We show that both talent and popularity significantly contribute to stars’ market values in German soccer. The talent-versus-popularity controversy on the sources of stardom goes back to Rosen (1981) and Adler (1985). All attempts to resolve the controversy empirically face the difficulty of...

Recent studies of the demand for sports clearly indicate that stars play an important role in promoting fan interest. However, on theoretical grounds it is controversial if a star’s talent superiority and/or a star’s popularity drive match attendance and hence increase gate revenues. Using...

Based on the competing theories of superstar formation proposed by Rosen (1981) and Adler (1985) it is controversial if first hand observable talent or other factors like past consumption and popularity influence stardom. This article investigates the emergence of superstars in German soccer. We...