Tournament theory and equity theory can describe the marginal productivity of personnel, and the two theories can also describe the behavior of employees in an organization. Therefore, many studies widely used the tournament theory and equity theory to describe the competition between and within organizations. And through the complete data in sports competitions, we can get a deeper understanding of the individual's behavior in a competition. Although the two theories have developed rapidly in empirical research in recent years, they have become ambiguous as a theoretical basis and in the field of sports. Therefore, this study provides comprehensive information on the basic concepts of the theory, reviews the two theories by using the sports' empirical research. At last, this study will propose the management implications of the two theories in the field of sports and the research gaps.