The Business of Legacy: What West Indies Cricket Can Learn From the Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters' Greatest Trick Was Reinventing Their Business

Issue No 48

In 1948, an all-Black basketball team from Chicago walked onto the court against the Minneapolis Lakers, one of the most powerful teams in American basketball, and beat them.

The Harlem Globetrotters were already famous for their skill, flair and showmanship, but this was no exhibition. They were proving that Black athletes could compete with, and defeat, the best professional basketball had to offer at a time when racial segregation denied them equal opportunities.

They beat the Lakers again in 1949.

The NBA began integrating Black players into its competition in 1950, opening the door to a generation of talent that had previously been excluded.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, another group of Black athletes was challenging an established sporting order.

In the Caribbean, cricket was more than a game. It was a stage on which a collection of small islands could challenge the countries that had once ruled them. West Indies cricketers became symbols of regional identity, excellence and possibility, playing a sport inherited through colonialism and eventually dominating it.

The Harlem Globetrotters and West Indies cricket emerged from different histories, but their journeys share a remarkable number of similarities.

Both became symbols of Black excellence. Both developed an unmistakable style of sporting entertainment before modern professional leagues learned how to monetise it. Both travelled the world attracting audiences far larger than their home markets might suggest.

Eventually, both discovered that the sporting economy had changed around them.

The Globetrotters responded by reinventing their business, turning a struggling heritage brand into a commercially successful entertainment organisation.

For West Indies cricket, the challenge is more complicated. The international appeal that once generated substantial touring income now operates within a financial system that rewards the size of a country's domestic broadcasting market.

How do you build a sustainable business when the qualities that made your team globally valuable remain, but the financial system no longer rewards those qualities in the same way?

The Harlem Globetrotters trace their origins to 1926, when Abe Saperstein began building what would become one of the most recognisable teams in sporting history.

Despite the name, the team originated in Chicago. Harlem was chosen partly because of its association with Black American culture during the Harlem Renaissance.

At the time, opportunities for Black basketball players were severely restricted. The Globetrotters built their reputation by travelling across America, playing wherever they could find opposition and audiences.

They were exceptional basketball players first and entertainers second.

They won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1940, helping establish their credentials among the strongest teams in professional basketball.

As the game evolved, their extraordinary ball-handling, passing, athleticism and humour became central to their appeal. Players such as Goose Tatum, Marques Haynes, Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal turned basketball into something audiences had never experienced before.

They were selling sporting excellence, personality and entertainment in one package.

West Indies cricket developed its own version of that identity.

From Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Frank Worrell to Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, Caribbean cricket has consistently produced athletes whose appeal transcended results.

The great West Indies teams of the 1970s and 1980s were not simply successful. They represented something much bigger.

Fast bowling became theatre. Batting became an expression of freedom and confidence. The swagger, celebrations, music and atmosphere surrounding Caribbean cricket created an experience that was recognisable wherever West Indies played.

These were not manufactured marketing campaigns. They were authentic cultural identities built through sporting achievement.

The World's Favourite Visitors

Long before global sports leagues developed sophisticated international marketing strategies, the Globetrotters understood something fundamental about sport.

Your home market does not have to determine the size of your audience.

They travelled relentlessly, becoming cultural ambassadors across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Their popularity was such that audiences did not necessarily need to follow basketball to recognise the team.

The organisation reports that more than 148 million people across over 120 countries and territories have experienced the Globetrotters.

West Indies cricket enjoyed a different, but similarly remarkable, global pull.

Think about the crowds that followed West Indies teams through England during the dominance of the 1970s and 1980s. The Caribbean diaspora filled grounds with flags, music and colour, while the prospect of watching the world's most feared fast bowlers or explosive batsmen was an attraction in itself.

People wanted to experience the players, their personalities and the culture surrounding them.

For a collection of Caribbean territories with relatively small populations and economies, that international demand represented an extraordinary asset.

