Since the early 1990s, professional football in many countries has experienced an astonishing transformation. Player salaries have risen exponentially, television contracts yield revenues on a scale unimaginable only a few years ago, many football stadia have been completely rebuilt, and the importance of commercial sponsorship and merchandising has increased beyond measure. Commercial aspects of football feature regularly in the news headlines, and the media devote pages to coverage of football finances. Football's importance is not only economic, but also social and cultural. Several million people attend matches each season, and many millions more watch football on television and follow its fortunes through coverage in the media. At the grassroots level, football's popularity as a participant sport generates benefits for the health of the population. At the highest level, international footballing success generates intangible benefits in the form of prestige and goodwill.

Academic interest in the economic analysis of football has mirrored the growth in the sport's popularity. In the US, economists have written and published books and scholarly articles on major league sports since the mid-1950s. Consequently, the older academic literature on sports economics is dominated by studies of sports such as baseball, basketball and (American) football. These writings shed light on a wide range of issues, including the determinants of the compensation received by sports professionals, the nature of joint production in team sports, competitive balance, uncertainty of outcome and the distribution of playing talent in sports leagues, and the contribution of the coach or manager to team performance.