The Financial and Competitive Value of NCAA Basketball Recruits
Journal of Sports Economics, Forthcoming
30 Pages Posted: 6 Oct 2015 Last revised: 1 May 2017
Date Written: August 27, 2015
Abstract
In this paper we examine the value of high school basketball prospects and results indicate that each five-star (four-star) recruit generates $625,000 ($178,000) in marginal revenue for his university. Additionally, university academic donations are strongly related to basketball performance and five-star recruits bring in an additional $5,800,000 in funding on average as a result of their contribution to team success. Calculations indicate that if five-star players were to be fairly compensated, their earnings would be approximately $613,000. Four-star prospects would be paid roughly $166,000, three-star recruits $91,000, and two- and one-star players $50,000.
Keywords: NCAA Basketball, Recruiting, Financial Value, Competitive Performance
JEL Classification: J31, J41, J52
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation