Call to Action
Form A Youth Sports Tax & Revenue Policy Consortium
A national consortium, hosted by a university, foundation, think tank, or advocacy group, could study and recommend tax and revenue strategies that policymakers can use to strengthen local, community-based sports including coach training. The consortium would study and design revenue solutions that can be used by policymakers to strengthen local community sport (including coach training) while curbing the worst excesses of the youth sports industrial complex, especially the hyper competitive travel sector and increasing trends towards commercialization.
→What this looks like when we get it right: Creative tax and revenue strategies that would fund trained coaches, safer programs, and affordable local sporting options across communities.
→Who can drive this change? Data & Research, including public finance scholars and economists, Government, including state budget leaders and policy makers; Service & Standards, including youth sports experts
Why This Issue
The unregulated youth sports market is widely seen as broken. Perverse incentives, like early specialization, prepubescent travel teams, and exorbitant family costs, can lead to injury, burnout, and maltreatment while inactivity is a risk for those left out. Meanwhile, the industry is booming, with valuations between $20-30 billion and projected to reach $70 billion by 2030. This disparity points to a systemic failure: the resources exist, but they are not equitably reinvested. A modest 1% tax on the industry could generate $200 million annually – funds that could be invested in coaching and program quality, athlete safety, and community-based sport programming.
Getting Started
Make the case for smart taxation. Taxes are blunt tools, but when used wisely, they shape behavior and reveal hidden costs. For example, taxing excessive youth sports travel could signal its true costs – time away from school, carbon emissions, and the privatization of public space. Just as tobacco or sugary drink taxes fund public health programs, youth sport taxes could be designed to shift behavior toward healthier, more inclusive alternatives that encourage greater sport participation and engagement.
Incentivize compliance with standards. While the Consortium would recommend a range of strategies based on economic expertise and feasibility, one example could be a tax on travel-based for-profit tournament providers, especially those targeting very young children. Providers could be exempt if every coach in a tournament meets licensing and coach training standards. Much like affordable housing incentives that encourage developers to build affordable units, providers could either meet these standards or contribute to state funds used to raise quality elsewhere.
Empower an intermediary to research and recommend policy that works. The complexity and fragmentation of the youth sports sector requires careful, evidence-based revenue policy design. A Youth Sports Tax & Revenue Policy Consortium would lead this effort, convening experts in public finance, law, youth development, and policy implementation to identify levers that promote equity and developmentally appropriate sport.
Hosted at a university, foundation, think tank, or advocacy body, the consortium would:
- Conduct research: Investigate existing tax and finance levers in youth sports and identify new opportunities.
- Form policy: Draft model legislation and revenue strategies tailored to various states and policy contexts.
- Assess impact: Evaluate policy outcomes and adjust for effectiveness and equity.
- Disseminate best practices: Share evidence-based strategies and data to help others replicate successful models.
Reinvest in access and quality. All revenue generated would be invested back into making youth sport more accessible and higher quality, including fortifying or reforming free or low-cost community leagues and ensuring all youth have high quality programs and trained coaches.
Balancing economic development and youth well-being. Currently, economic arguments for youth sports often center on tournaments as drivers of local revenue. While this is an understandable goal, municipal economic growth at the expense of children’s health and well-being is not a viable long-term revenue solution. The consortium would offer a counterbalance by crafting tax policies that temper the youth sport arms race while reinvesting in developmentally appropriate, inclusive local programs.