Sports Business: Chicago Blackhawks Top Bloomberg Businessweek’s “Smartest Spenders in Sports” 2014 List

Bloomberg Businessweek released their "Smartest Spenders in Sports 2014" list on Thursday, ranking all 122 franchises in the four major North American sports league based on how much they spent on player payroll for every win over the last five seasons, with the Chicago Blackhawks topping the list.

The study, conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek staff writers Ira Boudway and Evan Applegate, looked at the player payroll of all the teams in the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB), ranking each team according to how much they invested on player payroll for every win over the last five seasons, comparing each franchise to their league's average price per win to produce an "efficiency index."

"We took the assumption that, as general managers, are you getting the best return on investment for the money you are spending on your roster," says Boudway to LatinPost.com. "What do you think a win is worth in relationship to the importance of how much you spend on payroll."

The defending NHL Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks got the most out of their investments, according to Boudway and Applegate, having made five playoff trips in five seasons and winning two Stanley Cups, all while ranked 13th in the NHL in player payroll. MLB's St. Louis Cardinals came in second, followed by the NHL's Boston Bruins, the NFL's New England Patriots, and MLB's Tampa Bay Rays.

"We gave extra points for playoff success and winning titles like the Super Bowl and World Series," says Boudway regarding the methodology of their research. "Teams are constantly looking at a balance of not trying to overspend while still looking for on-the-field success that will make fans happy."

The bottom five sports franchises who got the least bang for their buck per win over the last five season are MLB's New York Mets (#118), the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves (#119) and Washington Wizards (#120), the NHL's Edmonton Oilers (#121), and bringing up the rear is America's "Lovable Losers" the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs had an overall average payroll of $119.8 million over the last five years and produced an average of 71.2 wins (in a 162-game season) over that five-year stretch with zero playoff wins and no titles.

"It's clear that [the Chicago Cubs] need to rebuild," says Boudway. "You look at the Cubs and what they've been doing over the last five seasons, and it has been a disaster."

The Cubs ownership is hoping that the 2011 hiring of former Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who built the team that broke "the Curse of the Bambino," can turn the franchise around. Boudway noted that since hiring Epstein, the Cubs have preached patience to their fans while changing their approach to building the squad, with the franchise using a similar business-model employed by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics. The Rays and A's were ranked fifth and 14th on the overall list of North American sports franchises while finishing second and fifth on the MLB list.

"The Cubs looked at what Tampa and Oakland have done and what the Cincinnati Reds are doing -- whether you call it 'Money Ball' or sabermetrics -- and are investing money in that direction,"Boudway told LatinPost.com. "Teams like Tampa and the Oakland A's have limited resources, but as you can see, they get results with the resources at their disposal."

Top Five & Bottom Five "Smartest Spenders in Sports 2014" by League