Supreme Court to hear NFL antitrust case

[meStevo]

So, this could turn into pretty big news.... or the Supreme Court will just agree with the NFL.

Basically the NFL gets a lot of antitrust-based lawsuits that are often frivolous. A company had an apparel agreement with the NFL and they lost that deal when they went Reebok-exclusive in 2001, so they sued.

The NFL has won this case, and the other company is still working on appeals, and both have appealed to the Supreme Court. The company is looking to win, the NFL is looking for a far reaching confirmation from the Supreme Court that it is able to act as a single entity on behalf of it's 32 teams for things like licensing, to avoid future lawsuits like this over the various aspects of their business.

Florio paints the picture better than I do - ProFootballTalk.com - Supreme Court Takes Up NFL Antitrust Issue

Hopefully this turns into a 'business as usual' decision in the NFLs favor. Would have stuck this in the NFL thread, but could be an interesting topic to talk about outside of the going-ons of the off season.

 

[Derwin0]

Jerry Jones just might be able to get what he wants now (rights to sell Cowboys crap).

The Supreme Court has already ruled in previous cases that the NFL is not a single entity (see Oakland Raiders move). Plus, by accepting the appeal, then at least 4 Justices agree there is reason to take a second look at that Appeals Court decision.

 

[SamCdbs]

As a consumer, obviously, I'm with the NFL on this one. This is all a part of the NFL's complex, and wonderful, system of revenue sharing. By marketing its TV rights, it logo wear rights, it national radio rights, and so on as a single entity; and by sharing live gate revenue, the NFL presents a product where any team in any market can be competitive.

Great for everyone. Every team has a shot. Its a fair game where its really a battle of intelect between GMs and coaches to develop the best team.

Its a great system, harming no one. Everyone prospers, and every fan has hope. Contrast to baseball's broken system (and understand that baseball at least lets teams develop young talent, while football lets colleges do that, making the prospect of a small market team ever competing being even less in an NFL w/o this system).

 

[HD MM]

As a consumer, obviously, I'm with the NFL on this one. This is all a part of the NFL's complex, and wonderful, system of revenue sharing. By marketing its TV rights, it logo wear rights, it national radio rights, and so on as a single entity; and by sharing live gate revenue, the NFL presents a product where any team in any market can be competitive.

Great for everyone. Every team has a shot. Its a fair game where its really a battle of intelect between GMs and coaches to develop the best team.

Its a great system, harming no one. Everyone prospers, and every fan has hope. Contrast to baseball's broken system (and understand that baseball at least lets teams develop young talent, while football lets colleges do that, making the prospect of a small market team ever competing being even less in an NFL w/o this system).

It IS a great system. In no other league would a team in Buffalo, New York exist; at the same time Los Angeles doesn't even have a team. Thank God for the NFL! What a great system!