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.
“A sports league by definition has to function as a monopoly. You can’t have an industry function without a monopoly when the competition between the industry’s members is the product that they’re selling.”
Right. Exactly. By definition, a league requires teams to cooperate in order to create their product, which is the game itself. So why are teams required to compete against each other when it comes to setting player salaries, and restricted from collectively limiting free agency, as if cooperation is somehow verboten, when they already cooperate in other areas?
“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.”
Too late. It’s already regulated. If you don’t think sports leagues should be regulated, then you should be in favor of Congress telling the courts to butt out when it comes to NFL teams cooperating on player salaries and free agency. It costs nothing to do that.