David Berri
Department Chair and Professor of Economics | Southern Utah University
Cedar City, UT, UNITED STATES
Specializing in evaluations of players and coaches in sports, gender issues in sports, and competitive balance in sports
Biography
Dr. David Berri is a professor of economics at Southern Utah University. He has spent the last two decades researching sports and economics, while publishing works on a variety of topics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, the NCAA, and gender issues in sports.
Dr. Berri was the lead author of "The Wages of Wins and Stumbling on Wins" and recently published "Sports Economics", a textbook from Macmillan Publishers. In the past, he has written on the subject of sports economics for a number of popular media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic.com, Time.com, and Vice Sports. Currently, Dr. Berri is writing for Forbes.com.
Dr. Berri graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a bachelor of arts in economics and earned both his master of arts and Ph.D. in economics from Colorado State University.
Spotlight
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Industry Expertise (5)
Education/Learning
Sport - Amateur
Sport - Professional
Writing and Editing
Business Services
Areas of Expertise (12)
Distrubution of Wealth and Power
Unpaid Athletes in the NCAA
NBA Salary Caps
Sports Economics
NCAA
Gender Wage Gap in Sports
Gender Issues in Sports
Evaluation of Players and Coaches in Sports
Economics
Competitive Balance in Sports
Pay Equality in Sports
Gender Wage Gap in Professional Basketball
Education (3)
Colorado State University: Ph.D., Economics
Colorado State University: M.A., Economics
Nebraska Wesleyan University: B.A., Economics
Accomplishments (3)
Outstanding Scholar (professional)
Southern Utah University Board of Trustees, 2013
Scholar of the Year, Department of Economics & Finance (professional)
Southern Utah University, 2009
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor (professional)
Colorado State University, 1996
Links (4)
Media Appearances (36)
Economic Discrepancies within America’s Favorite Sports -- A Conversation with David Berri
Macmillan Learning online
2022-11-07
With the end of the World Series, we spoke to David Berri, Professor of Economics at Southern Utah University and author of Sports Economics to better understand how market forces may impact America’s favorite pastime. So… is there a link between payroll and performance? Why are some sports more popular than others? As it turns out, not all sports are created equal. Here’s what Professor Berri has to say.
'Not a risk at all': Why college football coaches are guaranteed more money than ever
USA Today online
2022-10-10
Michigan State athletics booster Mat Ishbia didn’t really consider the financial risk last year when he decided to help fund a fully guaranteed 10-year, $95 million contract for football coach Mel Tucker.
The monetization of college sports
NPR radio
2022-07-19
For student athletes, long gone are the days of shady, under-the-cover deals. After the NCAA changed its stance on NIL – that's name, image, and likeness for short – college sports stars are now able to pursue brand deals with different sponsors from the local taco shop to Lamborghini.
The NFL draft is designed to promote parity in the league. That provides an incentive to lose on purpose.
Marketplace online
2022-04-28
The NFL draft, which kicks off in Las Vegas Thursday night, has become a big deal. You could argue that, in some ways, it’s bigger than the Super Bowl.
FOX 13 News 360: Making the Utah Jazz champions
Fox 13 News online
2021-07-18
When you look at the analysis of Dr. David Berri, the Jazz would have won the championship if they entered the playoffs with their core players healthy.
You’re Paying for Sports Stadiums You Don’t Even Go To
Lit Hub online
2020-08-31
“The non-economic reason is this: The fans cannot live without these teams,” according to David Berri, an economics professor at Southern Utah University who specializes in sports economics.
When collegiate sports are sidelined, schools and local economies take a hit
Marketplace online
2020-08-04
“Top college football coaches are paid the same salaries as top NFL coaches,” said David Berri, economics professor at Southern Utah University.
Fearing cuts, non-revenue college sports look for ways to ‘weather this storm’
The Washington Post online
2020-04-27
“If the program was viable before this took place, then it will be viable after this takes place,” said David Berri, a sports economist and professor at Southern Utah.
Strongest will be ready to seize even more power when crisis ends
The Sunday Telegraph online
2020-04-12
Sports economist David Berri says: “I do not expect there to be any significant long-run cost to sport. In fact, there could be a boost to demand.”
