Superstar effect is the term for the outsized influence a few top performers have on a market or competition. In economics it describes why a small number of people earn enormous sums and dominate their fields [1]. In sports it also covers two measurable effects: superstars lift audiences and revenue for the whole league [2], and rivals perform worse when facing them [3].
Key points
- Small differences in talent at the top can translate into large differences in revenue [1].
- NBA television ratings are substantially higher when certain “superstar” players are involved [2].
- Fans pay less for tickets when NBA superstars are announced to miss games, and popularity predicts that drop better than productivity does [4].
- In golf, the presence of Tiger Woods is associated with worse scores from the rest of the field [3].
Origin
The economic idea comes from Sherwin Rosen’s 1981 paper “The Economics of Superstars” in the American Economic Review [5]. Rosen asked why relatively small numbers of people earn enormous amounts of money and seem to dominate the fields in which they engage. His answer was that small differences in talent at the top of the distribution translate into large differences in revenue [1].
The sports version was named later. Jennifer Brown’s 2011 study of professional golf found that the presence of a superstar is associated with lower performance by the other players. First-round scores were about 0.2 strokes worse when Tiger Woods played than when he was absent [3].
How it works in sports media
Two effects run in different directions. The first is on the audience. Hausman and Leonard (1997) showed that NBA television ratings are substantially higher when certain players are involved, so superstars generate revenue for their own teams and for other teams as well. They estimated Michael Jordan’s value to the other NBA teams at about $53 million [2]. They also noted that this positive externality can lead to an inefficient distribution of player talent [2].
The second is on the competition. Brown found no evidence that the lower scores of Woods’s rivals came from media attention intensity or risky strategy adoption [3].
Examples
- Michael Jordan. His estimated value to the other NBA teams was about $53 million [2].
- Tiger Woods. Rivals’ first-round scores were about 0.2 strokes worse when he played [3].
- LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Ticket prices fall 4%–22% when NBA superstars are announced to miss games. The effect is larger at away games, 21% for James and 18% for Curry [4].
Common questions
Is the superstar effect the same as the winner-take-all effect?
They are related. Rosen’s argument explains why rewards concentrate at the top, because small talent gaps become large revenue gaps [1].
Does a superstar make the other players better?
Not in Brown’s golf data. The presence of a superstar was associated with lower performance by the other golfers [3].
Is a superstar’s value about skill or popularity?
Kaplan’s ticket-price study suggests popularity is a better predictor of willingness to pay than productivity [4].
Related terms
- Sports icon — an athlete whose meaning reaches beyond the sport.
- Sports celebrity — an athlete known to audiences beyond fans of the sport.
- Athlete endorsement — how star power is sold to brands.
- Athlete’s brand — the public image that makes a star marketable.
- Competitive balance — how evenly talent is spread across a league.
- Be Like Mike — the Jordan campaign at the peak of star power.
Read more on Play of Values
- Marketable athletes over winning
- The value of influencer athletes
- What drives the most popular sports
- Creating sports hype: the hypegenic athlete
Sources
- Wikipedia. (2026). Economics of the arts and literature. Wikimedia Foundation. Link
- Hausman, J. A., & Leonard, G. K. (1997). Superstars in the National Basketball Association: Economic value and policy. Journal of Labor Economics, 15(4), 586–624. https://doi.org/10.1086/209839
- Brown, J. (2011). Quitters never win: The (adverse) incentive effects of competing with superstars. Journal of Political Economy, 119(5), 982–1013. https://doi.org/10.1086/663306
- Kaplan, S. M. (2022). Putting a price on popularity: Evidence from superstars in the National Basketball Association. Economic Inquiry, 60(3), 1357–1381. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13065
- Rosen, S. (1981). The economics of superstars. American Economic Review, 71(5), 845–858. Link