Professional football today is an $8 billion sports entertainment industry--and the most popular spectator sport in America, with designs on expansion across the globe. In this astute field-level view of the National Football League since 1960, Michael Oriard looks closely at the development of the sport and at the image of the NFL and its unique place in American life. New to the paperback edition is Oriard's analysis of the offseason labor negotiations and their potential effects on the future of the sport, and his account of how the NFL is dealing with the latest research on concussions and head injuries.

The Washington Redskins franchise remains one of the most valuable in professional sports, in part because of its easily recognizable, popular, and profitable brand. And yet “redskins” is a derogatory name for American Indians. The number of grassroots campaigns to change the name has risen in recent years despite the current team owner’s assertion that the team will never do so. Franchise owners counter criticism by arguing that the team name is positive and a term of respect and honor that many American Indians embrace. The NFL, for its part, actively defends the name and supports it in court. Prominent journalists, politicians, and former players have publicly spoken out against the use of “Redskins” as the name of the team. Sportscaster Bob Costas denounced the name as a racial slur during a halftime show in 2013. U.S. Representative Betty McCollum marched outside the stadium with other protesters––among them former Minnesota Vikings player Joey Browner––urging that the name be changed. Redskins: Insult and Brand examines how the ongoing struggle over the team name raises important questions about how white Americans perceive American Indians, about the cultural power of consumer brands, and about continuing obstacles to inclusion and equality. C. Richard King examines the history of the team’s name, the evolution of the term “redskin,” and the various ways in which people both support and oppose its use today. King’s hard-hitting approach to the team’s logo and mascot exposes the disturbing history of a moniker’s association with the NFL—a multibillion-dollar entity that accepts public funds—as well as popular attitudes toward Native Americans today.

The new NFL Centennial Edition A multi-billion-dollar entertainment empire, the National Football League is a coast-to-coast obsession that borders on religion and dominates our sports-mad culture. But today's NFL also provides a stage for playing out important issues roiling American society. The updated and expanded edition of NFL Football observes the league's centennial by following the NFL into the twenty-first century, where off-the-field concerns compete with touchdowns and goal line stands for headlines. Richard Crepeau delves into the history of the league and breaks down the new era with an in-depth look at the controversies and dramas swirling around pro football today: Tensions between players and Commissioner Roger Goodell over collusion, drug policies, and revenue; The firestorm surrounding Colin Kaepernick and protests of police violence and inequality; Andrew Luck and others choosing early retirement over the threat to their long-term health; Paul Tagliabue's role in covering up information on concussions; The Super Bowl's evolution into a national holiday. Authoritative and up to the minute, NFL Football continues the epic American success story.

NFL Films changed the way Americans view football. Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Media traces the subsidiary's development from a small independent film production company to the marketing machine that Sports Illustrated named "perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America." Drawing on research at the NFL Films Archive and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and interviews with media pioneer Steve Sabol and others, Travis Vogan shows how NFL Films has constructed a consistent, romanticized, and remarkably visible mythology for the National Football League. The company packages football as a visceral and dramatic sequence of violent, beautiful, graceful, and heroic gridiron battles. Historically proven formulas for presentation--such as the dramatic voiceovers once provided by John Facenda's baritone, the soaring scores of Sam Spence's rousing background music, and the epic poetry found in Steve Sabol's scripts--are still used today. From the Vincent Price-narrated Strange but True Football Stories to the currently running series Hard Knocks, NFL Films distinguishes the NFL from other sports organizations and from other media and entertainment. Vogan tells the larger story of the company's relationship with and vast influence on our culture's representations of sport, the expansion of sports television beyond live game broadcasts, and the emergence of cable television and Internet sports media. Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Media presents sports media as an integral facet of American popular culture and NFL Films as key to the transformation of professional football into the national obsession commonly known as America's Game.

Sport brands are a central element of modern sport business and a ubiquitous component of contemporary global culture. This groundbreaking book offers a complete analysis of the topic of sport brands from both a marketing management approach (strategy and implementation) and a psycho-sociological approach (consumption and wider society). In doing so it explores both supply and demand sides, offering a complete introduction to the nature, purpose and value of sport brands not found in any other sports marketing text. The book covers the whole heterogeneity of sport brands, going much further than the sport team and league brands covered in most other books. As well as teams and leagues, the book considers the brands of sports celebrities, events, media, computer games and governing bodies, as well as the ethical, professional and technological 'label brands' associated with sport. Richly illustrated with cases, examples and data, the book explores the tangible and intangible influence of sport brands, their economic and social value, and the subcultures and communities that grow up around them. It also introduces common strategies for growing brands, and growing through brands, and examines the challenges and threats that sport brands face, from boycotts and ambush marketing to counterfeiting. An understanding of sport brands is essential for a fully rounded understanding of contemporary sport marketing. As a result, this book is important reading for any student or practitioner working in sport marketing, sport business, or mainstream marketing management.

Information on how to hire people using the same techniques the NFL uses to hire athletes.

Football may be sport, but the National Football League is at heart a business--how else to account for the stratospheric salaries of the players and coaches? Yet most people are unaware of how that business developed. This book details the growth of an industry that generates billions of dollars in revenue and explains the intricacies of the league's expansions and mergers, territories and relocations; the operation of franchises; the role of stadiums and markets; and the effect of the NFL on domestic and foreign affairs.

Overachiever Joe Theismann had reached the pinnacle of success as an elite NFL quarterback, with a Super Bowl victory and NFL MVP award. But the memory that sticks with many fans is the gruesome injury—his leg was shattered on Monday Night Football—that ended his career. The end of his days on the gridiron wasn’t the end of life for Theismann, though. In How to Be a Champion Every Day, Theismann recounts stories from his impressive career, providing an inspirational guide for how to succeed on a team, in your career, and in your everyday life. Theismann draws on the people who have inspired and motivated him over the years, like head coach Ron Rivera, San Francisco 49ers safety Ronnie Lott, and his own mother. These amazing stories all emphasize a simple yet profound message that with hard work, focus, and belief in yourself, you can achieve greatness. Organized by themes such as Attitude, Teamwork, and Motivation, Theismann’s wise anecdotes highlight his firm belief that positive-thinking, goal-oriented people can achieve anything they set their minds to. See how Theismann’s advice can change your life.

This book takes a close look at branding and sponsorship in sport in the age of digital media. It examines how branding and sponsorship have evolved in response to the challenges and opportunities of new technologies. Featuring the work of leading international sport business researchers from four continents and twelve countries, the book explores key contemporary topics including esports, name and image likeness (NIL) rights, viewer experience, machine learning, social media use by athletes, sport migration, and the impact of COVID-19. It presents cutting-edge cases and new data across sports and events, including the Olympics, the NBA, international football, the rafting world championships, and collegiate sports. The book is an essential resource for advanced students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working in sport business and management, sport marketing, digital marketing, marketing communications, or brand management.

The media increasingly refer to football clubs as brands. Certainly concepts such as loyalty, affiliation, emotional ties with football clubs seem to parallel the relationship between consumer and brand in the broader marketing sphere. This book delves deep into the world of the lucrative business of sports branding.