Franchise player

{{Short description|Sports player a brand is built around}} {{About|a sports term|the designation that is in the NFL collective bargaining agreement|Franchise Tag|the ''Ballers'' episode|Face of the Franchise}} In professional sports, a '''franchise player''' is an athlete who is both the best player on their team and one that the team can build their "franchise" around for the foreseeable future.

== Overview == In the United States, outstanding players were referred to as "franchises" at least as far back as the 1950s.<ref name="OED">"franchise, n. I. 2. c. (b)" OED Online. June 2003. Oxford University Press. June 2010.</ref> By the 1970s, the concept of a "franchise" player who single-handedly generates success was commonly understood in the sporting trade.<ref>{{cite news|last=Denlinger|first=Ken|title=King Albert No Franchise but a National Jewel: This Morning|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 30, 1977|page=D1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Denlinger|first=Ken|title=Team Without a 'Franchise' Player Just Keeps Winning|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 6, 1978|page=D5}}</ref> The term ''franchise player'' was in widespread use by the early 1980s to describe both star rookies like John Elway<ref>{{cite news|last=Anderson|first=Dave|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/18/sports/john-elway-leaning-toward-football.html|title= John Elway Leaning Toward Football|work=The New York Times|date=18 April 1982|access-date=18 July 2010}}</ref> and Kelvin Bryant<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/11/sports/stars-show-their-1-2-punch.html|title=Stars show their 1, 2 punch|date=11 July 1983|access-date=18 July 2010|work=The New York Times|last=Wallace|first= William N.}}</ref> and veterans like George Brett.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brett makes demands|date=4 November 1982|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> While the term is primarily associated with North American sports,<ref name="OED"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/franchise|title=franchise|work=Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=18 July 2010}}</ref> it is sometimes used in reference to athletes in sports outside the United States, such as rugby league.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5060722.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130926151023/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5060722.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 September 2013|title=Robbie seizing Bulls by the horns|last=Hadfield|first=Dave|date=2 March 2000|work=The Independent|access-date=27 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=There's more to life than Europe|last=Ridley|first=Ian|work=The Observer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/dec/14/sport.comment2|date=14 December 2003|access-date=19 July 2010}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franchise Player}} Category:Sports terminology