The Demand for NFL Attendance: A Rational Addiction Model

Colorado College Economics and Business Working Paper No. 2004-01

36 Pages Posted: 1 Nov 2004

See all articles by Erin LeAnne Spenner

Erin LeAnne Spenner

Colorado College - Department of Economics and Business

Aju J. Fenn

Colorado College - Department of Economics and Business

John Crooker

Central Missouri State University - Department of Economics

Date Written: October 2004

Abstract

This paper examines the demand for attendance at National Football League (NFL) games using a rational addiction model to test the hypothesis that professional football displays the properties of a habit-forming good. Rational addiction theory suggests that past and future consumption play a part in determining the current period's consumption for habit-forming goods. A pooled data set is collected using statistics from each NFL team from the 1983 to the 2002 seasons. Current attendance is modeled as a function of team specific variables including past and future attendance, ticket price, and team performance as well as league variables such as the incidence of strikes. The model is estimated using Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS). It is found that past and future attendance, winning percentage, the age of the stadium in which a team plays, and the occurrence of strikes are significant factors in the determination of attendance at NFL games. The fact that coefficients for past and future attendance are positive and significant in this analysis lends support to the notion that NFL fans display characteristics of rational addiction in their consumption behavior.

Keywords: Sports attendance, rational addiction, NFL demand

JEL Classification: D12

Suggested Citation

Spenner, Erin LeAnne and Fenn, Aju J. and Crooker, John, The Demand for NFL Attendance: A Rational Addiction Model (October 2004). Colorado College Economics and Business Working Paper No. 2004-01, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=611661 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.611661

Erin LeAnne Spenner

Colorado College - Department of Economics and Business

14 E Cache La Poudre Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
United States

Aju J. Fenn (Contact Author)

Colorado College - Department of Economics and Business ( email )

14 E Cache La Poudre Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
United States
719-389-6407 (Phone)
719-389-6927 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/EC

John Crooker

Central Missouri State University - Department of Economics ( email )

Warrensburg, MO 64093-5070
United States