The NBA could lose billions this season. Who will eat that loss?
CNN Sports online
2020-03-31
Salvaging the playoffs would mean making good on its lucrative TV deal, a matter of urgency for the NBA, according to David Berri, professor of economics at Southern Utah University.
Coronavirus: What will economic hit be for Warriors, Sharks, other Bay Area pro teams?
The Mercury News online
2020-03-15
David J. Berri, a professor of economics at Southern Utah University, said sports teams eventually will recover when quarantines are lifted and the competitions resume.
A typically noisy sports month is silenced by coronavirus cancellations
The Washington Post online
2020-03-12
David Berri, an economics professor at Southern Utah University, said this tumultuous period won’t impact the sports fan’s appetite or any long-term demand.
A typically noisy sports month is silenced by coronavirus cancellations
The Washington Post online
2020-03-12
Most major professional leagues and college conferences suspended operations, taking unprecedented measures in response to the coronavirus that continues to upend lives and daily routines. David Berri, an economics professor at Southern Utah University, said this tumultuous period won’t impact the sports fan’s appetite or any long-term demand.
NCAA asserts collegiate values for bowls, but leaves room for liquor, casino sponsors
USA Today online
2019-12-20
But what the NCAA says about its standards can be quite different from what it actually does, said David Berri, a sports economist at Southern Utah University who has studied NCAA issues.
We broke down 4 common arguments about equal pay in women’s pro sports
The Lily online
2019-12-10
David Berri, professor of economics at Southern Utah University, says the problem plaguing the pay scale in women’s sports is the same problem facing women in most industries. “It’s all the same story. Men are making decisions about women’s sports. And the attitude of men seems to be that women should be grateful that they can play at all.”
Wages of Wins- Using Sports Analytics to drive better decision making w/David Berri
Apple Podcast: It's Not Just A Game online
2019-12-10
On today's episode of the It's Not Just A Game Podcast, Chrissi Sanders chats with author, sports economist and University of Southern Utah sports business and gender economics professor David Berri about using data and analytics to make better decisions in sports.
Can marketing players year-round boost WNBA revenues? How league and union are working to increase player visibility
The Athletic online
2019-11-27
When the final buzzer concludes the WNBA season, the players don't rest. Mere days after the season ends, a majority of WNBA players take off to all corners of the world to compete in international basketball leagues that provide the greatest source of their income as professional athletes.
California Has a New Equal-Pay Act for Athletes
Outside
2019-11-12
Berri, from Southern Utah University, says that legislative action alone doesn’t spur change. There also needs to be continued investment in women’s sports before the playing field is leveled.
Competition between sports for fans' money and attention is increasingly fierce
The Economist online
2019-10-05
“The more inclusive you make sports, the wider the market is going to be,” says Dave Berri, a sports economist from Southern Utah University.
Hail to the (Underpaid) Champs: A Long Legacy of Sexism in Sports
The New York Times online
2019-07-08
David Berri, an economist at Southern Utah University, writing about male and female basketball pay in Forbes: “The NBA pays its players about 50% of league revenue. It appears, when we look at what we know about WNBA revenue and salaries, that the league’s players are receiving less than 25% of the revenue.”
The Heat Are Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place With Limited Cap Space And Few Trade Assets
Forbes online
2019-05-28
For the purpose of this column, I’ll be defining “underpaid” and “overpaid” based on the data Brett Knight presented in his league-wide evaluation of the most underpaid and overpaid players around the league. As a quick refresher, Forbes uses a method, indebted to Southern Utah University Economist, David Berri, in which we multiply a player’s Wins Estimate Average by the average cost of a win.
Multimillion-dollar deals become more common in squeezeplay era of economic superstars
WhyY online
2019-03-01
Bryce Harper’s record-setting $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies took lots of people by surprise when reporters started tweeting it out Thursday afternoon.
How NBA salary caps hurt the Toronto Raptors
The Conversation online
2019-01-30
David Berri, a professor of economics at Southern Utah University, found that both leagues have competitive imbalances despite governing under different systems.