Importantly, it was an asset that produced direct commercial returns.

Before 1997, touring teams could receive guaranteed fees from the countries hosting them. As one of the most sought-after opponents in international cricket, West Indies benefited substantially from that arrangement.

According to Cricket West Indies CEO Chris Dehring, those payments were sometimes worth more than West Indies cricket could generate by hosting international matches in the Caribbean.

Our ability to attract audiences overseas helped support the game back home.

We were not simply a small cricket market struggling to compete commercially with larger countries.

We were a globally attractive sporting product whose international demand helped compensate for the limitations of our domestic economy.

Then the business model changed.

1997: When Cricket Changed the Value of a Tour

In October 2026, Chris Dehring brought renewed attention to a decision taken almost 30 years earlier.

Speaking on Wisden's The Scoop, the CWI CEO explained that the financial model governing bilateral cricket changed in 1997, when ICC member countries voted to move away from the previous touring-fee arrangements.

According to Dehring, West Indies were the sole dissenting voice in a nine-to-one vote.

The new model allowed host boards to retain the broadcast revenue generated by their home bilateral matches.

On the surface, it offered every country the same commercial opportunity.

Host a series, sell the broadcasting rights and retain the income.

In practice, the value of that opportunity depended heavily on the size and purchasing power of each country's domestic market.

India could monetise a vast television audience. England and Australia also possessed substantial domestic broadcasting markets.

West Indies cricket represented a collection of Caribbean territories whose combined population and broadcasting scale were considerably smaller.

The economic value of West Indies cricket abroad could remain significant, but the revenue from that international demand would largely belong to whichever country was hosting.

The visiting team was still essential to creating the product. Its contribution was no longer compensated through the previous touring-fee model.

This is important context for understanding West Indies cricket's financial challenges.

They cannot be explained exclusively by declining performances or shortcomings in commercial management. A historically valuable revenue stream had been removed from a cricket economy that was already challenging for smaller domestic markets.

Almost three decades later, the India tour illustrates that imbalance.

Dehring estimates that a bilateral series hosted in India could generate between US$20 million and US$30 million, while Cricket West Indies receives no share of the host's broadcasting revenue.

That figure is an estimate rather than independently verified income, and it does not mean CWI receives no economic benefit from participating in the tour.

Nevertheless, the commercial distinction is striking.

Two teams are required to create the contest, but the commercial value of its broadcasting rights is captured by the host.

The same principle applies when West Indies host India. CWI retains the broadcast revenue from its own home fixtures.

The difficulty is that equal rights to sell a product do not create equal commercial opportunities when the underlying markets are so different.

For West Indies cricket, the lesson is that international popularity and the ability to monetise that popularity are no longer necessarily the same thing.

When the Rest of Sport Caught Up

While West Indies cricket was adjusting to a new financial structure, the wider business of sport was changing.

For the Harlem Globetrotters, that transformation had begun decades earlier.

By the 1980s and 1990s, the NBA had learned to turn its greatest athletes into global entertainment properties.

Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan were no longer simply basketball players. They were international celebrities, television attractions and commercial brands.

High-flying dunks, extraordinary athleticism, personality and showmanship had become part of mainstream professional basketball.

Much of what had once differentiated the Globetrotters was now available through the NBA, accompanied by the competitive intensity of the world's premier basketball league.

Their cultural significance remained, but their commercial relevance began to decline.

By the early 1990s, one of the world's most famous sporting institutions was facing serious financial difficulties.

West Indies cricket has experienced another form of this commercial transformation.

The rise of T20 cricket created a global industry around many characteristics long associated with Caribbean cricketers.

Power hitting, athletic fielding, charismatic personalities, music, entertainment and fast-paced action became central to the modern franchise product.

The IPL demonstrated just how commercially valuable that combination could become.

Other leagues followed, developing increasingly sophisticated broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and player-marketing businesses.

