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.
“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.”
No, it means everything. It’s the cause of the excesses that we see in professional sports today - namely player and owner unaccountability, excessive salaries, free agency etc. These result from poor regulation. There doesn’t exist a free market to enforce industry accountability to the consumer as in other industries. When consumers have only one supplier of a product they have less of an ability to influence it through market mechanisms. Of course people can choose to not purchase their product. People can also choose to not purchase electricity from their local power companies.
” Monopolies are NOT illegal.”
No monopolies are not illegal but they are usually regulated. The NFL represents a poorly regulated monopoly. When you’re the sole supplier of a product and have such a dominant position that it is next to impossible to be challenged by a competitor, oversight is completely legitimate.
“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.”
The NFL is the only source of professional football on the planet. We can both agree on that. Sure there are other sources of sports entertainment and there is college football. Why stop there? People can spend their money at the movies, go camping, buy a book to read. The possibilities are endless. The demand for professional football is unique enough that a dollar spent there doesn’t automatically translate to a dollar spent on college football or auto racing, or whatever. I know many fans of pro football who don’t like college football.
“It’s like accusing McDonalds of having the BigMac monopoly”
Only if McDonalds somehow had the ability to prevent others from opening competing restaurants that weren’t McDonald’s franchises. In that case, having a monopoly on BigMacs would matter, but only because it would be a symptom of their control of the entire restaurant industry. You’re comparing apples to oranges.
“..and no court will do anything about it.”
It’s not up to the courts. It’s up to Congress to change the laws.
But all that aside, if you think the NFL is a monopoly and you’re just fine with that, then why are should they not, as a monopoly, have the right to tell an employee (i.e. player) where he should play and how much money he’ll
make. In other words, you’re fine with them operating as a monopoly within the larger economy yet have no problem with free market principles forced on them when it comes to player compensation and free agency?
Again, the regulation of the NFL has been inconsistent, and the outcome has been bad for the public. If you’re against regulation, fine. Then you should be in favor of owners being allowed to collectively setting salaries and regulating free agency as well. If the courts have a problem with that, then it’s up to Congress to change the law.