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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri
@wagesofwins.bsky.social
2K followers 2.2K following 1.2K posts

Professor of Economics at Southern Utah University. The latest book is Slaying the Trolls. Also author/co-author of The Wages of Wins Stumbling on Wins https://www.davidberri.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Trolls-Wrong-About-Sports/dp/B0D33VK9SN/ .. more

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David J. Berri is a sports economist and professor of economics at Southern Utah University, known for his sometimes-controversial analysis of NBA basketball. He is a past president of the North American Association of Sports Economists, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics and The International Journal of Sport Finance. .. more

Economics 57%
Sociology 14%
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 36m
Thanks!!!

Reposted by David J. Berri

erinraw.bsky.social
Erin @erinraw.bsky.social · 38m
Such a great convo and well explained!!! Thanks
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 2h
This was a fun conversation. Really! Very little economics. Not many numbers. Just a fun conversation about how the NBA really is not doing what it should do with respect to the WNBA!
sarahspain.com
Sarah Spain ✨ @sarahspain.com · 2h
How can leagues report losses & still have big valuations? How is the WNBA ownership model affecting CBA negotiations? What are fair salaries for W players, and why is revenue share so important?

Economics professor @wagesofwins.bsky.social breaks it all down.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
2 3 25

Reposted by David J. Berri

sarahspain.com
Sarah Spain ✨ @sarahspain.com · 2h
How can leagues report losses & still have big valuations? How is the WNBA ownership model affecting CBA negotiations? What are fair salaries for W players, and why is revenue share so important?

Economics professor @wagesofwins.bsky.social breaks it all down.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
1 11 41

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 15h
There is no way we should think a college coach who has made millions in an industry that hasn't traditionally paid its workers is "transactional".

www.espn.com/mens-college...
Calipari: Will retire before becoming 'transactional'
John Calipari has no plans to leave college basketball but said if he can no longer build relationships with players and do that job the way he wants, he'll exit the sport.
www.espn.com
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
Adam Silver says its not personal. Its business.

But a business pays their workers. And the NBA seems to think they can own the WNBA, collect revenue from the WNBA, but not help pay the players.

So... I guess that makes it personal. Right?

wagesofwins.substack.com/p/maybe-the-...
Maybe the NBA Wants to Pay the WNBA Players Nothing!
Okay, that’s a bold headline.
wagesofwins.substack.com
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
Okay, the Fox Tom Brady ad is funny!

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
Sports owners live by the mantra: "One is born every minute!"

And the endless supply of suckers never disappoints them!
craigcalcaterra.bsky.social
Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 1d
Anyone who believes that the Brewers winning the World Series will suddenly cause Rob Manfred and the owners to come off of their "WE MUST HAVE A SALARY CAP" stance is an idiot rube of the highest order and I refuse to take such people seriously. bsky.app/profile/pass...
passanthalbot.bsky.social
Passanthallich @passanthalbot.bsky.social · 1d
@JeffPassan tweeted
The NLCS begins tonight. And it could have a profound effect on whether baseball is played in 2027.

Free at ESPN: Why Milwaukee vs. Los Angeles is a proxy for the game’s greater labor battle and how the result will be used as a cudgel in the fight ahead: https://t.co/lrWojKhUGd
2

Reposted by David J. Berri

craigcalcaterra.bsky.social
Craig Calcaterra @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social · 1d
Anyone who believes that the Brewers winning the World Series will suddenly cause Rob Manfred and the owners to come off of their "WE MUST HAVE A SALARY CAP" stance is an idiot rube of the highest order and I refuse to take such people seriously. bsky.app/profile/pass...
passanthalbot.bsky.social
Passanthallich @passanthalbot.bsky.social · 1d
@JeffPassan tweeted
The NLCS begins tonight. And it could have a profound effect on whether baseball is played in 2027.

Free at ESPN: Why Milwaukee vs. Los Angeles is a proxy for the game’s greater labor battle and how the result will be used as a cudgel in the fight ahead: https://t.co/lrWojKhUGd
Tweet
@JeffPassan tweeted The NLCS begins tonight. And it could have a profound effect on whether baseball is played in 2027. Free at ESPN: Why Milwaukee vs. Los Angeles is a proxy for the game’s greater labor battle and how the result will be used as a cudgel in the fight ahead: https://t.co/lrWojKhUGd
t.co
12 34 190

Reposted by David J. Berri

dtcwonder.bsky.social
DavyWonder @dtcwonder.bsky.social · 1d
Great stuff (as always) from @wagesofwins.bsky.social
Maybe the NBA Wants to Pay the WNBA Players Nothing!
Okay, that’s a bold headline.
open.substack.com
1 3

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 1d
The latest salary offer from the WNBA is quite a bit lower than what we said they should be paying in the New York Times.