Caribbean cricketers became some of the most recognisable performers within that ecosystem.

Yet an important economic distinction emerged.

West Indies cricket continued producing commercially valuable talent, while an increasing share of the economic value surrounding that talent was generated and captured elsewhere.

The franchise revolution also created legitimate new earning opportunities for players, whose careers should not be expected to subsidise the limitations of their national board's revenue model.

The challenge is developing commercial structures that allow Caribbean cricket itself to benefit more sustainably from the talent and cultural influence it produces.

The NBA's rise and cricket's commercial transformation are not identical developments. Both illustrate how the value of a sporting institution can become separated from the qualities that made it famous.

The Globetrotters found a way to close part of that gap.

The Mannie Jackson Reinvention

In 1993, former Globetrotter Mannie Jackson purchased the struggling organisation.

Jackson understood the team from both sides of the business.

He had experienced its sporting and cultural significance as a player, then developed a corporate career that gave him the expertise to approach the organisation as a commercial enterprise.

He recognised that the Globetrotters' problem was not a lack of brand recognition.

Millions of people knew who they were.

The challenge was turning that recognition into a financially sustainable, contemporary product.

Jackson rebuilt the organisation, modernised operations, refreshed the playing roster, renewed commercial relationships and restored the team's relevance to younger audiences.

The results were significant.

According to the Globetrotters' own history, revenue tripled within three years of Jackson's acquisition. Herschend Family Entertainment, its eventual owner, credits his tenure with increasing revenue fivefold and rebuilding the fan base to near-record levels.

By 2013, Forbes reported annual revenue of approximately US$40 million and estimated EBITDA of US$10 million.

Today, as the Globetrotters celebrate their centenary, they remain a global touring attraction performing more than 400 games annually.

Their business extends beyond ticket sales into television, merchandise, licensing, partnerships and digital content.

The important point is not that the Globetrotters became wealthier than the NBA teams they once defeated.

They didn't need to.

They found a commercial identity that allowed them to remain relevant in a basketball economy that had fundamentally changed.

Their reinvention was not about rediscovering past dominance. It was about building a new business around enduring cultural value.

For West Indies cricket, that principle presents an opportunity, although the solution must account for a very different sporting and financial reality.

West Indies Cricket's Next Commercial Innings

CWI's current financial position demonstrates the urgency.

Dehring has identified an annual funding shortfall of approximately US$20 million to US$25 million needed to support the full programme of cricket operations and development.

The consequences have extended beyond accounting figures.

Player payment reductions, shorter domestic contracts and disruption to competitions demonstrate how financial pressure eventually finds its way onto the cricket field.

These are not problems that can be solved simply by selling a few more shirts or launching another social media campaign.

Nor can commercial innovation entirely compensate for the structural challenges of international cricket's revenue model.

Nevertheless, developing independent commercial assets offers West Indies cricket an opportunity to capture more value directly from its heritage, talent, audience and cultural influence.

The first opportunity is to transform West Indies cricket's heritage into an active commercial property.

We have produced some of the most influential figures in cricket history, yet much of that cultural value remains spread across archives, individual player rights, broadcasters and independent commercial interests.

Imagine a coordinated West Indies heritage programme built around documentary storytelling, licensed memorabilia, exhibitions, apparel collaborations and experiences that bring supporters closer to the game's greatest personalities.

A generation that watched Richards dominate bowling attacks might engage through documentaries, heritage collections or live conversations with former players.

A younger audience discovering the game through short-form content might encounter the same history through digital storytelling, gaming or interactive experiences.

The opportunity extends into Caribbean tourism, fashion and cultural partnerships, connecting cricket's history with the wider creative industries that make the region distinctive.

The history remains the same. The way it is packaged and commercialised evolves.

That requires properly negotiated agreements with players, estates, broadcasters and other rights holders, ensuring the people who created that history also participate in its commercial value.

