Posted on 10/08/2017 12:24:42 PM PDT by mbrfl
I just sent this to my Congressman. I encourage others to do likewise. It's time to broach the topic of regulating major league sports in this country. And no, there's nothing unconservative about regulating a monopoly like the NFL. Don't buy the argument that it's un-American to regulate the NFL because is goes against the free market. The NFL is anything BUT a free market, and it never has been.
Mr. Desantis
I am writing to encourage you to introduce legislation to fix the broken state of major league sports in this country. The NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL are de facto monopolies of their given sports and should be regulated as such - with the concerns of the consumer placed first, rather than the concerns of the owners and players. The problems with major league sports in this country are structural, and long standing. The NFL has never been a free market, and yet Congress has never fully addressed this issue. In some regards the law acknowledges the necessity of coordination amongst owners, and therefore allows a degree of cooperation and communication between them that would be considered collusion in any other industry. In other areas, specifically labor, the courts have imposed a strict free market interpretation on the leagues which has created out of control salaries, free agency, and ultimately an unaccountability and entitled attitude amongst the players. When you have an industry that exists in such a legal limbo, those with the deepest pockets will exploit the inconsistencies in the system to achieve the outcome that is most beneficial to themselves.
As such, it is entirely appropriate for Congress to play a role in this issue. It's time to decide whether the major sports leagues should be viewed as a natural monopoly and regulated as such, with the interests of the consumer being placed first, or be viewed as a free market, in which case the leagues need to be dissolved. While one can debate which of those two options is the best solution, the status quo is unacceptable.
It's hard to imagine what the outcome would be if the leagues were simply forced to dissolve. Perhaps the market would respond with the creation of more independent teams who would schedule competition with one another individually, just as with boxing matches.
The option of requiring the individual team owners to merge and create one entity rather than maintain the façade of independence seems more reasonable to me. After all, there is an inherent contradiction in viewing competitors on the field as economic competitors. In fact, a strict enforcement of free market principles on league play is oxymoronic. Both parties to a competition have to, by definition, engage in a degree of cooperation and coordinate amongst themselves.
What would such a merger look like? In broad terms, the owners would be required to exchange ownership of their individual teams, in exchange for shares in the new entity - let's call it the NNFL (i.e. the new nfl). The amount of shares could be determined by the market value of the individual teams. From there, the NNFL would be able to set up a uniform, incentive based salary structure, a uniform code of behavior whose enforcement would not bend to the whims of an individual owner, and a policy on free agency that would make the game more enjoyable for the fans. The mission of the coaches and GM's would remain the same - to compete to the best of their ability with the resources given to them by ownership. But salary and disciplinary decisions would be out of their hands and would instead be controlled by NNFL ownership, whose mission would be to oversee the competition, ensure its fairness, and look out for the well being of the product as a whole rather than the interests of one team.
In such a scenario, there would need to be some legal oversight - just as exists with other monopolies such as electric companies - to ensure they manage their business properly.
Thank you for your time. Please feel free to contact me if you feel there is any way I can help to push this idea forward.
Whatever you or I think about whether pro football is an industry or whether the NFL is merely a business, the courts made up their mind long ago.
No they aren’t. They get one “exception” that is largely pointless and has no need to exist and if Congress took it away today not a damn thing would change about the business tomorrow.
You do realize that was pure legal maneuvering for the CBA and they dropped it the minute the new CBA was signed right? And had it actually gone to court the NFL would have won?
Courts can change their mind. Especially when said court filing is over 50 years old and the situation has changed dramatically since then. There are now many more sports leagues, many more football leagues, and many more TV channels available to them.
Here’s another link that chronicles the ongoing involvement of the courts in contract talks between the NFL and players.
If you need any more proof that the NFL is regulated in a way that movie studios, record companies and book companies aren’t, I can literally send you dozens of more examples. When was the last time the courts told a movie studio or book publisher what they can pay their employees?
https://www.law360.com/articles/550322/8th-circ-revives-nfl-salary-cap-antitrust-saga
“Courts can change their mind. Especially when said court filing is over 50 years old and the situation has changed dramatically since then. There are now many more sports leagues, many more football leagues, and many more TV channels available to them.”
But they haven’t now, have they? And where did you get this 50 years old nonsense? The link I sent you was from just a few years back. This one I just sent you is from 2014. The courts are basing their decisions on statute that may be 50 years old but the statutes are as much law as a law that was passed yesterday. The courts haven’t changed their views over the last 50 years. If anything, they’ve gotten more vigorous in applying these statutes, at least with regards to labor relations.
” They get one “exception” that is largely pointless “
Wrong. The exemptions they get are not pointless, But the links I sent you aren’t even concerned with their anti-trust exemptions. They relate to one of the exemptions they DON’T get. Think about what we’re talking about. Exemptions from what? Answer - anti-trust statutes.
In other words, the courts exempt the NFL in a few areas, from regulations that would normally be applied to monopolies. In your own words, “They get one ‘exception’ that is largely pointless”. In all other areas, the anti-trust statutes are applied. Hence, the courts get to tell the owners how much of a salary cap they’re allowed to have. You honestly don’t think the owners wouldn’t set salary caps lower if they could? The only thing stopping them is the long history of court precedents which have determined that anti-trust statues should be applied to the NFL with regards to player salaries, and the threat of future legal action taken against them based on those precedents.
The bottom line - the NFL is currently regulated. And those regulations have a profound effect on issues such as free agency and player salaries.
“Ongoing” from 5 years ago and eventually dropped. And all tied to how teams didn’t go crazy during the uncapped year.
Actually we don’t know what the courts think. NFL hasn’t actually faced a real antitrust case that actually went to court and had a finding in 30 years.
Actually that link IS the antitrust exemption. That is the ONLY exemption they get. And it stems from an antitrust case in the late 50s, which is where I get this “50 years nonsense” from. Really you need to bother with the FACTS because you’re completely lacking in them.
The bottom line is you’re full of crap. The are NOT regulated, it has NOTHING to do with free agency and player salary, you are 100% wrong across the board.
It’s one thing to be wrong because you don’t know the facts. It’s another thing to be made aware of the facts and continue to stick to your disproven theory.
“Actually we don’t know what the courts think.”
Lie. Your statement is simply false, and demonstratively so. Here’s another link about a lawsuit filed by the NFL players association against the NFL in 2014. Simple question. Do you know where lawsuits are filed? Answer - in the courts. Did the courts make a decision in this lawsuit? Yes. The determined the NFL was guilty of collusion for trying to limit bonuses paid out by Dallas and Washington. So you’re statement that we don’t know what the courts think is simply false. Here’s a quote from the article, since you apparently never bother to read the links I send you.
“Judge Doty, the trial judge for that NFLPA collusion case against the NFL, ruled against the NFLPA on the basis that they had settled the claims. Today, though, according to Pro Football Talk, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision.”
Okay, let’s go over that again. Did you read IT? “Today, though, according to Pro Football Talk, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision.”
But you’re right the NFL is not regulated. The courts penalizing the NFL owners for collusion for enforcing their own salary cap is not regulation. I hope my sarcasm didn’t offend you. Nothing personal.
So you lie about the facts rather than simply admit you’re wrong. Congratulations. You’re a liberal.
You’re the liar. Or you’re a moron. Either way you’re a waste of time and I won’t be reading anymore of your stupid BS.
I understand. The facts just got in the way of your argument, that’s all. Maybe next time you’ll take the time to validate an argument before you try to defend it.
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