Supreme Court takes NFL marketing case; Could rewrite almost all of sports antitrust law,
Posted on June 30, 2009 | 91 Views
Related Categories: Sports
In taking a case involving the National Football League's exclusive licensing deal for sports merchandise, the Supreme Court could go beyond caps and give leagues more leeway in areas such as team relocation, legal scholars said Monday.
"A broad ruling in favor of the NFL could rewrite almost all of sports antitrust law," said Gabe Feldman, associate law professor and director of the Sports Law Program at Tulane.
The court will hear an appeal from American Needle Inc., which had been one of many firms that manufactured NFL headwear until the league granted an exclusive contract to Reebok in 2001.
The central question is whether the league is a single entity or 32 distinct businesses. If the court broadly views the league as a single entity, the government would be unable to impose antitrust law on the teams and would lose much of the control it has over the NFL and other sports leagues. Major League Baseball already has an antitrust exemption; the NBA and NHL have said they support the NFL in the case. source>>>
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