Employment Relations among Semi-Professional Athletes

Athletes increasingly look to semi-professional leagues to develop their skills, but there is limited understanding of their employment relations. Seeking to remedy this shortcoming, CSMRE faculty affiliate Calvin Nite teamed with colleagues to examine this very topic in two new leagues. They conducted interviews, collected survey data, and secondary data sources. Among other findings, the authors observed that aspiring players developed an athlete identity with employers. As a result, they frequently received symbolic rewards instead of pay. This identity shifted to that of a professional once the athletes joined the teams. The authors noted that the findings have implications for athlete labor relations.

McLeod, C. M., & Nite, C. (2021). The co-construction of employment relations in semi-professional sport leagues. Journal of Global Sport Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/24704067.2021.2008805