Talent, Past Consumption and/or Popularity — Are Outstanding German Soccer Players Rosen or Adler Stars?

Abstract

While clubs overbid each other and pay enormous transfer fees and salaries for socalled superstars, other players receive comparably low remuneration. But what makes a soccer player a superstar? In the literature there are basically two competing theories of superstar formation proposed by Rosen (1981) and Adler (1985).¹ Whereas Rosen (1981) stresses clearly observable talent superiority in order to explain the emergence of superstars, Adler (1985) maintains that besides talent, also past consumption and popularity influence stardom. The question to be addressed in this chapter is: Are outstanding soccer players Rosen or Adler stars? Using data on individual market values and a set of personal characteristics of all soccer players appearing in the first German league in the 2004/05 season for more than half an hour, I differentiate between Rosen’s and Adler’s theory of superstar formation. Running quantile regressions I find empirical evidence that variables associated to Adler’s theory contribute to the explanation of market value differentials in German soccer. Thus, not only investments in physical talent but also the cultivation of popularity is an adequate strategy for becoming a superstar.

MacDonald’s theory of superstar formation is not treated separately in this section, since he basically presents a dynamic version of Rosen’s superstar model (MacDonald, 1988).