WNBA players are still treated like second-class citizens. It’s on the NBA to fix that.
The Washington Post online
2018-08-08
This is what second-class citizenship in pro sports looks like.
Is Overspending Catching Up to These Power 5 Schools?
USA Today online
2018-06-28
The general strategy is that “more spending leads to more wins,” said David Berri, a sports economist and professor at Southern Utah. “No, it’s probably the other way around: If you win more, you’ll have more revenue and can spend more money. That’s why we end up with this.”
With NBA Picks, Data Can Only Take You So Far
Marketplace online
2018-06-20
The NBA draft takes place tomorrow in Brooklyn, when teams make big bets on young players, hoping they might been the next LeBron James or Steph Curry, that once-in-a-generation player who can transform a team's fortunes. But these players are notoriously risky investments.
Why N.H.L. Teams May Not Enjoy the Comforts of Home Ice
The New York Times print
2018-06-06
“In a regular season, your worst goalie is going to block about 86 percent of shots and your best goalie is going to block about 93 percent, and that’s the whole spread,” David Berri, a professor of economics at Southern Utah University, said. “It’s basically every goalie blocks nine out of 10 shots.”
Before this Hoops Recruit Chose Indiana, Adidas Made Sure He Stayed Under its Tent
The Washington Post online
2018-05-16
“Even if you’re conservative in your math,” said David Berri, a professor of economics at Southern Utah University, “a player like this is worth well over a million.”
Who Will Cleveland Browns Pick in First Round of 2018 NFL Draft?
Bloomberg TV tv
2018-04-26
Southern Utah University Professor of Economics David Berri discusses the potential first round selections for the NFL's 2018 draft. He speaks with Bloomberg's Vonnie Quinn on "Bloomberg Markets."
Commission on College Basketball Calls for Reforms on One-and-Dones, Undrafted Players
LA Times online
2018-04-25
With college basketball reeling from scandal, an independent NCAA task force has called for widespread reform of a game that has become a multibillion-dollar business fraught with bribery and fraud.
Should Female Athletes Sue the Networks for Equal Coverage?
The Guardian online
2018-04-14
Women are conditioned to accept what’s given to them and women athletes are no exception. It’s time for a change.
The changing landscape of college football
WOSU Public Media radio
2023-09-21
The last few years have seen a massive shift in the landscape of college football. Name, image and likeness deals allow college players, legally considered amateurs, to earn millions, the expansion of the transfer portal has allowed for unprecedented numbers of players to change college teams and the rapid acceleration of conference realignment threatens to upend decades of established athletic tradition.
What makes TikTok so thirsty for Joe Burrow
The Washington Post online
2023-09-18
Social media has harnessed the sex appeal of quarterbacks for thirst-trap videos. After years of avoiding the obvious, the NFL has started to play along.
lThrifty at the top: Orioles and Rays among MLB’s lowest payrolls, highest win totals
The Baltimore Sun online
2023-09-14
The Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays each fielded full lineups Wednesday that will be paid less this year than several players on the New York Yankees. Their payrolls haven’t mattered, though. The two thrifty teams have the highest win totals in the American League.
State of NFL Stadiums: Smaller, Pricier, Busier Venues on the Way
Yahoo Sports online
2023-09-04
The NFL season opens this week, and in a multi-part series, Sportico is examining one of the main components of ever-rising team valuations: the stadium. With the cost of materials rising, stadiums have become more than just places to watch football, as teams seek to earn year-round revenue beyond the 10 games they host each season. This is the first installment of the series.
New evidence shows how badly NFL teams discriminate against Black QBs in the draft
SFGate online
2023-09-11
From 2010 to 2022, teams were chronically underrating Black quarterbacks in the draft, a new statistical analysis from SFGATE shows
Articles (18)
Gender information and perceived quality: An experiment with professional soccer performance
Taylor & FrancisCarlos Gomez-Gonzalez, Helmut Dietl, David Berri & Cornel Nesseler
2023-07-11
Whether one looks at revenue, investment or coverage, men’s sports do better than women’s. Many assume that absolute differences in quality of athletic performance are the driving force. However, the existence of stereotypes should alert us to another possibility: gender information might influence perceived quality.