This might makes sense if the owners of the WNBA are supposed to cover all salaries.

And the NBA doesn't pay the players anything!

wagesofwins.substack.com/p/maybe-the-...
Maybe the NBA Wants to Pay the WNBA Players Nothing!
Okay, that’s a bold headline.
wagesofwins.substack.com
5 16

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 2d
Thanks!!
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 2d
The entire Penn State budget is $10 billion.
www.psu.edu/news/adminis...

The Penn State football team generates $113 million in revenue.

Penn State football is a tiny part of the university. And the school has money to fund whatever sports it wants (and probably pay coaches whatever they want!)
www.psu.edu
2

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 2d
Those Progressive commercials about people turning into their parents always make me laugh. They don't make me buy insurance. But they are hilarious!
3 9

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
The replies to this are as funny as you would expect.

And I am surprised -- given how so many men act in relationships -- the human race is still around.
cbuckthorn.bsky.social
C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 3d
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success". When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be. ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich. "Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."
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Reposted by Will Jennings, Amir Attaran, David J. Berri , and 2 more

cbuckthorn.bsky.social
C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 3d
This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success". When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be. ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich. "Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 3d
I suspect the Venn Diagram of men who do not care that AI doesn't generate a profit and the men who insist the WNBA isn't profitable (and think that matters if it was true) is a damn circle.
matthewterrill.bsky.social
Matthew Terrill @matthewterrill.bsky.social · 3d
I was already a hard AI-skeptic but this cements my long suspicion that there is no feasible path to anything close to return on invested capital for these data centers. Tech would need 15 to 25 times current AI revenues within the next 2-3 years just to break even. Not financially viable.
"I clearly hit a nerve in the industry, when judging by the number of individuals who reached out to chat," he wrote in an followup blog post. "In total, l've spoken with over two-dozen rather senior people in the datacenter universe, and there was an interesting and overriding theme to our conversations: no one understands how the financial math is supposed to work. They are as baffled as I am, and they do this for a living." Kupperman's original skepticism was built on a guess that the components in an average Al data center would take ten years to depreciate, requiring costly replacements. That was bad enough: "I don't see how there can ever be any return on investment given the current math," he wrote at the time. But ten years, he now understands, is way too generous. " had previously assumed a 10-year depreciation curve, which I now recognize as quite unrealistic based upon the speed with which Al datacenter technology is advancing," Kupperman wrote. "Based on my conversations over the past month, the physical data centers last for three to ten years, at most." In his previous analysis, Kupperman assumed it would take the tech industry $160 billion of revenue to break even on data center spending in 2025 alone. And that's assuming an incredibly generous 25 percent gross margin - not to mention the fact that the industry's actual Al revenue is closer to $20 billion annually, as the investment manager noted in his previous blog. "In reality, the industry probably needs a revenue range that is closer to the $320 billion to $480 billion range, just to break even on the capex to be spent this year," Kupperman posited in his updated essay. "No wonder my new contacts in the industry shoulder a heavy burden - heavier than I could ever imagine. They know the truth." Kupperman called that gulf between tech industry spending and actual revenue in 2025 "astonishing." However, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. For example, how does it all shake out when we account for 2026, when hundreds of new data centers are expected to pop up? "Adding the two years together, and using the math from my prior post, you'd need approximately $1 trillion in revenue to hit break even, and many trillions more to earn an acceptable return on this spend," he writes. "If the economics don't work, doing it at massive scale doesn't make the economics work any better - it just takes an industry crisis and makes it into a national economic crisis," he concludes. Overall, the pessimists broadly agree: it's no longer a matter of if Al is massively overhyped, but when the whole thing comes crashing down. More on Al hype: Data Shows That Al Use Is Now Declining at Large Companies
1 13 53

