The underlying issue is money.
Stop watching, don’t buy NFL merchandise and stop patronizing their sponsors.
In the media, patriotism is bought and sold like a commodity.
Minor leagues and an English soccer-style promotion/relegation system would do wonders, also. Even the arrogant billion-dollar owner could find his team competing with the Fresno Frogs and the Bakersfield Barons for the “NFL B League Championship” if he doesn’t ban the left-wing distractions and focus on fielding a winning team. :)
The NFL’s exemption from anti-trust laws needs to end.
It's one thing for the auto industry to develop and consolidate so it ends up with a half-dozen major global players (only three of them based here in the U.S.), but no sports league can function that way.
I'd also point out that using U.S. government resources to regulate something as inconsequential as an entertainment business is a waste of time and money.
End their special tax breaks.
Saw a semi-pro game last November. By definition, then, the NFL is NOT a monopoly.
Also, you are correct that the NFL is not a free market, but what company on Earth ever was a “free market”? What does that even mean?
The NFL may or may not have come about in a free market, but that’s a different thing.
BTW—I have turned against the NFL with a passion, and those sub-human, anti-American pieces of monkey vomit filth will never again see a dime of my money.
Most major league sports are specifically exempt from anti-trust laws that apply to most other enterprises in the United States, in that they are permitted to limit any new competition from entering the field, and a franchise, once created, has no particular allegiance to their place of origin.
Mergers and joint agreements of professional football, hockey, baseball, and basketball leagues are exempt. As a result of the AFL-NFL merger, the National Football League was also given exemptions in exchange for certain conditions, such as not directly competing with college or high school football.
Any civil case in which the NFL could be seen as being essentially in constraint of trade, however, just might open up this can of worms all over.
I don’t think it is a monopoly
It is just one leg of the entertainment industry in this country
Outlaw, or at least tax, state and local government subsidies for stadiums.
I hope Desantis gets many co-signers.
Bust Them Up! Bust Them Up! ;)
bump
Bump
Putting aside the national anthem nonsense, it should be illegal to steal hard earned money from taxpayers to fund stadiums for millionaire players and billionaire owners. They can afford to fund their own palaces.
Of course the end result of all that is: so what. Everybody likes to talk big about them being a monopoly but it means nothing. Monopolies are NOT illegal. They have activities they can’t do, but the sports leagues don’t need those things anyway. And frankly, if it comes to court they’ll win. Because they only thing they’re a monopoly in is themselves. Yes the NFL is the only source of NFL football on the planet. But they are not the only source of sports entertainment, nor the only source of football. It’s like accusing McDonalds of having the BigMac monopoly, it means nothing, and no court will do anything about it.
According to a book by Michael MacCambridge, as recounted in this 2010 New York Times article, it happened when Pete Rozelle, the NFL commissioner in the 1960s, wanted to merge the NFL and the old AFL and needed an act of Congress to get around antitrust laws.
As it happened, New Orleans was trying to get a football franchise about the same time. Two of the most powerful men in Congress, House Majority Whip Hale Boggs (D) and Senate Majority Whip Russell Long (D), were Louisianans who wanted something from Rozelle: a team. Long got the exemptions inserted into a foreign aid bill. Rozelle was grateful when he ran into Boggs in the Capitol one day.
As MacCambridge recounts, Rozelle said, “Congressman Boggs, I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough for this. This is a terrific thing you’ve done.”
Said Boggs: “What do you mean you don’t know how to thank me? New Orleans gets an immediate franchise in the NFL.”
Rozelle replied equivocally: “I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen,” which prompted Boggs to suggest they could always call off the vote. “Rozelle,” MacCambridge wrote, “took two giant strides after Boggs, turned him gently around and said, ‘It’s a deal, Congressman. You’ll get your franchise.'”
Boggs finished the conversation. “‘If this doesn’t work out you will regret this for the rest of your f—ing life.'”
It worked out.
Absolutely correct. Let em compete like everyone else.
Awesome! I will get this done this week.
It’s my understanding President Trump was threatening to look in to the NFl’s anti-trust status as well. I’m beginning to believe this false BLM narrative was done on purpose by most of the owners. It was to help undermine President Trump with this slow agitation, despite the NFL having rules of conduct they could enforce. It’s a crazy destructive business model the NFL is on so there has to be a logical answer as to why they would do this.
With one Pro American message, President Trump blew it all up in many ways. Along with the President putting pressure on this issue, they’ve pissed off so many patriotic Americans, they will also get political pressure from their angry fans too. It’s a backfire double-whammy. The NFL would be wise to cut their losses now, apologize, and fire Goodell and all his cronies, and hope they can move on.
CGato
nice. Thanks.