Covid-19: This list of sports jobs affected is numbing; from teams, to media and third parties

JUST TOO MANY LOSSES: A SNAPSHOT OF THE DOMINO AND TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT

September 11, 2001. That is the last time virtually all American sports came to a halt pre COVID-19. It wasn’t for long. While the NFL rescheduled its games then for the weekend of September 16th, and MLB postponed all games for an entire week, the world soon began to move again, albeit carefully, and thus we forged on.

COVID-19 has presented us with an unknown of what’s to come, and tragically, a world of silence. The days are getting longer and the weather warmer, but the sounds of spring are strikingly different this year.

There’s a void in our home outside DC. No nights in the living room are filled with the voice of Bob Carpenter who calls Washington Nats’ games. Gone is the joy that reverberates from the television speaker when the Nationals rally from behind and pushes through that winning run.

Nor have there been the elated cheers and cries of fans exiting an arena after their team miraculously takes home the Stanley Cup.

The protests against social injustice have galvanized many of us and put our priorities into their proper perspective.

As for sports, the stadium lights have been turned off. Tickets haven’t been touched since the games were cancelled. Silence has become the soundtrack of the sports world and the effects of the shutdown are financially devastating. Yes, the big bucks paid to the athletes might be on hold.

But how about the rank and file; from the ticket takers to the sports psychologists to countless others. They’re out of work. It seems impossible to imagine just how many people are suffering financially, as well as emotionally. The expected estimates for revenue losses  are mind boggling: Pro – $5.5 billion, College – $3.9 billion, Youth Sports -$2.4 billion; totaling about $15 billion from revenue losses alone. Not included are gambling and outdoor recreation.

To help give perspective on the magnitude of a sports stoppage these are the many related jobs affected

Sports:

The number of jobs this affects is numbing as we see it. A deeper-dive would increase the list. Still, the snapshot is daunting!

Approximate number of teams:

Professional teams in the U.S. (Major and minor leagues), 400

NCAA membership: DI, DII and DIII, 1,100     

NAIA,  250

High Schools, 24,000   

Managing sports events:

• Ball Boys
• Building security
• Catering Manager
• Cheerleaders
• Chefs at Ballparks and arenas
• Cleanup crews
• Clock-keeper
• Coaches and assistants
• Communications Directors and staff
• Concession Workers
• Custodial managers and staff
• Dance teams
• Elevator operators
• Emergency-Aid officials
• Engineering and maintenance crew
• Entertainment Directors and staff
• Equipment manager and staff
• Experiential Marketers
• Facilities IT Director
• Food and Beverage Director
• Game officials and referees
• Graphic Designers
• Groundskeepers
• Handymen
• Hospitality coordinators
• Intermission entertainer
• Kiosk workers
• Lighting Manager
• Lighting technicians
• Locker room attendants
• Maintenance
• Official Scorers
• Parking lot attendants
• Physicians
• Players
• Press room staff
• Promotion managers
• Public Address Announcers
• Quality Control Managers
• Radio announcers
• Recruiters
• Replay officials
• School band
• Scoreboard operators
• Scouts
• Social media managers
• Stage Managers
• Statisticians
• Strength and Conditioning Coaches
• Suite attendants
• Team mascots
• Team photographer
• Team security
• Television or streaming video announcers
• Tickets Takers
• Timekeeper
• Trainers
• Traveling Secretary
• Ushers
• Vendors
• Video board operators
• Video coordinator
• Waiters/Waitresses
• Water boys and girls

Media

• Digital Reporters
• Local Radio Reporters
• Local TV Film Crews
• Online Websites (e.g. Yahoo Sports, The Athletic)
• Magazine reporters
• Newspaper Columnists
• Newspaper Photographers
• Newspaper Writers
• Radio Analyst
• Radio Engineer
• Radio Play-by-Play
• Radio Pre and Post Game Host
• Radio Statistician
• TV Analyst
• TV Associate Producer
• TV Audio staff
• TV Cameramen
• TV Director
• TV Executive Producer
• TV Floor Manager
• TV Font Coordinator
• TV Graphics Manager
• TV Halftime staff
• TV Mobile unit driver
• TV Mobile Unit Manager
• TV Play-by-Play Announcer
• TV Producer
• TV Replay Director
• TV Sideline Reporter
• TV Statistician
• TV Technical Director
• Wire Service Reporters

Third Parties:

• Advertising agency sports specialists
• All sports radio stations
• Arena construction
• Attorneys
• Bankers specializing in sports
• Broadcast Agents and staffs
• Cable networks like ESPN
• Camps
• Casinos
• Charter airliners and related suppliers
• Charter buses
• Chipping companies
• Cleaning companies (stadium/uniform)
• College sports management classes
• Credit card companies
• Food and beverage suppliers to arena
• Funding, brokering and M&A Companies (e.g Allen and Company)
• Graphic Design Companies
• Hotels and accommodations
• Internships
• Legal and illegal betting
• Local watering holes
• Media sports sales departments and personnel
• Municipalities’ loss of tax revenue
• Nutritionists
• Paraphernalia manufacturers (pennants and keepsakes)
• Play-by-Play camps
• Play-by-play camps
• Player agents and staffs
• Players’ business managers
• Ports Public relations firms
• Practice facilities
• Private equity investing companies (e.g. Arctos)
• Regional cable
• Restaurants that neighbor playing facilities
• Rightsholders (e.g. Learfield, JMI)
• Sign companies in arenas
• Speakers’ Bureaus
• Sponsors marketing programs
• Sponsorship sellers
• Sports business publications
• Sports Equipment companies
• Sports marketing agencies
• Sports Media Consultants
• Sports merchandisers
• Sports physicians
• Sports placement companies
• Sports psychologists
• Stadium construction companies
• Statistical companies like Elias
• Summer Camps
• Third party ticket companies (e.g. Aspire)
• Ticket Exchange and resale companies (e.g. StubHub)
• Umpiring schools

Networks and Sports Verticals (Broadcasters, office personnel)

• AT&T Regional Networks + tentacles like DirecTV
• Big Ten Network, Pac-12 Networks,
• CBS + tentacles like CBSSN
• ESPN + tentacles like ACC and SEC Networks
• Fox + tentacles like FS1
• MLB Network
• NBA Network
• NBC + tentacles line NBCSN
• NFL Network
• NHL Network
• Regional Sports Networks (e.g. MSG, SNY, Fox Sports West)
• Turner family of platforms

Governing Bodies and League Offices Four major sports (Activities, personnel and tentacles)

• Athletic Directors’ Association
• College Conference Offices
• MLB Commissioner’s Office,
• NACDA
• NAIA
• NBA,
• NCAA,
• NFL,
• NHL
• Players’ Associations
• S. Olympic Committee
• USA Basketball
• USA Diving
• USA Gymnastics
• USA Swimming