Through an economic assessment of the business of professional sports and prospects for the future in the United States, this study examines factors that determine players' salaries, management practices and franchise values, and long- and short-term corporate ownership. It shows, for example, that while economic growth since 1975 was fueled primarily by sales of television rights, the broadcast market has become saturated and teams will have to look elsewhere for income in the 1990s. This book offers technical insights that should interest business economists and professionals in sports management.