The MillionDollar Smile The Economic Analysis of Facial

The Million-Dollar Smile: The Economic Analysis of Facial Symmetry in the NFL. Marion Fortino Policy Question Does facial symmetry have an impact on the annual salary of an NFL Quarterback? Introduction • • • Each NFL team plays a total of 16 games over a span of 17 weeks. There a total of 32 teams in the NFL split into two conferences, the AFC, and the NFC. Each of the 32 teams is permitted to have a total of 53 players on their roster. Historically, the quarterback has been the most essential position in the sport and the compensation these players receive mirrors that statement completely. In this study, facial symmetry will be the study of attractiveness. With a compilation of data over quarterback careers from 2010 to 2019, there are 430 player-season observations. The results will then be put into an equation to see if there is any change in salary due to the level of attractiveness. Literature Review • In recent years scholars in the fields of economics, sociology, and anoplasty, application of reconstructive surgery, have used symmetry analysis as a method to gauge and measure attractiveness (Simmons, Ursinus). • A numerous amount of analyses have shown that more attractive people are seen, or the greater their facial symmetry, are perceived to be more capable and more beneficial in the labor market. Confidence, leadership skills and social skills, are some characteristics outlined in these texts and are all of which may be improved or heightened by attractiveness. More attractive persons may acquire better self-esteem and higher levels of motivation both with education and later in the workplace (Mocan and Tekin, 2010). • People characterized by greater facial symmetry, as defined by “exhibiting balanced lateral proportions” (Simmons R. Ursinus), are more attractive and higher compensations occurs. Theoretical Model Results and Conclusion ln. SAL = β 0 + β 1 SYMM__ + β 2 AGE + β 3 GP + β 4 CMP + β 5 ATT + β 6 Yds_P + β 7 PTD + β 8 Int + β 9 Y_C + β 10 Y_G + β 11 RATE + β 12 QBR + β 13 NY_A + ε • I am using panel data from 2010 and 2019 to predict the effect facial symmetry or attractiveness, on the impact of annual salaries of NFL Quarterbacks. • Based off the multiple regressions, I have found that not all variables are significant at the 5% level. • My adjusted �� ^2 is 0. 4930 which means that 49% of the variation in the explanatory variables explain ln. SAL Log of Salary: Includes base salary and signing bonuses (DV) Rk Quarterback’s seasonal ranking SYMM__ Facial symmetry of player AGE Age of player, also works as total years of experience in the league. GP Games played CMP Passes completed ATT Passes attempted Yds_P Yards from completed passing PTD Passing touchdowns Interceptions Y_C Yards gained by passing completion Y_G Yards gained per played game Rate Quarterback rating (NFL and NCAA) QBR ESPN’s total Quarterback rating NY_A Net yards gained per pass ε Error Term Data • For data on statistics, I used Footballreference. com and for photos, ESPN. com. The data varies over player careers from 2010 to 2019 and holds 430 player-season observations over this period. • The rest of my data consists of photos that resemble these below. Every player from these seasons will have their photo uploaded into a facial reader. The results from the uploads will then be added into theoretical model for the variable SYMM__. The facial symmetry and attractiveness will then factor into the ending salary of the players. We expect to see that the higher percentage of attractiveness will contribute to a higher salary. The photos will only be uploaded from the most recent year and will only go through once. • My DV was not significant concluding that Facial symmetry or attractiveness is not a strong contributing factor into how much an NFL Quarterback makes. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49 ers Symmetry: 44% Symmetry: 66%