Free agency dramatically changed player compensation

The MLB's reserve clause gave owners rights to players after their contracts expired

The clause was added to contracts in 1879, allowing owners to hang on to players after the expiration of their contracts, sometimes in perpetuity.

In 1975, a Major League Baseball clause that kept players legally tied to their teams after retirement was dismantled

Players fought the "reserve clause" for years, citing the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, but to no avail—in fact, the Supreme Court ruled professional baseball was neither interstate nor commerce in 1922. Players effectively unionized in 1966, and by 1975, an arbitration panel ruling led to the dismantling of the reserve clause, which had been the only antitrust exemption in professional sports.

NBA players are the best paid athletes in major US sports

The NFL is the most valuable pro league in the world, but its players aren’t making nearly as much as NBA players. This CNBC video dives into how league structure, salary cap, and guaranteed contracts define how much an athlete will make, and shows how NBA players are able to use those to get almost double the average annual salary of other pro leagues.

Leagues like the Premier League differ from the World Cup

The Premier League and other similar club leagues are professional organizations like the NFL or the NBA, where owners purchase player contracts. World Cup teams, on the other hand, are organized by citizenship.

A new logo helped the NBA stay relevant in the '70s

In 1967, the American Basketball Association was formed, featuring a flashier style of offense. The competition caused player salaries to rise in both leagues. After watching Major League Baseball unveil its new logo, the NBA decided to use the same designer to create an iconic logo for the league. It debuted in 1971 and reignited basketball fans' interest.

Minor leaguers once unionized for better pay, housing, and medical care

For decades, Minor League baseball players endured overcrowded housing, indifferent medical care, and all-night bus rides for a chance to make it to “The Show.” And they did it for as little as $4,800 a year.

Explaining the rise in adult sports leagues

Community sports leagues shifted from publicly supported entities to privatized ones in the 1990s, as tech advances streamlined registration processes. Millennial interest drove significant growth in social sports leagues for adults, growing much faster than other kinds of sports. A few industry leaders have benefited from this shift.

The economics of the WNBA

The 2024 WNBA season shattered attendance and viewership records, thanks in large part to rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The league secured a record 11-year, $2.2B media rights deal. Yet players' salaries are low compared to the NBA. This CNBC video dives into the WNBA’s business model and explores why it may take years before the longest-running women’s sports league becomes profitable.

The decline in value of the NFL running back

Running backs long held the role of superstar on NFL teams, carrying their team down by down to the endzone. Their salaries reflected that importance as well. But in the last 30 years, front offices and fans have taken more to the quarterback instead, who receives much higher salaries. This podcast episode breaks down the economics of the turn in the game's focus from rushing to passing.

Walter Camp revolutionized American Football

When Walter Camp was introduced to the game of football in the late 1800s, the rules weren’t set, the field wasn’t uniform, and the game was brutal. Camp joined early rules committees and was instrumental in shaping the modern game. Read this deep dive into Camp’s early life and influences, and find out how he established the line of scrimmage and the series of downs.

The Open Era redefined both men's and women's tennis

The early days of modern tennis were largely enjoyed by the upper class, who had money for lawns to play on. More often than not, the best players competed for the love of the game, not money. This led to Grand Slams limiting the competitions to amateur athletes. Things changed in 1968, considered the start of the Open Era, when professional players were permitted to play.

A 2024 cheating scandal cast doubt on the industry

In 2024, National Fantasy Football Championship, a fantasy league with big payouts, fired one of its employees for manipulating data. The episode cast doubt on the relatively unregulated industry, despite the league coming down hard on the nefarious worker.

State of pay transparency

Pay transparency—once considered taboo—is gaining momentum. Despite being legally protected since 1935, open salary discussions have only recently become more common, especially among younger workers. This overview explores how cultural norms, economic shifts, and new state laws are reshaping the conversation around what we earn.

New rules introduced in 2021 let college athletes profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL)

The NCAA’s 2021 policy shift allowed athletes to earn money through endorsements, sponsorships, and personal branding—transforming the college sports landscape and changing the dynamic of what it means to be a student-athlete.

Learn how the NFL Draft works

Teams select players in a set order over seven rounds, with the weakest teams from the prior season picking first. Picks can be traded, and teams that lose free agents may receive additional compensatory picks.

Modern payday lending came about in the late 1990s

In the early 1900s, unlicensed "salary lenders" used to give consumers one-week loans at annualized percentage rates of more than 100%. But wage garnishment and financially abusive practices led some states to create special licenses for lenders and implement rate caps to protect consumers. In the 1990s, a series of deregulations in various states opened the door for the modern payday lending industry to take off.

The 1819 novel 'Ivanhoe' popularized the word 'freelancing'

In the novel, the author wrote about “free-lances:” mercenary soldiers who were “free” to use their weapons (called, yes, “lances”) in service of whoever paid them the most. A video details that story and other gig economy basics.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The Fair Labor Standards Act established a minimum wage—but it didn't cover everyone

A 1966 amendment created the “tip credit,” which allowed restaurants to pay below minimum wage if tips compensated the difference. However, this federal tipped minimum wage has remained frozen at $2.13 per hour since 1991, whereas the regular minimum wage has increased multiple times since then.

American CEOs getting super rich has a lot to do with stock buybacks

In 1965, the pay gap between American CEOs and their workers was roughly 15-to-1. But by 2018, that ratio had ballooned to 220-to-1.

Police officer salaries vary dramatically depending on where officers serve

Officer pay varies significantly across states and cities, with the highest salaries in California, New Jersey, and Washington. Factors such as local funding, cost of living, and collective bargaining agreements influence compensation.

The 2011 film 'Moneyball' shifted ideas about sports and statistics

Based on the Michael Lewis book of the same name, the film starring Brad Pitt depicts the attempts of the 2002 Oakland A's to leverage data analysis to overcome their low-budget woes ($41M) and compete with big-budget teams like the New York Yankees ($125M). Other sports and leagues, including the NBA and NFL, would adopt a similar logic: find what the market undervalues and exploit it.

The prevalence of 401(k) plans and IRAs over pensions shifted investment risk from employers to employees

The shift also reduced administrative costs for companies—and left millions without guaranteed retirement income. 401(k) plans were introduced in Section 401(k) of the 1978 Revenue Act, which was originally intended as a loophole for people like executives rather than the average employee.

The economic impact of the Hollywood strikes

The 2023 strikes in Hollywood resulted in significant wins for the WGA, DGA, and SAG-AFTRA unions. Workers were promised to receive bonuses that allowed them to benefit from high-performing streaming shows and films. This article shares how the rewards have been distributed to union members since their implementation. See a breakdown of the bonuses for each union, how the industry has improved, and the challenges some members still face.

What's the role of forced prison labor in a land where slavery is illegal?

Companies across the South profited off the forced labor of people in prison after the Civil War. This hourlong investigative podcast episode explores the role forced (and often unpaid) prison labor has played in the US since slavery was abolished.

Many years ago, the US dollar became the world's primary reserve currency

In 1944, 44 nations gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to rebuild the global economy. The result? The US dollar became the world’s reserve currency, backed by gold.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.