a web and cell phone apps are on the rise as well as other hi-tech devices (iPad). The integration of 3D technology in televisions is surfacing on the scene worldwide. Scoreboards at the stadiums and arenas are becoming more and more interactive.
Community Involvement Efforts
The NFL’s 32 teams are all involve in giving back to the community. The NFL and its players participate in programs such as youth programs, community programs, diversity programs, health programs volunteer programs and different charities around the country. Whether is building or remodeling a ne part to providing a football camp or young inspiring athletes, the NFL is ready to get involved. Recently the NFL has incorporated its community services into game events such as half-time shows both in regular season games and championship games. (NFL-Join the Team, 2010)
Recent Business News About the Organization
In bad news the NFL’s players have been getting a lot of heat on players personal lives. Whether it’s a drug problem, a DUI, being accused of rape, tax evasion or etc. It all comes back on the NFL as negative publicity and puts huge pressure on the NFL commissioner. Most recently Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been under a lot of heat for his current behavior. Sometimes these professional athletes forget that they represent the whole NFL organization and what it stands for. Roethlisberger was suspended last week for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, a punishment resulting from an incident in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a college student in a Georgia nightclub, even though he was not charged. (Robinson, 2010)
In good news the current NFL draft brought in huge ratings and revenue for both the NFL and its networks. This years NFL draft welcomed 16 new rookies into the league. According to the article “NFL Draft's Media Circus,” these rookies will face intense scrutiny over their leadership, character, and off-field conduct because of Roethlisberger's recent behavior. The NFL draft was for the first time broadcasted live and lasted for two days. The 2010 NFL Draft created massive campaigns for the NFL and networks included Jay-Z songs Empire State of Mind, Star Is Born, On to the Next One, and So Ambitious. Wireless companies such as Verizon showcased its NFL Draft-related activities on NFL Mobile, featuring live Draft coverage and its "real-time draft tracker." (Horrow, & Swatek, 2010)
Conclusion
In conclusion, the NFL is one of the largest and fastest growing leagues in sports. With excellent revenue structure that brings in huge revenues it has the best potential for growth in both jobs and expansion. With the introduction of different new technologies and gadgets the NFL can begin to develop new job and new ways of bring their product to their fans. College students and people who are familiar with the new technologies such as the web, mobile apps and apps for the new iPad will soon began to make a huge impact in the future of sports entertainment. Technology will ultimately change the NFL’s perception on how to get their product to the customer.
References
Futterman, Matthew. (2009, March 24). NFL, DirecTV Extend Pact in $4 Billion Dea. The Wall
Street Journal. Retreived March 18, 2010 from:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123786503490122053.html
Horrow, R, & Swatek, K. (2010). Nfl draft's media circus. BusinessWeek Online, Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=49812451&site=bsi-live doi: 49812451
Robinson, A. (2010). Ward: roethlisberger's suspension 'justified'. The Associated Press,
Retrieved from http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hq_u0io3OclpYBz-AYba8o2bpN0wD9FDRF3G0
NFL (2010, January 1). League employement. Retrieved from http://www.nfl.com/about
NFL, Join theTeam (2010, January 1). Join the team. Retrieved from
https://www.jointheteam.com/
Monday, May 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment