Money for Success?

I argue that teams spending more money on their players does not always lead to higher winning percentages using an article titled “How Your Favorite Baseball Team Blows It’s Money”.

www.baseballmoneymaker.com

Anyone would think that if you spend more money on something, you will get more out of it.  For the most part, this is the case. When talking about professional sports franchises, it is also mostly the case. For many years, the New York Yankees have been one of the best teams in the MLB. For them, this success came with a big price tag on it. They had averaged the highest salary cap of any team in the league for many years. Although the money that they spent on their team seemed to make them a better team, spending more money does not always equal more wins.

At $300 million, the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers have the highest salary cap in MLB history which would mean that they would have the most wins, right? Wrong. They are a very good team, but not the best, as some would expect from the salaries. The Dodgers have the same amount of wins as the Houston Astros. The only difference is that the Astros are paying their athletes $200 million less in cap. This just goes to show that money does not always buy success.

Next Post: I will focus on how the players values are determined and why they get paid how much they get paid.

The League and its increasing revenue

                The National Football League has become a hub of popularity circulating across television and multiple social media sites. They can be seen around the clock through highlights, post game coverage, or an actual live event.

          In the article titled "The Most Valuable Teams in The NFL" on the Forbes website, writer Mike Ozanian answers questions such as why a team like the Dallas Cowboys is valued as the most valuable sports team franchise on the planet. Priced at 4 billion dollars, the team is owned solely by Jerry Jones who generated a revenue of 620 million dollars, a record for the NFL. 

          The team ranks higher than Real Madrid in terms of worth while the Patriots are the only other NFL team to reach the top 5. One large reason for the success of the league bringing in a substantial amount of money would be their contracts without television networks. The United States wants to see more football and the networks are willing to pay the price, totaling 4.4 billion dollars in collective revenue earned from these contracts. 

          However, it is not just the cable companies, it’s the phone companies capitalizing on the streaming rights on their phone. The league is sharing the wealth with their players as well considering their record breaking contracts certain players received over the off season. 

          A highly sought after defensive tackle inked in a 114 million dollar contract, the most ever for a player at his position. meanwhile, 3 quarterbacks earned new contracts that could earn them at least 22 million dollars a year. As the value of teams and the league continue to flourish, the amount of money flowing between fanatics, franchises, and their star athletes continue to reach astronomical heights the likes of which have never been seen before in the sports world.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2015/09/14/the-most-valuable-teams-in-the-nfl/
Image URL: http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1636003/NFL-Money-CBA_JPG.jpg

What is the present/future relevance of 3D printers in the business aspect?

Why I want to learn about 3D printers and their future/present relevance in the business aspect?
Over recent years, the existence of 3D printers have become more known and what is has done and what can be done with this technology simply interests me. 3D printer's can become a valuable asset to many parts of human life and businesses can take advantage of that.

Questions I hope to answer:
1. How affordable are 3D printers to the average American citizen?

(how easy is it to get your hands on one and use it right away).

2. What are the benefits of 3D printers for manufacturers?

3. What kind of materials do 3D printers use?

4. Can people have their own models printed?

5. Can people modify others’ printing designs to their liking?

6. What does 3D printing contribute to the medical field?

The Basics of How a Stock’s Price is Determined

http://www.powderfool.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/debt-capital-markets.jpg

Many people seem to reference the stock market in conversation, but it seems to me that few of these same people actually know how the price of said stocks are determined. So, what is the most basic explanation of how the price of a stock is determined? A company's worth is determined by it’s market capital, which is the stock price multiplied by the number of shares trading. So, if a stock had a $5 stock price and 10 million shares trading it’s worth $50 million. A company that has a $10 stock price and 1 million shares outstanding is worth $10 million, whereas, a company with $5 stock price and 10 million shares outstanding is worth $50 million. This goes to show that both factors effect it's overall value. Therefore, stock prices are entirely relative. They only represent the percentage changes in market capital at a specific time. As the stock prices change, a companies value changes at the same rate. This is why investors play close attention to these changes. What may seem like a very slim change in a stock price adds up quickly.

