American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Who Profits from Amateurism? Rent Sharing in Modern College Sports
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
(pp. 200–241)
Abstract
Intercollegiate amateur athletics in the United States have historically prevented student-athletes from receiving market wages, creating substantial economic rents that are primarily generated by men's football and basketball programs. Using financial data from college athletic departments, we estimate rent-sharing elasticities to measure how rents flow to women's sports and other men's sports and lead to increased spending on athletic facilities and coaches' salaries. Using player-level data, we find that the rent-sharing transfers spending away from students who are more likely to be Black and come from poor neighborhoods toward students more likely to be White and come from higher-income neighborhoods.Citation
Garthwaite, Craig, Nicole Holz, Jordan Keener, and Matthew Notowidigdo. 2026. "Who Profits from Amateurism? Rent Sharing in Modern College Sports." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 18 (4): 200–241. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220595Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- L83 Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
- Z21 Sports Economics: Industry Studies
- Z22 Sports Economics: Labor Issues