SPENCER: Greed In Sports

Sprint Cup

SPENCER: Greed In Sports

The future of all professional sports demands that everyone keep the quest for the almighty dollar in check...

Jimmy Spencer | Posted January 12, 2011 Charlotte, NC

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)

One of the same seven deadly sins that bit NASCAR a few years ago could take a sizeable bite out of the NFL, as well.

The possibility of an NFL lockout looms large next season and old-fashioned greed is to blame. But NASCAR is no stranger to what happens when a sport and its key players get too money-hungry.

When competitors demand too much money to entertain fans whose salary isn’t a fraction of theirs, you’ve got a sport out of touch with its fan base. And that is a big problem. The NFL is out of touch with its fans, and as much as NASCAR would love to have the NFL’s TV ratings for their own, there are a few things the football league could learn from NASCAR.

There have been times in the past decade or so that I thought our sport was out of touch with our core fans. NASCAR grew exponentially several years ago and moved into bigger markets, forsaking older and smaller ones. The schedule was stretched to 36 races to take advantage of the industry’s skyrocketing popularity. But then the bubble burst, and on top of that, the economy tanked, and NASCAR has had to reach out to its fans like never before in an effort to draw them back.

Fortunately, NASCAR always has been pretty good at maintaining the fan-driver relationship through various autograph sessions, driver Q&As with fans and other initiatives. Many drivers go out of their way to reach out to fans and connect with those who buy their souvenirs and cheer for them each week.

Clint Bowyer came to me a couple of years ago and asked, “What do we need to do to make the sport better?" I replied, “Just stay in touch with the fans.” Fans are what make this possible and the fact that I see drivers such as Bowyer, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon going out of their way to engage their fans gives me hope that the future of NASCAR is stable in this respect.

But the NFL, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same relationship with its fans. The owners are losing millions of dollars, in part because of the economy and the fact people aren’t going to as many games as they did in better times. But despite this financial situation, the players demand more money and a lockout appears likely.

How do you think the average American fan will perceive a lockout amongst guys making millions of dollars per year? This is where the disconnect between the sport and its fans comes in. The fans might have a hard time standing by their team and favorite player when they look at their exorbitant salaries. It all comes back to greed.

Many of NASCAR’s problems the past decade can be attributed to greed, as well. The cost of sponsorships at the top level exploded the past 10 years. How many sponsors nowadays can spend $20 million to fund a top team? Very few, if any, today. But they used to do it for $3 million or $5 million not too terribly long ago.

Hotel rooms and food at the track all are outrageously priced. I’ve talked to hundreds of fans the past couple of years who tell me they used to go to five or six races a year, but now attend only one or two because they can’t afford the cost of race tickets, a hotel room, food and souvenirs.

My SPEED is devoted to the passionate fans who celebrate motorcycles, motorsports and the automotive lifestyle.

I tip my hat to tracks that have offered major deals the past couple of seasons to make a race weekend more affordable for the average American. But let’s take that a step further. Everyone involved – including drivers, tracks and the sanctioning body - should give up a little profit on race weekend and work together to bring down the price of a race experience. Greed shouldn’t dictate the health and popularity of the sport.

The NFL also needs to keep that in mind in the coming months. The future of all professional sports demands that everyone keep the quest for the almighty dollar in check, because until they do, I don’t think anyone will be selling out stadiums and making new fans anytime soon.

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on his “Getting Primed with Jimmy Presented by Kilz Primer” segment on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jimmy Spencer

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