This chart made me feel better about AI
Plus: Are NFL teams too big to sell?
Welcome back to Club Sportico, where we break down the intersection of sports and money—with an extra bit of humor and opinion. Today, we’re talking about robots.
If you believe AI’s hype, a “white-collar bloodbath” could be around the corner. AI will do our jobs better and cheaper than we ever could, leaving humans to twiddle our thumbs (if we’re lucky). Or so the argument goes.
One chart—about MLB scouts, of all things—recently gave me hope for humanity.
In the post-Moneyball era, there was at least a thought that computers (or computer wizards) could replace scouts. Algorithm-based thinking would remove bias, evaluate many more prospects much faster, and focus solely on the factors that matter—no more Ugly Girlfriend theory.
But the data proved otherwise. “Teams are keeping scouts,” Robert Arthur reported for Baseball Prospectus earlier this year, even as analytics staffs grow too. He has tracked the number of scouts listed in team media guides going back decades, and created the chart above. The number-crunchers have a larger say in how players prepare for specific matchups, but they haven’t crowded out the prospect searchers. Why?
With every team now embracing math, the hunt for talent has only gotten more challenging, leading teams to send scouts around the globe to observe more players. More cameras are being installed in more places, but there will always be additional information out there for those able to gather it and interpret it.
Scouts play a slightly different role now, too. They focus more on athletes’ work ethic or deceptive skills—the stuff computers struggle to see.
The same trend is playing out across sports, on and off the field. Computers will determine whether NFL teams achieved a first down this year, freeing refs to focus their attention elsewhere. Translation tools are giving franchises reason to add marketing personnel to speak to international audiences. Tech is augmenting labor, not replacing it.
Financial advisor-turned-YouTuber Michael MacKelvie recently dove into the scout paradox on his (must-watch) channel. Putting the video together, he realized the topic contained echoes of his own career path as his job evolved over time. The ability for people to trade stocks at home altered his role.
And now digital tools allow him to create TV-level videos. Retweet all the AI-created videos you want. For now, artificial intelligence is only empowering more creators to produce even more engaging content.
Here’s what he told me when we chatted…1
I had a similar sensation watching MacKelvie’s video.
AI is changing what writers do. Summaries and recaps are less valuable. New information and unique analysis are the coins of the realm. You know, the stuff computers struggle to see.
“One area of weakness for the AI’s right now is they're not factual,” Arthur said, as he thought about how the same forces reshaping baseball scouting are changing his world too. “They're good at stringing together sentences, but they don't think about whether the sentences are real or not.”
Once Aaron Sorkin is done with The Social Network 2, maybe it’s time to revisit Moneyball.
Scouts didn’t go away. Just the opposite. We’ve all become scouts.
Eben’s ⚡ Take: There should be a word for the paradox we’re quickly entering, where advanced computing and AI tools are so powerful, but also so accessible that everyone just re-enters a different sort of uniformity. Here’s to the people who find a way to stay above the machine-induced homogeneity 🍻
On the most recent Sporticast episode, we broke down our 2025 NFL Valuations, which dropped on Wednesday. The Dallas Cowboys 🤠 remain the most valuable team in the NFL at $12.8 billion, followed by the Los Angeles Rams 🐏 ($10.4 billion) and the New York Giants 🗿 ($10.3 billion). The Cincinnati Bengals 🐯 are the least valuable NFL team at $5.5 billion.
The conversation veered off into a debate about the NFL’s ownership rules. The NFL 🛡️ has tighter restrictions on new owners than any other major U.S. league. It’s been a hallmark of the league—and an underappreciated factor in some of its financial success. The rules have been bent slightly over the years, but something more has to happen. Here’s a clip of that convo 👇
To hear Kurt’s response, listen to the show! We’re on Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.
If you enjoyed having the captions on this video, you can thank algorithms.