The second opportunity is to reconnect commercially with the international audience that once made West Indies such a valuable touring attraction.

The Caribbean diaspora represents a natural starting point.

London, Birmingham, Toronto, New York and other international centres have communities with strong cultural connections to West Indies cricket.

Rather than relying exclusively on international fixtures to reach those audiences, why not develop a touring West Indies cricket and culture experience?

Former players, emerging talent, cricket skills exhibitions, competitive short-form matches, music, storytelling and local Caribbean partnerships could create a distinctive family entertainment property.

The idea is not to recreate the Harlem Globetrotters or reduce cricket to exhibition matches.

It is to build a complementary event product celebrating Caribbean cricket's identity while creating additional commercial opportunities for legends, current players, sponsors and local communities.

Start with a small number of carefully selected markets. Test ticket demand, sponsorship interest and event economics. Expand only when the model demonstrates commercial viability.

A successful programme would help restore something important about the old touring economy: the ability to generate revenue from people around the world who want to experience Caribbean cricket.

This time, however, the commercial rights, customer relationships and economics would need to be designed deliberately from the beginning.

The third opportunity is to build a direct relationship with the global West Indies fan.

Modern sport increasingly values something beyond television audiences.

It values knowing who its supporters are, how they engage, what they purchase and which experiences they find meaningful.

A stronger digital membership proposition, integrated ticketing, merchandise, exclusive experiences and first-party fan data could begin changing that relationship.

Not every supporter needs to become a paying subscriber.

The objective should first be to understand and serve the audience, then develop commercial offerings that genuinely match its interests.

That data also creates a stronger proposition for sponsors, tourism partners and other businesses interested in reaching Caribbean communities around the world.

West Indies cricket should not have to rely exclusively on the value of a bilateral broadcast contract to explain its commercial appeal.

There is a wider story to sell.

Of course, identifying commercial opportunities is easier than executing them.

Cricket West Indies operates within a regional governance structure involving territorial boards, players and other stakeholders, rather than the concentrated ownership model that allowed Mannie Jackson to reshape the Globetrotters.

A credible commercial strategy must establish who contributes assets, who carries investment risk and how returns are distributed.

It also requires expertise beyond traditional cricket administration, including entertainment, licensing, technology, consumer businesses and commercial partnerships.

Without that alignment and expertise, promising ideas can struggle to move beyond the discussion stage.

A Legacy Worth Building On

There is one fundamental difference between the Globetrotters' future and that of West Indies cricket.

The Globetrotters were able to reinvent themselves as a sustainable entertainment business without needing to challenge the NBA for sporting supremacy.

West Indies cricket cannot surrender its competitive ambition.

Developing young cricketers, strengthening regional competitions, supporting women's cricket, improving professional pathways and competing for international championships must remain central to its purpose.

Winning still matters.

Commercial reinvention should therefore strengthen cricket rather than replace it.

New income streams can help finance the development systems, facilities and opportunities required to produce the next generation of Caribbean cricketers.

The Harlem Globetrotters did not survive a century simply because people remembered how entertaining they once were.

They survived because, at a critical moment, their leadership recognised that sporting history and cultural recognition had to be supported by a contemporary business.

West Indies cricket has a different mission, a different governance structure and a different competitive future.

There is no need to follow the Globetrotters into exhibition entertainment or measure our success against theirs.

The relevance of their story is the broader principle.

A great sporting legacy can create commercial opportunities long after the circumstances that produced its original success have changed.

Our history, culture and players have already demonstrated that West Indies cricket can attract audiences far beyond the economic boundaries of the Caribbean.

A stronger commercial business would not guarantee a return to the dominance of the 1980s. It could, however, help build the financial foundation for sustained success.

We do not need to recreate the West Indies cricket of yesterday to build a successful West Indies cricket of tomorrow.

Our past proved that West Indies cricket could command the world's attention. Our future depends on building a business capable of converting that attention into lasting value.

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