71 Am. U. L. Rev. 845 (2022).

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Abstract

Sports are no longer mere games. In today’s money-driven culture, they have cultivated into a lucrative business enterprise where everyone—whether professional or amateur; owner or player; coach or spectator—stands to make significant money. Modern sports have also morphed into a landscape encompassing both the traditional athletic events and the more novel esports and daily fantasy sports (DFS) arenas. Across all these physical, digital, and biological spheres, sports revenues are being measured in terms of billions. It thus stands to reason why taxes have become a progressively critical discussion point within U.S. professional and collegiate sports, the video gaming world, and the newly legalized sports gambling industry. This Article is the first to provide a holistic and modern analysis of the impact of U.S. tax law across the contemporary business of sports and explore a more universal approach to the varying tax issues affecting numerous relevant stakeholders, including franchises, business ventures, universities, athletes, individuals, and federal and state taxing jurisdictions.

* Assistant Professor, Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University.

** Associate Professor, Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University.