Episode 56 of the sports law podcast “Liebling Bosman” looks at the different competition models of the Bundesliga and the North American basketball league, the NBA.
Together with Prof. Dr Lars Dittrich, the hosts discuss his book *A Comparison of Sporting Competition in the Bundesliga and the NBA*. The focus is on the question of how sporting parity – known as ‘competitive balance’ – can be ensured within the two league systems.
Whilst the NBA operates as a closed franchise system featuring, amongst other things, a salary cap, a draft and play-offs, the Bundesliga is embedded within the European club and league system with promotion and relegation. The discussion centres on how the dominance of financially powerful clubs, transfers, player loans and buy-back clauses affect the level playing field.
It also addresses the question of whether mechanisms from US sport – such as the draft – could even be meaningfully and legally applied to European football.