Abstract
Abstract. An econometric analysis of the 2016 National Football League season is conducted with respect to regular season victories. Results obtained confirm many of the hypotheses made and bear much in common with one prior NFL study and several earlier MLB econometric analyses. Most of the data employed are fairly symmetric with relatively small standard deviations. Estimation results validate the importance of both defense and offense. Evidence is obtained that indicates that passing games are more important on offense, while shutting down the run matters most on defense. Beyond that, the regression equations also provide some insight to how human capital and payroll expenditures affect NFL regular season performances. The magnitudes of some coefficients and elasticities indicate that further analysis involving more explanatory variables can potentially provide additional clarity about what helps determine success in the NFL.
Keywords. National football league; Team performance.
JEL. M21, L20.References
Anonymous. (2017). 2016 NFL Season.Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation: Ashburn, VA.
Burke, B. (2007). What makes teams win?. Advanced Football Analytics. AFA: Reston, VA.
Dunnavant, K. (2015). Coach: The Life of Paul "Bear" Bryant. St. Martin's Griffin: New York, NY.
Fine, A. (2017). 2016 NFL season recap. Sports Betting Analytics. Sports Insights: Beverly, MA.
Fullerton, S.L., Fullerton, Jr. T.M., & Walke, A.G. (2014). An econometric analysis of the 2013 Major League Baseball Season. Research in Business & Economics Journal, 9, 115-120.
Fullerton, Jr. T.M., & Peach, J.T. (2016). Major League Baseball 2015, what a difference a year makes. Applied Economics Letters, 23(18), 1289-1293. doi. 10.1080/13504851.2016.1150945
Gaines, C. (2016). The 30 Highest-Paid Players in the NFL. Business Insider: New York, NY.
Hakes, J.K., & Sauer, R.D. (2006). An economic evaluation of the Moneyball Hypothesis. Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(3), 173-186. doi. 10.1257/jep.20.3.173
Peach, J.T., Fullerton, S.L, & Fullerton, Jr. T.M. (2016). An empirical analysis of the 2014 Major League Baseball Season. Applied Economics Letters, 23(2), 138-141. doi. 10.1080/13504851.2015.1058898
Pindyck, R.S., & Rubinfeld, D.L. (1998). Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts, 4th Edition. Irwin McGraw-Hill: Boston, MA.