A new approach to measuring player and team quality in professional team sports

The key resource in professional sports teams is the available stock of playing talent but it is difficult to measure. Previous research has mostly relied on ex post measures of player talent, using either player performance or player costs. This paper proposes an alternative ex ante approach to construct composite player and team quality indices using observable player characteristics prior to performance. The relevant player characteristics and weightings are derived by applying hedonic‐pricing methods to financial expenditure on playing talent. The approach is illustrated using data for the FA Premier League in England in season 1998/99.