Player Movement

The NBA has used player movement to try and take viewership away from the NFL. For many years the NFL has had off-season events that drew more viewership than the NBA. Primarily the NFL draft and the scouting combine. What the NFL does with it’s draft is downright genius and it is the reason why the NFL is currently the most popular American sport. What they did with the draft is done in a way no other sport could accomplish the draft is scheduled several months after the Superbowl. This gives way for NFL analyst and experts to break down around 500 plus prospects on ESPN for months that eats into the NBA viewership. What the NBA has done to get back in the running for American sport almost seems like it happened by accident. Player movement has made the NBA a year around sport that fans talk about 24/7. It started with Lebron and continued with KD. Fans are showing that they will tune into shows talking about where each player is going to go. It has allowed fans to see real life fantasy basketball. In the 90’s fans could of imagined what if Michael Jordan played for their team. In today’s game the best player leaving his team and joining another is more likely than ever. Also players aren’t just being traded they are deciding that they want to team up with their friends which is setting up collections of talent that the NBA has never seen before. While the build up keeps the fans engaged even when the players actually commit to their new team fans are still getting excited to see these new players play on the court and it has brought a new found viewership to the NBA. A product of the player movement paying off is that players and teams are making more money. NBA franchises are worth well into the billions of dollars. While the NBA hasn’t passed the NFL yet if the domestic violence and discrimination keeps occurring the NFL will eventually take a back seat to the NBA. As more and more talented players come into the league for teams they didn’t necessarily want to play for the more the excitement for player movement gets. Fans are now well versed in teams salary cap and when a players contract is over. The next decade will be the NBA’s chance to claim the title as America’s sport.