Bankruptcy Behavior in the NFL : Does the Overtime Structure Change the Strategy of the Game?

Companies in financial distress have an incentive to take on high-risk/high-reward projects, known as lsquo;bankruptcy behavior.' This paper investigates the activity of bankruptcy behavior outside of the corporate setting by analyzing the effects of the overtime structure in the NFL relative to College Football. In overtime, the first team to score in the NFL wins. In college football, however, both teams in overtime get a chance to score and the winner is decided when one team outscores the other. This structure causes different strategies for the NFL teams approaching overtime relative to college football teams. Using the variance in scoring throughout the game, I find evidence that NFL teams take on more risk late in the game to avoid overtime, or act as if they have bankruptcy behavior