The Gender Wage Gap in Basketball is Bigger than Ever
WinsidrDavid Berri
2023-05-01
Three years ago, I wrote about the gender wage gap in basketball. At the time, we knew average salaries in the WNBA were about $80,000, and the league’s total payroll was about $12.5 million. We didn’t know, though, WNBA revenue. Looking at the league’s television deal with ESPN and ABC, as well as minimum ticket prices, I estimated at the time that league revenue was potentially about $60 million. Given this revenue estimate, it appeared WNBA players were paid about 20 percent of league revenue.
Sports Economics Must Improve by Including Women in the Data Set
Sportico2022-04-27
For much of the past 25 years I have been researching and teaching sports economics, investigating labor strikes, competitive balance, labor productivity, decision-making, coaching impact and labor market discrimination. The topics are quite different, but they often had one thing in common: The participants in the sports discussed were almost always men.
Why Doesn't the NBA Call Cheryl Reeve
Winsidr2019-12-13
There is a strong argument that no coach in professional North American team sports has been more successful than Reeve in the past decade.
The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game
Milken institute Review2019-12-12
In a country seemingly rabid only for sports in which players can use their hands, soccer roared into hearts and headlines this summer. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) successfully defended its World Cup in July, but it wasn’t just its success on the field that captured the public’s imagination. Rather, each satisfying win rallied more sentiment to a team fighting for equal pay in the courts.
The WNBA's Orchard Needs More Investment To Bear Fruit In the Future
Windsidr2019-04-23
A professional sports league is very much like an orchard. It costs quite a bit of money to get started. And there is definitely a lag between that initial investment and the time your league will bear enough fruit to make your investment seem worthwhile. Unlike an orchard, though, the time it takes a league to be successful is not measured in years. The history of sports leagues tells us it is better to think about this in terms of decades.
As Anriel Howard Shows, Underpayment Of Elite Women's Basketball Players Only Begins In College
Forbes2018-08-12
A few days ago, it was reported that Anriel Howard was transferring from the Texas A&M Aggies to the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Howard was the most productive player on the Aggies last season, and her addition for the 2018-19 season should definitely help the Bulldogs overcome the departure of Victoria Vivians.
We Subsidize Men's Sports. Maybe It's Time To Subsidize Women's Sports
Forbes2018-03-04
The match between Team USA and Team Canada for the Olympic women's hockey gold medal garnered the highest ratings of any late-night show in NBCSN's history. Since their thrilling win, members of Team USA have done a television victory tour, with appearances on the Today show, Ellen Degeneres' show and Saturday Night Live.
Numbers Say The Wisconsin Badgers Really Exploited Hilary Knight
Forbes2018-03-11
One of the highlights of the Winter Olympics for the United States was the gold medal victory in women's hockey. The deciding game between Team USA and Team Canada was one of the most watched game in late night show in NBCSN history. And after the game, members of this team have been guests on numerous television shows and subjects of a number of articles.
Did Growth Of Women's College Sports Cost Men? Data Says No
Forbes2018-01-16
So it appears there is much to like about the progress women have made in sports. But not everyone is happy. Some have argued that the gains women have made have come at the expense of men. Specifically — as Katie Lee reported — people have argued that schools have been forced to cut men’s sports to make women’s sports possible.
Black NFL Coaches Appear Much More Likely To Be Fired With A Winning Record
Forbes2018-01-02
On Sunday, the Detroit Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers for their ninth win, leaving them just shy of the playoffs but ensuring they finished the season with a winning record.
Stephen Curry Would Hate To Be Paid Like Women In Professional Basketball
Forbes2017-12-30
Once upon a time, opportunities for women to play team sports were scarce. Not only were women not encouraged to play, women were actively discouraged. But according to R. Vivian Acosta and Linda Jean Carpenter, as of 2014 more than 3.2 million girls (41.2% of all athletes) played high school sports while more than 200,000 women played college sports.
The Future Of The WNBA Would Be Helped By Higher Pay Today
Forbes2017-12-14
A few months ago, I argued there is a significant gender-wage gap in professional basketball. While the NBA gives 50% of its revenue to its players, it appears the WNBA pays out only about 20% of its revenue.