Investment companies set and calculate the price of a stock. When a company first goes public they go through what’s called an initial public offering. They hire an investment bank and pay a large sum of money for them to use very complex formulas and valuation techniques to estimate the companies value by determining the amount of shares offered to the public and those shares prices.

FUTURE RESEARCH: In the future, I plan to look further in to how individuals can make money in stock market trading when the prices change so quickly and in seemingly random patterns. 

http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/133.asp

Staying Active for Action Sport Companies

An informational slideshow made by Hayco Volkers, http://www.slideshare.net/hjvolkers/attractiveness-of-action-sports, displays the main reasons why brands move towards selling in the extreme sport market. 

Source: "http://www.vitalmx.com"

I am really into sports but not the kind involves a ball. On the weekends, I race motocross, dirt jump, mountain bike, downhill longboard and bowhunt. I am in it for the thrill of risking everything for a high reward. 

The overall question I plan on answering by the end of the project: " What makes action sports companies profitable/successful?" 

Sub questions I will need to answer in order to answer the overall question: "What are action sports companies’ profit margins?" "In what ways do action sports companies market their product to everyday people?" "How do traditional brands come into play when these new/hip companies take the "cake" in the extreme sports market?" "How do celebrities promote action sports when they do not actually take part in them.

My plan of research is to go to the specific websites of action sport brands and to also go straight to athletes that have sponsors to their sports. Autobiographies and exposes of action sport athletes would be a great plan of research to take first-hand evidence of their point of view in extreme sports. I will always go back to the main idea of “What makes action sports companies profitable?”

Should professional baseball players get paid as much as they do?

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org

• Briefly explain why you are interested in studying your topic:  

I am a huge baseball fan and have always been interested in the amount of money baseball players make and if they really should be earning as much money as they do. There are so many professional athletes that get paid an overwhelming amount of cash, but why give the most to baseball players?

• The overall question I plan on answering by the end of the project:

Should these athletes be paid millions of dollars just to simply play baseball?

• Sub questions I will need to answer in order to answer the overall question:

How do the contracts for the players work out?

Do certain position players make more money?(Pitchers, first basemen, ect.)

What kind of money do other athletes make compared to baseball players?

• My plan of research (what specific Library Databases, specific websites, names of authors, people, etc. will I pursue to find the answers to the questions above):

I will look at MLB.com and other websites relating to this one in order to help me answer my overall question.

The Economics Of NASCAR As a Whole

SOURCE: http://a1.fssta.com/

INTRODUCTION

NASCAR, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, is the most widely known motorsports series in North America. Racing isn't just a sport of inches, it's a sport of seconds, and speed. With 43 engines humming in harmony down the backstretch in harmony and flying in formation around superspeedways, there's nothing that gets people more excited, anxious, and up off their seat. However, without the economies that are a part of NASCAR, people like myself may never have seen the sport grow to what it is today.

Basic Overview

NASCAR is a family owned enterprise dedicated to stock car racing. It is lead by it’s president, Mike Helton, and CEO, Brian France, whose grandfather Bill France not only started NASCAR, but also built the iconic Daytona International Speedway.. NASCAR is the most prestigious and followed motorsport circuit in the world. NASCAR does not just include the prestigious Sprint Cup Series, it also includes the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCARS second top touring series, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This gives NASCAR at most three different events per week which the sport can make money. NASCAR gets revenue from ticket sales, merchandise sales, headset sales, food sales, track sponsorships, and obviously the sponsors on the cars. Some might be wondering what happens to the workers at the track. Well think of it like this. If  NASCAR wants to race at a certain track, then NASCAR must pay the track owners if they want to hold their venue at that particular track. The money collected during the race weekend by NASCAR, which is still a fairly decent profit, will go to providing  teams with necessities such as fuel, tires, carbon fiber, engines, and other parts.

How is NASCAR Benefiting In An Economical Way Over The Past Two Years?

