<p>It would seem to me that the two keys to success for an NFL franchise are player acquisition and player development. That is, you have to draft well and then you have to successfully develop the players that you draft. You often hear commentators and analysts talking about franchises being good or bad at either or both of those. Of course, it's hard to separate the two. Were good NFL players destined to be good on any team, or is their development within the teams that determines their ultimate success? Obviously the answer is both, to some extent, but have their been studies that have tried to disentangle the two and compare their relative importances? Has it been done for other sports? Obviously it could be challenging to get the econometrics right, but it seems possible.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-26T05:26:17.210Z
You will struggle to get an answer here. Your question is very broad, doesn't easily relate to economics. That said, I too would be interested in any paper discussing this. I think we need to wait for the 'sports statistics overflow' to start up.
Jamzy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-27T20:28:19.677Z
It may well be that there are very few people here with an interest in sports economics. That said, I don't agree that it doesn't relate to economics. Perhaps it doesn't relate to the economy, per se, but insofar as economics is a methodology, not just a subject, I think it relates. It's basically an identification question, as is common in applied econometrics. Anyway, if there are no answers here, all the better -- I might work on it at some point in the future.
Shane
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-28T09:38:49.003Z
I'd suggest you post an answer once you figure it out if you get one. I'd be interested to see one
Jamzy
<econometrics><sports>
Nature or nurture in the NFL
Shane
# Nature or nurture in the NFL

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-25)

It would seem to me that the two keys to success for an NFL franchise are player acquisition and player development. That is, you have to draft well and then you have to successfully develop the players that you draft. You often hear commentators and analysts talking about franchises being good or bad at either or both of those. Of course, it's hard to separate the two. Were good NFL players destined to be good on any team, or is their development within the teams that determines their ultimate success? Obviously the answer is both, to some extent, but have their been studies that have tried to disentangle the two and compare their relative importances? Has it been done for other sports? Obviously it could be challenging to get the econometrics right, but it seems possible.

**Tags:** econometrics, sports

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You will struggle to get an answer here. Your question is very broad, doesn't easily relate to economics. That said, I too would be interested in any paper discussing this. I think we need to wait for the 'sports statistics overflow' to start up.  
> **username_0**: It may well be that there are very few people here with an interest in sports economics. That said, I don't agree that it doesn't relate to economics. Perhaps it doesn't relate to the economy, per se, but insofar as economics is a methodology, not just a subject, I think it relates. It's basically an identification question, as is common in applied econometrics. Anyway, if there are no answers here, all the better -- I might work on it at some point in the future.  
> **username_1**: I'd suggest you post an answer once you figure it out if you get one. I'd be interested to see one  

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