LeBron James signed with the Lakers. He still plays for the Lakers. He has never mentioned joining the 76ers. But ticket sales for Philadelphia are up because apparently someone forgot to tell the merchandise buyers that he doesn't f*cking work there.
The 76ers are selling more tickets. They're moving jerseys. Sponsorship deals are rolling in. All because a guy who plays for a team in Los Angeles is somehow generating revenue for a completely different franchise in Pennsylvania. This makes perfect sense if you've suffered a recent head injury.
Retail traders saw this headline and immediately started building Excel models projecting the economic impact of athletes who don't play for teams. They're calculating the marginal revenue boost from players who have no contractual relationship with an organization. They're discounting future cash flows from a guy who lives three thousand miles away and wears purple and gold for a living.
The city of Philadelphia is experiencing increased economic activity. Restaurants near the arena are busier. Hotels are booking up. The entire regional economy is surging because LeBron James exists and people in Philly have apparently confused their city with Los Angeles. This is the kind of rigorous market efficiency that makes you want to set your portfolio on fire and take up subsistence farming.
Someone at a hedge fund is right now building a long-short strategy based on athletes generating revenue for teams they don't play for. They're going long the Celtics because of Giannis. Short the Heat because of Luka. The PowerPoint presentation has already been printed for the Monday morning meeting.
The 76ers' front office is thrilled. They're getting all the financial benefits of having LeBron James without having to pay him forty million dollars a year or deal with him trading half the roster for his friends. They've discovered the perfect business model: profit from someone else's employee.
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