The coronavirus pandemic has had a vast effect on many aspects of life. Sports has been an “unessential” product that has been canceled for over a month. But many more people rely on sports more so than just the famous athletes that come to mind. Jobs that currently don’t exist are essential to workers across the country.
Sports leagues like the NBA, NFL and MLB will all survive. Whether they play again in 2020 or not, these organizations have enough money to live through the pandemic. But there are some lower level sports that will have a hard time surviving.
“As an economist, you stand back, you look at the carnage that’s taking place — dumbfounded, awestruck, mind-numbing,” said Patrick Rishe, who directs the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis. “All of those phrases, they’re all relevant because we just have never seen anything on this scale.”
According to Emsi’s analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly three million jobs that depend on sports.
The $12 billion loss is likely to at least double if the NFL and college football seasons are canceled. As of right now, leagues are struggling to find a model without fans that work. The idea of players forced to quarantine without their families has led to athletes voicing their disapproval.
The article on ESPN wrote, “For example, there are 278,932 Americans who earn an average of $45,649 annually from coaching and scouting. There are 371,607 fitness and aerobics instructors, with an average annual salary of $44,956 — representing nearly $17 billion in total wages.”
With many of these jobs not available, there is also no guarantee on when they will return. It takes around 1,900 people just to stage one NBA game. In a lot of these cases, owners and famous athletes have reached out to give their supports. Stadiums and organizations are trying to pay workers for as long as they are able.
Others are also concerned about when these games start back up. These employees also need fans to continue to show up if they are going to keep their jobs.
Youth Sports
Just one example of the impact of youth sports came when the Little League World announced they were canceling the tournament. A survey commissioned by the Sports Events & Tourism Association found that 700,000 athletes were unable to participate in scheduled events. This has cost organizers $700 million.
Travel
To follow these sports, fans are traveling around the world. Saturday was supposed to be the Kentucky Derby. This event draws people from every corner of the globe to watch a two-minute horse race. This revenue has disappeared for the city of Louisville.
Over $32 billion was generated from traveling sports fans in 2018, according to a study by Longwoods International.
“We love it when visitors come into our communities and spend tourism dollars,” said Amir Eylon, the president and CEO of Longwoods. “It helps broaden the tax base, it’s helping to pay for my fire and police protection.