Some Popular Sports Sites Appear To Cover More Animals Than Women
Forbes2017-11-29
What we think about sports is at least partially shaped by the media that covers sports. Once upon a time, sports fans got their news primarily from a newspaper delivered to their house or bought at a newsstand. Today, sports news is primarily found online.
Think Women Don't Know Sports? You Don't Know As Much About Sports As You Think
Forbes2017-10-09
The story of this misunderstanding begins in the 20th century.
Basketball's Growing Gender Wage Gap: The Evidence The WNBA Is Underpaying Players
Forbes2017-09-20
WNBA players are not being treated the same as their counterparts in the NBA. The NBA pays its players about 50% of league revenue. It appears, when we look at what we know about WNBA revenue and salaries, that the league's players are receiving less than 25% of the revenue.
The WNBA’s Future Can Be Seen in the NBA’s Past
Global Sport MattersDavid Berri
2023-06-16
No women’s professional sports league in United States history has lasted as long as the Women’s National Basketball Association. And the WNBA has done more than just persist; it has also become lucrative. According to a recent Bloomberg article, league revenues in 2019 were $100 million. This year – the WNBA’s 27th season – the league’s revenues could double from just five seasons ago.
Donovan Mitchell Appears To Have Learned The Wrong Lesson From Friday Night
ForbesDavid Berri
2022-10-22
As a professor at Southern Utah University, it is not surprising that many of my students love the Utah Jazz. In addition, many are also huge fans of Donovan Mitchell. So before I say anything about Mitchell, let's just review some basics about sports and player evaluation.
Courses (7)
ECON 1740 US Economic History
Satisfies American government requirement of general education. History from colonial times to present. Coverage of U.S. Constitution; national economy; pluralism; ethnicity, race, gender; distribution of wealth and power; social conflict and reform; entrepreneurs, workers, workplace; cultural encounters; popular culture; U.S. and global affairs.
ECON 2010 Principles of Microeconomics
Introduction to basic microeconomic principles: price theory, theory of the firm, trade and comparative advantage, public goods, taxation, welfare economics, and industrial organization. Public policy with regard to the environment, consumer protection, and other problems is also examined.
ECON 2020 Principles of Macroeconomics
Introduces measurements of national economic performances: GDP, and interest, inflation and unemployment rates. Develops a model to describe the economic situation, and to present the options available to policy makers. Discusses the institutions and constraints that frame policy. International economic issues and the relation of the U.S. economy to the global economy are then examined.
ECON 3010 Managerial Economics
Managerial economics applies microeconomic analysis to the management of the firm. Using economic theory, statistical analysis, and optimization methods, students solve management problems relating to pricing, production and distribution, innovation and technological change, and cost.
ECON 3230 Gender Economics
This course seeks to explain the many roles women play in the economy and how those are different (and similar) to the roles played by men. We begin with the important role inclusiveness plays in the economic growth of a nation. We then move to a discussion of the history and present reality of gender bias. This will be followed by a discussion of the theory of economic discrimination, which will then be applied to the discussion of outcomes observed with respect to education, employment, and wages. The course will then discuss “non-market” outcomes related to the economics of the family. Topics included in this section of the course include marriage and divorce, how household tasks are allocated by women and men, and teen pregnancy.
ECON 3700 Sports Economics
The study of sports economics is specifically an application of microeconomic theory and empirical analysis. By focusing on sports, students can see how the toolkit of economics can be applied to a subject the student already finds interesting. The study of sports economics also sheds light upon a host of important topics, including how to measure the productivity of a worker, whether or not workers are paid a wage consistent with their economic value, the impact of labor unions, racial discrimination, and the efficacy of public subsidies.
ECON 4900 Special Topics
Topics in specialized fields of economics and advanced quantitative methods, varying by semester. Previous topics include: Money and Banking Managerial Economics, International Trade, Industrial Organization, Labor Economics, Introduction to Political Economy, History of Economic Thought, Introduction to Econometrics, Economics of Religion, Federal Reserve.
Social