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Are English Premier League Teams Paid Like Bureaucrats? An Incentive Analysis of Monetary Match Importance

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  • Jeffrey Cisyk
  • Pascal Courty
  • Amin Kouhbor

Abstract

Teams playing in the top English football league—English Premier League—face three types of financial incentives: rank-based prize money, qualification to European competitions, and relegation. For each type of incentive, we compute the monetary importance of each match for each team. A team's monetary match importance (MMI) is the difference between the team's expected award in the event it wins versus loses the match. We find that strong EPL teams have low average MMI relative to other teams. They are paid like bureaucrats as they face no risk of relegation, yet still receive a large and guaranteed award. We also show that total EPL MMI could be greatly increased by having a league with competitive balance.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey Cisyk & Pascal Courty & Amin Kouhbor, 2025. "Are English Premier League Teams Paid Like Bureaucrats? An Incentive Analysis of Monetary Match Importance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 26(7), pages 783-815, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:26:y:2025:i:7:p:783-815
    DOI: 10.1177/15270025251348181
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    JEL classification:

    • Z21 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - Industry Studies
    • Z28 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - Policy
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law

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