Overshadowed by Popularity: The Value of Second-Tier Stars in European Football

Fabienne Jedelhauser, Raphael Flepp and Egon Franck

Journal of Sports Economics, 2023, vol. 24, issue 8, 1026-1054

Abstract: While second-tier stars lack popularity compared to superstars, their marginal contribution to team performance on the pitch relative to that of superstars is unknown. Relying on league-specific preseason market value distributions to define superstars and second-tier stars, we compare the marginal contributions of superstars and second-tier stars to team performance on the pitch in the top five European football leagues. Examining the impact of unexpected injury-related absences, we find that second-tier stars’ marginal contribution is at least equal to that of superstars. Thus, the players with arguably the highest costs for clubs do not contribute accordingly to short-run sportive success.

Keywords: superstars; second-tier stars; marginal contribution; team performance; football (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J44 Z20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Working Paper: Overshadowed by popularity: The value of second-tier stars in European football (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jospec:v:24:y:2023:i:8:p:1026-1054

DOI: 10.1177/15270025231187880

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