Blogger Roundtable: Which League Will Grow the Most? (Part II)

h/t to Business Insider

This is Part II in a two-part Blogger Roundtable.  To read what the SBS E-board had to say about sports revenues, see Part I.

The four major U.S. sports leagues in the United States generate massive amounts of revenue.  Although there is great disparity between the leagues, each has considerable potential for growth.  So here's the question we asked our featured bloggers::

Which of the four traditional major professional sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) will experience the highest percentage growth in revenue over the next 20 years?


Matthew Hakimian (Featured Blogger)- NBA

Of the four traditional professional team sports leagues, the National Basketball Association will experience the most growth over the next 20 years. With Adam Silver coming to the helm as the league's new commissioner in February 2014, he will have the opportunity to further build off the tremendous job David Stern has done in expanding the global markets and international segments of the game. Over the next 20 years there's a chance that a team, or even an entire division potentially, will be featured in Europe. With the league's popularity at an all time high, it would not be shocking to see a 100 percent increase in revenue in 20 years from now as the revenue currently stands at slightly $5 billion.

Thomas Kroner (Featured Blogger)- NBA

Over the next 20 years the NBA will experience the most growth of the four major leagues in North American Sports. That is not to say that it will ever surpass the NFL’s popularity. The NFL just can’t get that much more popular than it already is. Last season’s NBA Finals drew some of the highest ratings in years. With young stars like Kyrie Irving, KD and D-Rose entering their prime, look for the NBA to increase its popularity and close the game between itself and MLB.

Joshua Goldstein (Featured Blogger)- NFL

Due to the high potential for both domestic and overseas expansion, I believe that the NFL will experience the most growth over the next 20 years. Commissioner Goodell has made it a goal to bring teams to both Los Angeles and London, which would result in two new, large market revenue generators for the league. The NFL’s expansion into Europe would spark excitement for American football among English youth, as well as a potentially greater interest from other European metropolises. The NFL’s long-term growth plans are promising!

John Zakour (Featured Blogger) -NBA/MLB

I believe the growth of the four major sports leagues will be tied to embracing the internet and globalization. The NFL is incredibly popular, but I don't think it's global. The NBA is both. I always thought MLB was in a bad position with their supposedly old and bleak demographics, but after hearing Pre-Play founder Andrew Daines talk about the strong online infrastructure they have I believe they're in better position than most think.

So I'd say NBA and MLB will be trending up the most in 20 years time, while the NFL will still be going strong in the US. And the NHL, is well, the NHL. I don't think the NHL will grow much outside of North America, and labor turmoil continues to hurt them.

This is Part II in a two-part Blogger Roundtable.  To read what the SBS E-board had to say about sports revenues, see Part I.

What do you think about our predictions? Let us know by answering our poll at the top of the blog and by leaving us comments below!