NFLPA Welcomes Supreme Court Decision Against the NFL
Official Statement From NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith:
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is not only a win for the players past, present and future, but a win for the fans. While the NFLPA and the players of the National Football League are pleased with the ruling, we remain focused on reaching a fair and equitable Collective Bargaining Agreement. We hope that today also marks a renewed effort by the NFL to bargain in good faith and avoid a lockout.”
- DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director, National Football League Players Association
WASHINGTON (May 24)—Today, the United States Supreme Court again made clear that the NFL is not exempt from the anti-trust laws that all other American businesses must follow. In reversing the appellate court’s prior ruling, the Court found that the 32 NFL teams do not act as a “single entity” such that they are completely exempt from Section 1 of the Sherman Act. In other words, the NFL—despite its best efforts—is not above the law. Specifically, in a 9-0 decision, the Court held that NFL teams do not possess the “complete unity of interest” necessary for an exemption. Instead, each team is a separately-owned business entity competing vigorously against the others, both on and off the field.
Although the case arose from an apparel license, the case and today’s decision have a broad impact on the business of the NFL as a whole. Had the Court allowed the NFL to evade the anti-trust laws, ticket prices would have increased, free agency would have ended or been crippled, the way we watch football on television would have been fundamentally altered and our states and local governments would have been held hostage by a league with a Court-issued license to run wild. The case was originally brought by American Needle, a manufacturer of NFL-branded hats. In 2000, the NFL and team owners decided they could make more money by selling an exclusive license to one company. Reebok purchased that right, prompting American Needle’s suit claiming that the teams of the NFL colluded to limit competition in violation of the anti-trust laws.
Kevin Mawae, President of the NFL Players Association said, “This decision validates the wins of former players like Bill Radovich, Reggie White, Freeman McNeil and other former NFL Players who had successfully sued the NFL for players’ rights such as free agency and fair compensation. This keeps their wins alive for the players who came after them and who will play this game tomorrow.”
“Today’s Supreme Court decision strongly affirms that the NFL must play by the same rules other businesses do,” said Richard Berthelsen, General Counsel of the NFLPA. “Once again, the Court has rejected—as it should have—a sweeping exemption for the NFL. The Court’s decision affirms our belief that the NFL should not be allowed to operate as a monopoly to the detriment of fans, players and the government. In a country where competition and fair play are so highly-valued, the Court wisely declined to give the NFL a leg up by usurping the role of Congress and ignoring both the letter and the spirit of its anti-trust laws.”
The NFLPA joined with the players unions from all of the major professional sports to file a first-of-its-kind joint amicus brief opposing the NFL’s position in the American Needle case. The NFL Coaches Association filed its own brief supporting the view of the players. Additional briefs supporting the NFLPA’s view were filed by the United States Solicitor General, the Department of Justice Anti-trust Division, the Federal Trade Commission, the American Anti-trust Institute, the Consumer Federal of America and an independent group of 19 economists.
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