A big part of NASCAR revolves around sponsors. In the article "From Back Alleys To Big Bucks" Over the course of one season (36 races per series), NASCAR will earn over three billion dollars in sponsorship dollars. This does not only include the sponsors on the cars, but also track sponsors, manufacturer sponsors, equipment sponsors (goodyear, sunoco), and TV sponsors. People might find it hard to believe , but NASCAR is the second most watched sport in the US, behind only the NFL. Over the course of a regular year, 75% of the most attended sporting events included NASCAR races, according to Investopedia.com. The biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500, almost always brings in the most sponsors and TV audience. Recently, there have been two big moves in the world of broadcasting concerning NASCAR racing. They include;

1. NASCAR’s Move To NBCSN. NASCAR, NBC, and FS1 had made an aliance. NASCAR has decided to leave the TNT and ESPN networks and make NBC and Fox their home. With the growing popularity of hockey, and football, NASCAR will now be able to promote their sport in front of a much larger tv audience through commercials.
2. NASCAR has been increasing the number of commercials promoting their races. Not only has NASCAR been promoting the races, but NASCAR has also been heavily promoting the playoffs, or more oftenly called the C

Price no longer defines luxury

Using the information from the leading national newspaper, USA Today, in an article titled “Price, size, fancy features no longer define luxury cars,” I argue a car can be considered a luxury car even if it's produced by a mainstream manufacturer or even if it's not very expensive as long as it has some amount of convenience, comfort, reliability, and performance they have.

Hyundai Equus Interior- www.moibbk.com

We live in a rapidly changing, fast paced world. Consumers’ tastes and interests can change in an instant. This constant shift in tastes widely affected the new car market, especially the luxury car market. Now, luxury cars aren’t just about size and branding. Luxury cars are about convenience, comfort, reliability, and performance; the vehicle must have a certain “feel” to it, and you know it when you feel it. Luxury cars can still be as ostentatious as a Rolls Royce, but now the luxury car market is being penetrated by seemingly mainstream brands, such as Hyundai or Kia. Consumers are expecting luxury cars to have more features, and we are beginning to see what some may call certain “ranges within the luxury segment.”

Previously, luxury cars were all about branding and history. Cadillac has clearly established itself as one of the oldest luxury car makers in the United States, recently celebrating its 113th anniversary this past August. Since then, Cadillac has definitely had some setbacks, such as the release of the Cimarron, but GM is always innovating in order to “maintain Cadillac’s luxury image.” Manufacturers have to tailor the cars to what the consumer needs, so producers like GM and Toyota create different options to suit the buyer. Toyota-owned Lexus has been seeing great sales after the release of the CT 200h, a hybrid hatchback car, starting just barely under $30,000. The fact that a luxury brand, such as Lexus, can offer a hybrid car that has a cheap price tag, in comparison with other models and manufacturers, and is quite small in size when compared to other Lexuses and luxury brands, shows that there really is a market for “cheaper,” more efficient luxury cars.

Other brands, like Hyundai and Kia, are releasing their version of luxury cars. Quite frankly, I think that these cars actually do fit into the luxury category even if they don’t have a luxury brand name. A Mercedes is still luxury even without the fancy logo. Luxury can be judged by branding, and most consumers buy their luxury cars like this, but in the end it all comes down to quality. If the performance and craftsmanship is appealing to the buyer, and it is apparent that the manufacturer took their time to consistently produce a product of high caliber, a car should be considered luxury. Thus, the definition of luxury hasn’t changed much, but rather manufacturers changed their production habits in order to offer and maintain certain level of luxury. Hyundai executive Steve Shannon stated that owners of high end Hyundais “‘are not embarrassed to say they own a Hyundai. We do focus groups, and people think they're in on a secret. There is almost a club of people that hope more people don't find out’ that Hyundai sells luxury sedans priced less than rivals.” Consumers are clearly satisfied with the alternative branding because even though it doesn’t have history, the build quality is consistent enough to land these “cheaper alternative” luxury cars into the luxury segment.

FUTURE RESEARCH: In my next blog post I will try to answer the question, "What features are usually included with luxury cars, and how and why do these features differ from economy cars?"