Broke Ballers: The Mediated World of Football and Finance

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This article explores the intersection of economy, sport and media through a thematic analysis of the first two seasons of HBO’s Ballers, a scripted TV show centered around the financial successes and struggles of professional athletes. Ballers, in the same vein as other sports-themed television shows such as Coach (1989-1997), Arliss (1996-2002), or Friday Night Lights (2006-2011), examine and reproduce certain social practices, turning them into easily digestible discourses which typically reinforce hegemonic norms. In the case of this show, the financial aspects of the game are emphasized, and issues of culture, cost, and community are constantly at play. Ballers is defined by the ideologies of professional football, often rooted in toxic masculinity and located at the tension between individual accomplishment and collective victory. Many of the dominant ideologies which operate within the world of football also function within financial institutions, whether in assessing monetary worth, potential risk, or long-term sustainability through investment. The marriage of football and finance on display on Ballers reflects the similar values and ideologies present within both industries.