| This paper examines salary determination in the National Football League (NFL). The heterogeneity of teams and players in the league leads to thin labor markets. Under such circumstances, the neoclassical model in which labor supply and labor demand uniquely determine wages is too simple. Instead, a competing model of salary determination is tested -- McLaughlin's (1994) rent-sharing model. This is the only study of its kind to investigate salary determination at a disaggregated level for all of the non-kicking positions in the NFL. A comprehensive model of salary determination, using many unique variables, is constructed and tested for each position. Quantile regression techniques are employed to examine the bargaining aspects of the model. Although, little support is found for the rent-sharing model, this study lays the groundwork and presents the argument for further investigation. |
