Good Graph Friday: What the NFL teaches us about work

Business Insider

Is it better to cultivate your employees in-house or just steal them from the competition?

Perhaps the National Football League can shed some light on that age-old question.

A new graphic from Business Insider finds that about half of the players on the four football teams in contention for the Super Bowl were acquired through the draft.

In worker terms, that means they were hired straight out of college and cultivated in-house by senior management.

The other half were originally drafted by another team or walked on undrafted.

In regular-world terms, that means they were poached from their competitors or just managed to impress upper management enough to (literally) make it to the big leagues.

In general, loyalty appears to count for a lot in three of the four top teams. About half of the players on the rosters of the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers still play for the team that drafted them.

The New York Jets live up to their hometown’s reputation as a magnet for aspiring, talented workers. Only 38 percent of the Jets were drafted by the organization, while 26 percent came from another team and a whopping 36 percent were undrafted.

 

Discuss this post

You notice the majority of the players are black or pacific Islanders....what does THAT tell you about the NFL and corporate America?

    Reply#1 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:27 AM EST

    It tells me that if you're overweight, or underpriveleged, not too bright, and you want to spend an average of six years of your life running into other people and getting smacked around, try to get a job in the NFL...

    Benefits are:

    1) You can text pictures of your body parts to younger female employees and get a slap on the wrist.

    2)You can engage in illegal, and immoral activities like dog-fighting, serve time in jail, and still return to your job a hero.

    3)There have been 308 arrests and citations involving NFL players since 2000. These players are put up as "heroes" for our children. Arrests for:

    Drunken driving: 32 percent

    Fights, assaults and disorderly conduct: 21 percent

    Domestic violence/violence against women: 17 percent

    Drug-related: 13 percent

    Gun-related: 8 percent

    4)Excellent salary..(They aren't paid enough???? LOL)..According to "Clear Bankruptcy"

    a staggering 78 percent of professional football players file for bankruptcy within two years of leaving the NFL. These statistics may not settle the debate over America’s favorite sport, but they certainly show that the NFL leads in one category—personal bankruptcy.

    Let's be realistic about what's going on in the NFL....it's not sports...it's TV business....

    • 7 votes
    #1.1 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:24 AM EST

    There's lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics. 78% bankrupt aftert two years?? I'm not buying it.

      #1.2 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:10 PM EST
      Reply

      That you are a douche bag waiting to explode, idiot.

      • 2 votes
      Reply#2 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:30 AM EST

      This story tells us nothing without comparing these team to those that didn't make it.

      • 2 votes
      Reply#3 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:03 AM EST

      Why don't we hvae affirmative action for slow white guys like they do for slow black ones?

      • 2 votes
      Reply#4 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:27 AM EST

      We do the rest of the world calls it the Carolina Panthers.

      • 2 votes
      #4.1 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:14 PM EST

      DT42 - While I detest any hint at racism, your comment is funny (I am assuming that you are a disgruntled Panther fan).

      • 2 votes
      #4.2 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:08 PM EST

      DT:

      Another disappointed Panther fan here...thank you for the laugh!

      I keep telling myself that one of these years they'll figure out the season is 16 games long, not 7. This is the first year in a long time where they haven't come alive partway through the season, then peter out a half dozen games later.

      • 1 vote
      #4.3 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:33 PM EST

      no rascism intended only humor. sorry if i offended. I am way worse then a Panther fan........I'm a Raider Fan. Or as we like to call ourselves those who spend the half the football season waiting for the draft and the other half complaining about the draft. 7 years of losing seasons will warp your sense of humor. I know that this may be one of my only 8-8 seasons this decade so I have to get my jokes in when i can.

      Gentleman........

      Let the Al Davis jokes begin.

      • 2 votes
      #4.4 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 4:56 PM EST
      Reply

      Steelers, Bears, and Packers also have the most longevity on the coaching staff and front office. Many NFL coaches/GMs dump players they didn't draft if they don't fit into their schemes. The Jets have had several coaches in the past few years, hence fewer players that were originally drafted by the team.

        Reply#5 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:54 AM EST

        What's the statistics of the botton 4 teams? Are they 50% drafted in house too? Or are they claiming that it's 50% poaching? This is a pointless statistic since they didn't compare it to anything.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#6 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:47 PM EST

        Yea, let's hire everyone out of collage. Because they can get them cheaper. Forget about the experienced people in the world. They cost too much and might know something that management doesn't like

        • 1 vote
        Reply#7 - Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:11 PM EST
        Reply

        What does the NFL have to do with the 'real world'? Not a damn thing. In any dimension.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#8 - Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:42 PM EST
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