Reposted by David J. Berri

matthewterrill.bsky.social
Matthew Terrill @matthewterrill.bsky.social · 3d
I was already a hard AI-skeptic but this cements my long suspicion that there is no feasible path to anything close to return on invested capital for these data centers. Tech would need 15 to 25 times current AI revenues within the next 2-3 years just to break even. Not financially viable.
"I clearly hit a nerve in the industry, when judging by the number of individuals who reached out to chat," he wrote in an followup blog post. "In total, l've spoken with over two-dozen rather senior people in the datacenter universe, and there was an interesting and overriding theme to our conversations: no one understands how the financial math is supposed to work. They are as baffled as I am, and they do this for a living." Kupperman's original skepticism was built on a guess that the components in an average Al data center would take ten years to depreciate, requiring costly replacements. That was bad enough: "I don't see how there can ever be any return on investment given the current math," he wrote at the time. But ten years, he now understands, is way too generous. " had previously assumed a 10-year depreciation curve, which I now recognize as quite unrealistic based upon the speed with which Al datacenter technology is advancing," Kupperman wrote. "Based on my conversations over the past month, the physical data centers last for three to ten years, at most." In his previous analysis, Kupperman assumed it would take the tech industry $160 billion of revenue to break even on data center spending in 2025 alone. And that's assuming an incredibly generous 25 percent gross margin - not to mention the fact that the industry's actual Al revenue is closer to $20 billion annually, as the investment manager noted in his previous blog. "In reality, the industry probably needs a revenue range that is closer to the $320 billion to $480 billion range, just to break even on the capex to be spent this year," Kupperman posited in his updated essay. "No wonder my new contacts in the industry shoulder a heavy burden - heavier than I could ever imagine. They know the truth." Kupperman called that gulf between tech industry spending and actual revenue in 2025 "astonishing." However, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. For example, how does it all shake out when we account for 2026, when hundreds of new data centers are expected to pop up? "Adding the two years together, and using the math from my prior post, you'd need approximately $1 trillion in revenue to hit break even, and many trillions more to earn an acceptable return on this spend," he writes. "If the economics don't work, doing it at massive scale doesn't make the economics work any better - it just takes an industry crisis and makes it into a national economic crisis," he concludes. Overall, the pessimists broadly agree: it's no longer a matter of if Al is massively overhyped, but when the whole thing comes crashing down. More on Al hype: Data Shows That Al Use Is Now Declining at Large Companies
14 180 490

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 4d
Now that the WNBA season is over, the real game begins.
The fight for the future of the league.

WNBA fans believe in this league.

Time for the owners of the WNBA (yes, the NBA is the majority owner) to have the same belief!
wagesofwins.substack.com/p/the-wnbanb...
The WNBA/NBA Doesn’t Believe IN Phee
And Are the People of the WNBA/NBA Really Great Business People?
wagesofwins.substack.com
2 10

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 4d
The entire Tigers season comes down to two innings.
So we know the outcome will definitely be statistically significant!!!
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 4d
If women don't like sports, why is my wife yelling at the television during the WNBA Finals??? 😂
2 8

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
Open the pod bay doors, HAL!!! 😂
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
It is fascinating how many men
a. know nothing about the WNBA
b. are not interested in the WNBA
c. have immensely strong opinions about the economics of the WNBA

We need to create special WNBA Dunning-Kruger stickers for these men:

"Congratulations! You are a WNBA Dunning-Kruger Effect!"🤣
3 6 50

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
Just spent an hour working on my next book. Wrote about a sentence.

I would rather spend my time making so little progress than asking an AI program for help.
5 7 72

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 5d
I share this sentiment. I have zero interest in having AI write my articles and books for me. I can figure out my own transitions.
junoryleejournalism.com
Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 6d
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems... SIMON: What? SHAPIRO: ...Or saying... SIMON: You imagine that? SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over. SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level. SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this. SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
2 3

Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Ben H. Ansell, Suresh Venkatasubramanian , and 23 more

junoryleejournalism.com
Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 6d
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems... SIMON: What? SHAPIRO: ...Or saying... SIMON: You imagine that? SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over. SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level. SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this. SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
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wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 6d
I think I am showing this to my history students tomorrow. Time to tell my students about what dating was like once upon a time! 😂
1

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 6d
Detroit Tigers are still alive on Yankee elimination day.
My late father would be very happy!
2

wagesofwins.bsky.social
David Berri @wagesofwins.bsky.social · 6d
I definitely never heard it before and it sounds like something very recent. Until you hear the part that it is about a telephone call!

Once upon a time -- before texting, email, etc... -- we had to call people we liked! 😂
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