Wage Discrimination
amongst NFL
Athletes
Econ 2327
By: Patrick Gill, Ryan Williams, George Ulloa
The Question:
Is there a difference in pay amongst black and white NFL
athletes?
- Do white athletes tend to be paid more?
- Do black athletes tend to be paid more?
- What factors lead to higher pay? Is race a factor?
Hypothesis:
-If salaries paid to black and white NFL players of the same
position with similar career statistics vary, then race is a
factor of determining what a player is paid.
The Data:
- Naturally, different positions will require more or less
athletes for that position, thus affecting the salaries of
those positions.
- Our dataset broken down by position
- QB: 40 observations
- WR/TE: 50 observations
- RB: 40 observations
- All data is based on career stats of each player, and
salaries are based on 2015 annual pay.
Visualizing the Data:
Total Sum of Salaries Average Annual Salaries
- Eric Decker (White) and Julio Jones
(Black) have similar career production
- Yet Jones salary is almost twice as
high
_________________________
- Decker: 306 receptions
- Jones: 312 receptions
_________________________
- Decker: 28 years old
- Jones: 26 years old
_________________________
- Decker: 7.25 million salary
- Jones: 14.25 million salary
_________________________
E. Decker
J. Jones
- A professional NFL Quarterback’s salary is
based on a number of different variables
including the # of TDs he throws in a
season
- As we can see from the data (to the right),
race does not play a role in determining
one’s salary.
Cam Newton (black) - 87 TDs
Peyton Manning (white) - 535 TDs
Note: Manning has been playing in the NFL
longer than Newton
Contract Negotiations, Salary Cap, etc.. are also
taking into consideration in these situations
Tableau Visualization:
https://public.tableau.com/shared/
X6GWYBH6S?:display_count=yes
Interpreting the Data:
STATA Regression:
Results:
- No evidence that race affects salary
- Productivity seems to be largest salary factor
- When players compare in stats, what causes the salary
difference?
- Size, speed, negotiation deals, multiple factors contribute???
- **We do notice certain positions are dominated by
race**
- QB predominantly white, RB and WR predominantly black
- Brains vs Brawns of positions (article)
- Future study?
